There is an increasing emphasis on activating workers on sick leave and on using their residual work capacity. This article compares activation via graded-work schemes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, with a focus on the role of employers. The analysis of literature sources and survey data reveals an ongoing reform activity, as well as great diversity in terms of employer obligations and incentives in the countries studied. These differences are very consequential for the intensity of employer efforts to activate sick-listed workers, even when comparing countries that otherwise share many institutional features. The distinction between public and privatised systems of sickness insurance, on the contrary, seems to be less relevant for the question of employer participation in activation. The findings are consistent with the expectation that less comprehensive employer participation is correlated with stronger selectivity in activation efforts. Depending on the prevailing approach in the individual countries and on developments to date, policy-makers are confronted with different challenges and priorities.

人们越来越重视激活休病假的工人并利用他们的剩余工作能力。本文比较了德国、奥地利、瑞士和荷兰通过分级工作计划激活的情况，重点关注雇主的作用。对文献来源和调查数据的分析揭示了正在进行的改革活动，以及所研究国家在雇主义务和激励措施方面的巨大差异。这些差异对于雇主激活病假工人的努力强度非常重要，即使在比较具有许多制度特征的国家时也是如此。相反，公共和私有化的疾病保险制度之间的区别似乎与雇主参与激活的问题不太相关。调查结果与预期一致，即不太全面的雇主参与与激活工作中更强的选择性相关。根据各个国家的普遍做法和迄今为止的发展，决策者面临着不同的挑战和优先事项。