On Thursday, 26 March, the Saeima adopted in the final reading amendments to the Social Enterprise Law expanding work opportunities for people with disabilities and reducing the administrative burden placed on social enterprises.

The amendments stipulate that social enterprises that have been operating for at least three years or that have been established by a public benefit organisation with experience in working with people with disabilities may provide employment placement services to people with disabilities without additional licensing.

Until now, only companies holding a license issued by the State Employment Agency were permitted to provide employment placement services. However, social enterprises are already subject to supervision by the Ministry of Welfare and adhere to requirements that are equivalent to or even stricter than those for commercial entities. Consequently, this dual oversight created an unnecessary administrative burden for both social enterprises and the government, as previously stated by the authors of the amendment from the Ministry of Welfare.

The frequency of reporting has also been changed—the Ministry of Welfare will prepare a report on the activities and development of social enterprises once every three years, rather than every two years, as was previously stipulated.

Saeima Press Service