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BAMM? BEM? BÄM? What is it actually and why would you need it?
BEM is short for “Betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement“ which translates to operational integration management. In Germany, you are required by law (§ 167 SGB IX (2) ) to offer your employees the chance to reintegrate into work after an absence for a longtime illness or multiple short periods of illnesses. Specifically, in case your employee is on more than 6 weeks of sick leave within a period of 12 months (long-term sick leave and short-term sick leaves are added up) you, as an employer must invite your employee to a BEM Meeting. As a rule of thumb, always check the past 12 months starting from the day the current sick leave is prognosed to end.
For example: Lisa is on sick leave for two weeks in May 2023. Checking her absence record
you notice she was on sick leave in March 2023 for a week, in January 2023 for a week, in November 2022 for a week, in September 2022 for 3 days, and in June 2022 for 3 days thus reaching the 6 weeks mark with her current sick leave. Now, you, as an employer, are obliged to invite her to BEM.
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So far so good but what are we going to do?
You as an employer have to send your employee an invitation to a BEM Meeting which explains what BEM is and what the meeting is going to be about, which data is collected as well as the potential risks and the right of the employee to deny the meeting.
Wait right here, there are risks involved? Yes, there are! An employee could lose their current job in one way or another – the most severe would-be termination of the employment due to illness. This can happen if the employee refuses to participate in BEM as well as in case it is revealed during the BEM process that the health of the employee is not going to improve significantly, and the workload cannot be handled. In case it is determined that the illness is connected to the current work, a change of positions and department might be in
order.
The basic idea for BEM is that employees and employers work together to maintain the
workplace in a healthy way for the employee.
Alright, so who is going to participate in the meeting?
The most important people to participate are the employee and the employer (a representative of the employer is sufficient). The employer must include the occupational health and safety doctor, works council or staff advisor representative (in case the company has one), and the representation for severely disabled people in case the employee is disabled. All those additional people can be excluded if the employees wish it. The employee is allowed to bring a person she/ or he trusts along to the Meeting. This can be another employee, a friend, a partner, a family member or even a lawyer or coach. In case it is possible to obtain rehabilitation or integration services from a rehabilitation carrier or integration office they need to be involved as an external partner for the entire BEM process. The integration services are only able to help in case the employee is severely disabled or has equality for severe disability.
What should we do in the BEM-Meeting?
There are basically three tasks for the BEM Meeting:
- Figuring out the reasons for the sick leave. Is there a connection to the workplace, workload, or colleagues.
- Determining if something at work can be done to improve the health of the employee.
- Setting up goals and agreeing on the next steps.
There are multiple options to help employees reintegrate into work which range from technical aids and personal aids to motor vehicle assistance, benefits for activation and occupational integration, housing assistance, and work assistance. Financing those services can be accomplished with the help of the rehabilitation carrier or integration office depending on the individual situation.
What happens after the meeting?
The agreed next steps are carried out and everything regarding the BEM Meeting is recorded in a separate BEM file to which the strict data protection regulations for health data apply too. It is not allowed to be included in the personal file of the employee. Only the remark that the employee started or declined a BEM process is recorded in the personal file of the employee.
You must follow up on the agreed actions to see if they are carried out and check if they are improving the situation. If everything works well you can close the BEM case, store the data for 3 years and eliminate it afterwards in accordance with data protection requirements.
Final thoughts?
It is recommended to prepare for BEM in advance, setting up procedures and training employees that represent the employer to have a smooth process when it comes to an actual
BEM case and know what you can and cannot do. Inhouse solutions as well as external partners are viable options to do that. I can help you in both cases.
As an employee, always participate in a BEM Meeting and get advice beforehand on what to do in the meeting and especially what not to do in order to not risk your employment.