Percent of Population Aged 16 and Older Reporting Limitations in General Activities: 31.3%

Source: Statistics on Persons with Disabilities, Master tables concerning EU 2020: year 2018, Prepared for the European Disability Expertise (EDE) By Stefanos Grammenos (in collaboration with Mark Priestley), Sept. 11, 2020.

“The Netherlands Institute for social research SCP states that poverty decreased in general in the Netherlands between 2018 and 2020. This decrease in poverty did not lead to a higher level of quality of life. According to SCP objective quality of life has slightly decreased in general and is at significantly lower level for households with low income, people with lower educational level, people with a migrant status and people who experience health problems and or have a disability. This lower quality of life is attributed, among other, to uncertainty due to the large proportion of temporary contracts, on call contracts and (bogus) self-employment contracts. People with a disability have also suffered austerity measures affecting their ability to access support and care.³⁰ Additional research shows that people who have temporary contracts or low age level, lack educational opportunities and have lesser opportunities to buy their own home and start a family.

“A considerable group of young people who acquired a disability at younger age are, since 2015, no longer eligible for a full disability benefit but are required to find paid work and can only receive an additional benefit on top of actually earned wages. This measure increased their chances for paid work to 38% but reduces their ability to earn more above net minimum age level. The 62% in this group that does not get offered a job will receive a minimum benefit that will be means tested within their household, thus increasing dependency upon household members.

“Social inclusion of people with physical and intellectual disabilities has not changed significantly in the period 2008-2018 according to the general participation monitor by research agency Nivel. According to this monitor (based on interviews of a panel of people with disabilities) participation in recreation activities, living in the community using public transport, doing paid or voluntary work and contributing to clubs and associations, hardly changed.³¹

“Access to health care and social support, affordable housing and even forming families is hindered by obligatory contributions for care,³² inadequate support in navigating complicated eligibility procedures, and competence fights between different acting agencies in financing and providing long term care. The National Ombudsman warned in 2018 and 2020 that people with more severe disabilities and families with young children with disabilities are severely affected by the lack of access to long term care.³³

“The alternative report by NGOs of implementation of the CRPD made use of interviews in which young people with a disability state they cannot access affordable adapted rental houses. They also stated that obligatory contributions for social care and support – which are means tested within households – prevents them from initiating marriage of starting long lasting relationships with partners with a paid job. Forming a household which a partner with a paid job would result in higher obligatory contributions for care of hundreds of euros per month.³⁴

Source: Jose Smits, European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability equality: Netherlands, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

“The proportion of temporary, on call contracts and self-employed is almost 50% higher among people with lower educational level. People with disabilities report an even higher proportion of such flexible temporary contracts. The Netherlands institute for Social Research SCP reports that people with such contracts, including people with disabilities and paid work, are among the first to lose their work and income security as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.¹¹ This loss of work and income results in lesser feeling of welfare.¹²

“The OECD noted in a report that in the Netherlands workers have above-average proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environments, compared with adults in other countries but at the same time the Netherlands have a large group of more than 1.7 million people over the age of 16 that are low skilled, of which two-thirds are of prime working age. Although these ‘vulnerable’ groups still perform better than their counterparts in most other OECD countries, their comparatively poor performance relative to their Dutch peers means that they will struggle to find work and integrate successfully into society.¹³

“People who are self-employed and have low income (15% of all households with a minimum wage level income are self-employed)¹⁴ have in majority no insurance when they become ill or disabled. They have no funds to invest in personal education or training. Employers show no significant increase or decrease since 2015 in their willingness to hire people with disabilities. Of all employers, 61% state they are willing to hire someone with a disability but only 19% make concrete plans to do so. Less then a quarter of this 19% willing employers succeeds in hiring an employee with a disability. Those employees with a disability that are actually hired receive nor need adaptation or additional support and they usually have a physical disability only.¹⁵

“One third of people with disabilities experience discrimination and unequal treatment by employers or work colleagues) compared to 25% among people without disabilities. One in eight job seekers with a disability stopped their attempts in finding paid work due to experienced discrimination.¹⁶“

Source: Jose Smits, European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability equality: Netherlands, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and several other nations.

Page last updated Sept. 4, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.