“I have a permanent need for personnel working in the kitchen and in the cleaning. Then, there was this service provider for people with disabilities, asking me to be open for an internship of Deolinda. In essence, I am open for an internship for candidates with a disability, and since they guaranteed me to give their support whenever necessary, I gave her the opportunity. In case things wouldn’t work out, the training process would simply be discontinued, and they would look for another opportunity for Deolinda.”

“Deolinda followed an internship in my hotel of almost two years. She was trained in performing the pantry, washing the dishes, and cleaning the dining space. It was good to have a learning environment among peers. It was also good to have the time to find out what was needed as necessary adaptations for Deolinda to have a productive performance, both rewarding for her and for us, as a hotel. She did really well. Her training period in the pantry service ran satisfactorily for her and for us. She developed herself quite good, and we had the benefit of her working skills without having to pay her a salary. Offering her a fixed-term employment contract after her internship was an almost natural extension of our relationship.”

“About the necessary adaptations. These were quite easy to arrange. For Deolinda, we had to arrange the availability of a person in case she needed help. Deolinda can be insecure, and then it is of great help for her when there is this support from another colleague, to be there for her. Her co-workers have become the most important links for her labour inclusion. And they again, were always supported by the service provider, which was of great help. In fact, we were creating natural support mechanisms.”

“Another adaptation was the streamlining of the transport to the workplace. This needed to be in the timeframes within the routes of the husband, her child, or a co-worker. And one last adaptation was to ensure enough personnel to carry out the work, in which way we could avoid disruptive moments to Deolinda’s balance. All these adaptations were in balance when I offered her the contract, they had already been arranged during her internship.”

“Deolinda told me, she wished to work in a hotel and had experience in that area. She is satisfied with the work she does and with the tasks she performs. She doesn’t think much about the future, if she could stay with us, doing this work, she’d be happy. 

“I would like to emphasise the role of the service provider. They played an important role in this inclusion. It was Deolinda, not finding a job, who sought the help of this service provider. And they supported her in finding this internship in my hotel. They guided her and trained her. And they guided and trained her colleagues and her supervisor throughout the years of internship. They also supported us in finding the right financial support when hiring Deolinda and giving her a fixed contract.” 

“When we decided to hire her, and gave her a fixed-term employment contract, it appeared to be possible to include state measures that support the hiring of people with disabilities in the open labour market. With again, the support of the service provider, an assessment was carried out, to assess Deolinda’s loss of productivity in the tasks performed in the pantry. The assessment was taking into account her mental illness and mild intellectual disability and the performance normally required for the role. The result of this estimate was a 50% cut back on the level of productivity and I was paid directly 50% of the remuneration paid to Deolinda. In a way, this compensation for the loss of productivity when hiring Deolinda did not only reflect her functional performance, but also the adaptation effort conducted by us, in terms of needs for supervision, for example.”  

“I see Deolinda as a stable and reliable asset for many years, viewing her professional integration as an important but normal element in the dynamics of the social and environmental inclusion we advocate for. The financial incentives contributed to Deolinda’s hiring, though no less important is Deolinda’s performance, motivation, and attendance at her job, as well as the general improvement in the work environment and dynamics, Deolinda brought unity to our team. I would certainly do it again. It doesn’t mean that there were no difficulties to overcome. However, also with Deolinda’s colleagues one has to know how to deal with their unique ways and ensure that the service in the Hotel runs well.”