Severe disability / Equality

Who is severely disabled?
Severely disabled within the meaning of Article 2 SGB IX are people with a rate of disability of at least 50, if their residence, their habitual residence or their place of employment is lawfully within the area of validity of the Act, according to Article 73 SGB IX.

Proof of severe disability is
the severely disabled persons' ID card, which is to be applied for on the basis of the disability assessment decision.

Application for initial assessment of disability or increasing of the disability rate
For health problems, which result not only in a temporary functional impairment, a request for the assessment of a rate of disability can be made.
The official form can be downloaded or obtained from the Social Welfare Office of the administrative district or the urban district, in which the applicant has the place of residence. The form can be obtained from the website of the City of Dresden. Attention: A requests for the increase of the rate may also lead to a downgrading.

Notes for completing the application
Specify all health disorders and their subjective effects, e.g. describe in an attachment your declining performance during your daily life, pain etc.

• talk to your treating doctor before submitting,
• attach medical records on health status (if any),
• attach the consent form for the request of a medical opinion.

The application for initial assessment of disability or increasing of the disability rate has to be handed in at the Social Welfare Office responsible for the place of residence of the applicant. The Social Welfare Office always obtains opinions from treating doctors in order to verify the actual state of health.

Assessment of the disability rate is made by the Social Welfare Office, based on

• medical reports and opinions, documents from hospitals, sanatoriums or special rehabilitation institutions,
• administrative processes by public health departments,
• health insurance statements.

The disability rate includes:
Effects of malfunctions in their entirety, according to ten degrees graduated from 20 to 100. The disability rate is a measure of the impact of a lack of physical, intellectual or mental capacity.
In essence, the following applies:

• The disability rate is independent of the exercised or desired occupation, i.e. the level of professional performance cannot be concluded from the disability rate.
• The disability rate shall be determined according to the reference points for the medical expert activity enshrined in the Social Compensation Act and the SGB IX.
• The overall disability rate is calculated from the disability with the highest individual level plus any other eligible disabilities, whereas these are weighted less.

Possible actions after response of the Social Welfare Office to the application:

• Appeal if the disabled person does not agree with the degree or characteristics of the disability. If the appeal is rejected possible legal complaint at the Social Welfare Court (free of charge).
• Tax benefits may be registered in the income tax card by the local tax office (or claimed via a tax declaration).
• Inform your employer, for example in order to benefit from special leave. Unless the employer is informed, there is no entitlement to special leave, special protection against dismissal etc.
• Disabled persons with a disability rate <50 can submit a request for equalisation to the competent employment agency. However, this is only granted if a suitable job cannot be obtained or cannot be retained due to the disability (Article 2 (3) SGB IX).
• Utilisation of the disadvantage compensation for all public offices, transport companies, cultural and sporting events etc. (However, this is dependent on the disability rate and the individual institutions).

The issuance of the Severely Disabled Persons' ID Card is regulated by Article 69 SGB IX and the Severely Disabled Status Identification Card Regulation (Schwerbehindertenausweisverordnung - SchwbAwVO).

Application for extension of validity:
The Disabled Persons’ ID Card is usually only issued for a limited period. The extension is to be requested by the disabled person in good time (approximately 3 months before the expiry date) as a free-form claim to the local Social Welfare Office. In most cases, the health status is not checked. In order to be entitled to special protection against dismissal, special leave for disabled persons etc., the employer must always be informed of the temporarily valid disability status. For this reason, immediately after an extension, a copy of the Severely Disabled Persons’ ID Card needs to be handed in at the Officer for the Disabled.