Reintegration management is regulated in Section 167.2 of the Social Code (SGB) IX. Participation is voluntary for all employees. This means that employees are free to decide whether they want to initiate a reintegration procedure. Non-participation does not entail any consequences under personnel law.

The reintegration procedure is designed to help

• overcome incapacity for work,
• prevent further incapacity for work,
• maintain the ability to work in the long term,
• prevent disabilities and chronic illnesses where possible and,
• protect the job in the long term.

1. Initial meeting
   Employees who meet the requirements will receive an invitation from the reintegration officer to attend a confidential, non-binding information meeting. This can be conducted on-site, by telephone, or as a video conference. Further general conditions will be explained and potential questions clarified during the meeting. If you wish, you may bring in a friend or counsellor to the meeting. It often makes sense to conduct the interview while the employee is still incapacitated for work – the employee can determine the appropriate time.
2. Participation
   Only after the meeting is it decided whether to initiate a reintegration procedure or not. You are of course free to reject reintegration without an information meeting. Rejection does not result in any disadvantages for you.
3. Discussions
   Possible support options can be discussed in confidence with the reintegration officer and, if desired, other members of the reintegration team. You will never be required to divulge information about diagnoses or the causes of your incapacity for work. There are no specific guidelines for how the discussions should be conducted – each reintegration process is individual and the procedure is agreed with you.
4. Implementation
   The support activities are tested in the work process and modified if necessary. We will evaluate the development together with you in the course of the reintegration process.
5. Completion
   The reintegration process is closed when changes have been successful or no further action is appropriate or necessary. In addition, the reintegration process can be terminated at any time at your request. You can find more information about the reintegration process on the administration portal.

Strict compliance with data protection requirements is a fundamental principle of reintegration management.

All discussions take place in a highly confidential setting and those involved are subject to confidentiality. All data is stored by the reintegration officer in a separate file with special protection. The personnel file only records that a reintegration management process was offered and whether it was rejected or terminated.

For more information on the processing of data as part of reintegration management, please refer to the data protection information.

Leon Hoffmann oversees the reintegration process as the reintegration management officer. In addition, the following people may be consulted in the procedure upon request:

If required, other people may also be consulted, subject to the employee’s approval.

Gradual reintegration, also known as the “Hamburg model”, is a measure prescribed by a doctor or rehabilitation centre and can be part of reintegration management. A reintegration plan is drawn up to gradually ease employees back into their full workload. The employee continues to be on sick leave while gradually increasing working hours during a period of six weeks until they are ready to work full time. The framework for gradually reintegrating the employee and defining working conditions for the following period can be addressed in reintegration management.

• Self-test for dealing with possible health problems
• Information provided by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs Schritt für Schritt zurück in den Job (gradual return to work)
• Information platform BEMpsy, funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs