English

The Icelandic Rehabilitation Fund VIRK was founded in May 2008 and the first employee started work in August 2008. The Goal of the fund is to systematically decrease the probability that employees lose their jobs due to incapacity and sickness, by increasing their activities, promoting vocational rehabilitation (VR) , (including Return to Work (RTW)) and other interventions.
Our main policy is:
To provide consulting services for employees who are ill or injured and are off work for an extended period of time due to loss of ability to work.
Emphasis on co-operation with the unions and the employers and on early intervention
To finance consultations with VR consultants and a variety of interventions that are not generally financed by public funding.
To promote diversity and expand the number and types of VR interventions offered
To promote co-operation amongst those working in VR
To change norms and attitudes of the society towards the right to work when ill or disabled
To support research and development in VR

Our main tasks
To design the role of the VR consultant. Most of “our” VR consultants work within the Union Funds set up to reimburse members who are ill. These VR consultants will be the first (and often only) contact of the users of our services with VIRK. They will assist and coach employees that need VR and help them plan their activities. VIRK pays for the consultants´ training and provides professional support and their salaries, but their employers are the Unions. Emphasis is on early intervention in co-operation with the Union Health Care Funds and Employers.
Pay for consultancy and therapy by various professionals such as physical therapists, psychologists, OH therapists, social workers, etc., which is not paid for by public funding
Pay for a variety of activities supporting health promotion such as in gyms, nutrition consultancy, etc., which are not paid for by public funding.

Our emphasis is on
Positive thinking. We want to have a positive effect on individuals, employers, unions, public officials and professionals.
Co-operation with all players in VR.
Utilizing and promoting interventions and activities in the vicinity of the employee‘s home and making sure the consultancy is individualized.
Meet people on their own level. To be able to effect a positive influence on people‘s lives and to achieve positive outcomes there needs to be an understanding of environmental, social and personal circumstances.
Activity of individuals. We aim at focusing on the individual‘s strength and abilities and helping her/him to figure out how to utilize support, advice and activities to one‘s own advantage to increase well-being and the ability to work
Make space for all. To recognise the right of all to be active and use their abilities in our society.
Increase knowledge and experience in VR amongst professionals and providers

The consultants
The VR consultants to the Health Care Funds provide assistance to help people stay or become more active. They work closely with the employees and meet with them on a regular basis. They are also supposed to work closely with employers and the health care centres.
The consultants to the Health Care Funds work closely with the individuals, manage their cases and assist them in receiving the necessary medical, social and financial support they need and are eligible for. They have a motivational role as well as having at their disposal several activities and interventions that can be tailored to the individual´s needs and aimed at enhancing his/her capacity for work and preserving his/her work relationships. The consultants to the Health Care Funds also work closely with a group of different specialists working for VIRK. They follow work processes designed by VIRK and receive professional support from professional specialists at VIRK.
At the moment there are 30 consultants working for the Health Care Funds. Their background is varied, but the trend is toward professional specialisation and university degrees. Additional requirements are experience in the field of consulting, knowledge of the employment market, language skills, communication and interpersonal skills, and genuine interest in people and their well-being.

Examples of support
Services paid for by the VR Fund:
Consultation and motivation tailored to individual needs.
Evaluation of ability to work based on both health and social circumstances.
Assistance and follow-up with planning of increased activity, health promotion and rehabilitation; this can, for example, be to pay for three months of a special and supervised health promotion programme at the nearby gym, stop smoking sessions, etc.
Assistance and guidance to ensure that the individual receives what he/she is entitled to from the welfare system.
Assistance in obtaining individually designed vocational rehabilitation where the individual, employer and different professionals work together to find pathways to increased work capacity. Assistance from a variety of specialists based on evaluation of need. These can be physicians, psychologists, social workers, occupational health professionals, physiotherapists, employment counsellors.
Assistance to obtain continuous education or vocational training education aimed at increasing the capacity for work, either at the former job with an adaptation or a new job.

Financing of the VR Fund
Currently both public and private employers pay 0.13% of all salaries to VIRK. In 2010 it was proposed that both the Government and the Pension Funds are to pay a certain amount into the VR Fund . When the Pension Funds start financing VIRK, the Fund will start to provide services to people receiving Incapacity Benefits. These will need a different and more demanding approach than the people who are just beginning their absence from the work process.

Intervention
The VR Fund will enter into contracts with VR professionals and general activity providers to assist the clients of VIRK to regain the working capacity they are capable of enjoying. These contracts include, amongst other things, description of quality, quantity, prices, auditing processes and outcome measures in accordance with the Purchasing Policy of the Fund.
VIRK will offer its clients a variety of professional and local interventions and will buy services from different providers as long as they fulfil the criteria set forth in the Purchasing Policy, provide the needed services, demonstrate positive outcomes, and comply with the standards set by the Fund.

Services for employers
Employers can seek information and consultancy from both the Specialists at VIRK and from the Consultants of the Health Care Funds, if they have employees with disabilities at work or long term illness (expected to last more than 4 weeks). They can also direct their employees to seek assistance from Consultants at the Health Care Funds if there is a disability due to illness or injury. They can contact the consultants or specialists of the Fund either by phone or e-mail.
VIRK emphasises good co-operation with employers all over the country, co-operation that has the objective of increasing the work capacity of workers in their own community.
The Senior Specialists at VIRK visit companies if requested to provide information on the Fund and inform those concerned about the importance and benefits of VR to employers, employees and the community. This is also done by the Consultants of the Health Care Funds.