To answer this question we spoke with two specialists, leaders of sheltered-sector companies. Thomas Saillard on one side, founder and director of Innov and Co. He provides the services of consultants who face challenges securing engagements, whether due to a disability they have, their seniority, gender or cultural background.
Laurent Delannoy on the other side, founder and director of Avencod, based in Nice, which offers clients a socially-driven experience of digital subcontracting. << Nature creates differences, Avencod turns them into talent. >>
Let us start with a recap of the legal framework, since it appears to have evolved relatively recently:
Thomas Saillard: It is not so much the legal framework that has changed. The obligation to employ disabled workers is still defined by Law 2018-771 of September 5, 2018, on the freedom to choose one's professional future. The employment rate for people with disabilities is still set at 6% of a company's headcount. But since January 1, 2020, the scope and calculation rules have changed.
The unit used to determine the 6% is now the company rather than the individual establishment. All companies with more than 20 employees are concerned, and headcounts must be calculated as average FTEs (full-time equivalents) over the year, rather than at year-end as was previously the case.
Another change is the level of the tax credit, which is now even more attractive than before, having risen to 30% of invoiced amounts.
Engaging the services of sheltered-sector companies is therefore more attractive than ever for large companies and groups.
Laurent Delannoy: Yes indeed. It is now possible to count 30% of subcontracting to the STPA (Sheltered and Adapted Work Sector) toward the financial top-up that companies failing to meet the 6% employment target for people with disabilities are required to pay.
The amount counted is capped at 75% if the company reaches 3% of disabled employees in-house, and 50% below 3%.
The corresponding declaration (DOETH or Mandatory Declaration of Employment of Disabled Workers) is filed digitally once a year as part of the January DSN.
Companies can also use contractual mechanisms, such as the CDD tremplin (springboard fixed-term contract) signed with an Adapted Enterprise, in which the end client commits to converting the fixed-term contract into an open-ended one. The fixed-term phase essentially serves as training, onboarding and integration into the company. The CDD tremplin qualifies for state funding.
Thomas Saillard: Worth mentioning too is disability-focused work-study, where the Adapted Enterprise (EA) handles finding the candidate, organizing the training, and supporting the employee through their integration with the client.
And to come back to the value of using sheltered-sector services for Key Accounts, the leverage effect can be significant.
Indeed, since the tax credit is 30%, when a company engages sheltered-sector providers with high billing rates due to their strong expertise, a single engagement invoiced by an Adapted Enterprise can offset the in-house employment requirement for several people with disabilities. The leverage can in some cases reach 6 to 8 FTEs.
Interesting... And what kinds of services are concerned, and why?
Thomas Saillard: Every type of service provided by Adapted Enterprises helps large companies meet their obligations. This can include in-team work, work on client premises, or remote work, all of which are perfectly possible, as the Covid-19 crisis confirmed.
Our particular industry is professional services. We provide business expertise, business analysis (AMOA) and project delivery (MOE).
We support our consultants throughout their journey, from the interview phase for the role in question through to project delivery, including team integration steps and regular check-ins.
Laurent Delannoy: This part is critical, and it is essentially our reason for being. Making sure the people with disabilities we support can actually grow their skills and succeed on the engagements clients entrust to them. Each person we support brings their own skills and specifics. We work in particular with people who are very strong in development, testing, and data handling (big data), and if one of our employees is offered a permanent position by the client they have been working with, we are absolutely delighted and support them on their move into the so-called << ordinary >> professional environment.
So to summarize, how does using sheltered-sector services help Key Accounts deliver on their CSR commitments?
Laurent Delannoy: First, there is the regulatory side we discussed earlier. To meet their obligations, companies have 3 options:
- Direct employment of people with RQTH status (Recognition of Disabled Worker Status).
- Engaging services from sheltered (ESAT) or adapted (EA) sector companies. This can be direct subcontracting, intermediated subcontracting, or co-contracting.
It is worth noting that the health crisis confirmed the viability of intensive remote work, which is a real opportunity for some disabilities where simply having to commute can be very challenging.
- Paying a financial contribution to the OETH association (Disabled Workers Employment Goal) to complement the first two options.
But corporate CSR commitments go further than simply meeting certain << administrative >> obligations. Other significant secondary effects can be highlighted as part of using adapted services.
Thomas Saillard: Yes, absolutely. Bringing diversity into teams is a very positive driver of corporate performance. This diversity is what defines us. We support people with disabilities, but not only them. Women, seniors and people from foreign backgrounds are also part of this diversity. Through our partnerships with large companies, we help strengthen the social mission of the company. This also translates into more << material >>, more concrete examples, for non-financial reports to shareholders in particular. These are collaborations that have a very positive impact on the employer brand.
Can we also talk about the satisfaction managers feel when they manage to combine their professional goals with their search for purpose?
Laurent Delannoy: Yes, indeed. It is not true for everyone, of course, but it is increasingly common with Generation Z. And it is not just about a search for purpose. I particularly remember feedback from Amadeus's R&D lead during a presentation at Air France. He had been won over by the very rigorous approach of the consultants we had assigned to his needs. But he also talked about what he called the << secondary effects >>, in particular the open-mindedness this collaboration had given him, as well as the resulting changes in his management style (more diversity, more inclusion, less directive).
Thank you Laurent and Thomas for taking part in this joint interview.
CSR is an increasingly common topic in Nexoris's discussions with the procurement teams of large groups. We thought it would be valuable to bring your specialist perspective to Nexoris's community of clients, IT Services Companies and independent consultants on what engaging Adapted Enterprises can deliver in general, and what the companies you lead deliver day to day in particular. Nexoris is delighted to count you among its partners and to work with you on developing the sheltered and adapted sector's professional services offering.
