Reporters learned through interviews that some companies, in order to reduce or exempt the employment security fund for persons with disabilities, have given rise to an industrial chain of attaching disability certificates to companies. This has squeezed out genuine employment for persons with disabilities and lowered the wage standards for the group; those whose certificates are attached face penalties, the employing units involved are suspected of tax evasion, and labor intermediary companies are suspected of illegal business operations... In response, experts suggest strengthening supervision and punishment, providing more suitable positions for persons with disabilities, and increasing skills training for them.

　　On April 15, Li Tao, a 36-year-old massage therapist in Shenyang, Liaoning, received a 500-yuan WeChat transfer from an internet company in Shanghai. Starting in 2021, he attached his Class 1 visually disabled person certificate to the company; the company paid social insurance for him and remitted 2,690 yuan to his bank card each month, after which most of the money would be transferred away by another intermediary company, leaving 500 yuan for him.

　　Reporters found through interviews that this kind of false attachment has become a gray industrial chain. It appears to be a "win-win" but actually squeezes out the employment opportunities and space for genuine persons with disabilities. Those whose certificates are attached face confiscation of income and fines, the employing units involved are suspected of tax evasion, and labor intermediary companies are suspected of illegal business operations.

　　"One-stop reduction and exemption of the disability employment security fund" has unexpectedly become a gray industry

　　Li Tao's "job" is more than 1,000 kilometers away. He knows nothing about the company's name or main business, yet he can receive WeChat transfers on time every month. He gives his bank card and password to the intermediary company, and when the "salary" arrives, he must record a video to prove that he received the full salary.

　　Li Tao entered university from the countryside to study Traditional Chinese Medicine (acupuncture and tuina direction), and after graduation he sought several jobs. "Units that pay social insurance offer low wages, while employers with higher-paying positions are unwilling to sign contracts," Li Tao said. The massage shop did not sign a labor contract with him or pay social insurance for him. After the attachment arrangement, he had stable social insurance and extra income.

　　The so-called attachment means that an enterprise hires a person with disabilities, pays social insurance for them and pays wages at the minimum wage standard, but the person with disabilities does not need to work for the enterprise. Because the two parties sign a labor contract, the enterprise can use this to reduce or exempt the employment security fund for persons with disabilities (hereinafter referred to as the disability security fund), and the person with disabilities can also receive wages. It is equivalent to a person with disabilities renting out their disability certificate in exchange for wages and social insurance.

　　Why are enterprises willing to hire persons with disabilities who do not work? The 2015 "Measures for the Administration of the Collection and Use of the Employment Security Fund for Persons with Disabilities" requires that the proportion of positions provided for persons with disabilities by employing units shall not be lower than 1.5% of the total number of employees; those that fail to reach this proportion shall pay the disability security fund. This was originally a good policy to promote employment for persons with disabilities, but it has been exploited by a small number of intermediary companies.

　　Under the pretext of recruiting persons with disabilities for an enterprise, the reporter contacted an intermediary company claiming to provide "one-stop reduction and exemption of the disability security fund" services. A customer service representative named "Wuyou" sent a "disability security fund calculation formula": for handling the employment of one person with a Class 1 or Class 2 disability, the service fee is 500 yuan per person per month; after 12 cumulative months, the enterprise can reduce or exempt the annual disability security fund for 133.33 employees. In addition, if the number of hired persons reaches a certain level, the enterprise can also reduce or refund value-added tax or business tax and apply for job subsidies; the preferential policies can fully offset the money the enterprise pays in social insurance for persons with disabilities. A rough calculation shows that the cost of attaching a disability certificate is about 30% of paying the disability security fund. In order to evade this expense, some enterprises have joined forces with labor intermediaries to engage in illegal acts such as false recruitment and rebates for attachment.

　　　　Behind knowing the law and violating it is the unresolved pain point of employment

　　Meng Yuping, a lawyer at Shanghai Duan & Duan (Shenyang) Law Firm, said that for enterprises, those constituting the crime of tax evasion shall be subject to criminal punishment according to the severity of the circumstances and the amount involved; for persons with disabilities, if false employment is involved, illegal income shall be recovered and they shall also face fines; for "black intermediaries," illegal business operations will lead to revocation of licenses and recovery of illegal income, and persons in charge who collude with enterprises in tax evasion and fraud will also constitute crimes.

　　Yang Lun, head of an IT enterprise in Dalian, told reporters that the enterprise had tried to absorb persons with disabilities into genuine employment, but they had many concerns about hiring persons with disabilities: "We don't know what positions to arrange them in, the office building lacks accessibility facilities, and we don't understand the behavioral characteristics of employees with disabilities very well. Whether it will bring safety risks to the enterprise all makes enterprises hesitate." Yang Lun said. The enterprise's human resources manager once reminded him that accidents on the way to work would be counted as work-related injuries, and that extra attention should be paid when facing job seekers with physical disabilities and visual impairments.

　　Because these pain points remain unresolved, employment intermediaries for persons with disabilities have found loopholes to exploit.

　　In fact, falsely attaching disability certificates is also a kind of paid certificate attachment. As early as 2017, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the "Notice on Concentrated Governance of the Practice of Attaching Vocational Qualification Certificates." However, compared with vocational qualification certificates, falsely attaching disability certificates is more concealed: many enterprises provide social insurance for persons with disabilities whose certificates are falsely attached, and it is difficult to discover the trick merely through social insurance comparison.

　　At the same time, according to regulations, when declaring and paying the disability security fund, enterprises only need to register in the nationally networked certification system. In other words, by providing accurate personal information of certificate-holding persons with disabilities and paying social insurance, it is very difficult to verify whether the employee actually reports to work.

　　Li You, a volunteer assisting persons with disabilities in Shenyang, told reporters that many cases of disability certificate attachment are decided by guardians or relatives and friends of persons with disabilities, rather than by the persons with disabilities themselves. Out of considerations such as insufficient employment capacity and unsafe employment outside the home, guardians prefer to keep persons with disabilities at home or place them in care institutions or rehabilitation institutions. This is done under the fine name of providing care and increasing income, but it actually violates the wishes of persons with disabilities to participate in society, participate in employment, and realize their own value, and at the same time encourages the mentality of getting something for nothing.

　　　　Let persons with disabilities become beneficiaries of good policies

　　Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that as of 2023, there were 85.914 million persons with disabilities in China, accounting for 6.34% of the total population. To safeguard employment for persons with disabilities, China has successively introduced a series of supportive policies, exploring proportional employment arrangements for persons with disabilities, government purchase of public welfare positions to place persons with disabilities in employment, and support for employment and entrepreneurship among persons with disabilities. The employment rate of persons with disabilities has steadily increased. How to carry out targeted supervision, ensure that good policies are implemented, and let persons with disabilities become beneficiaries of good policies is necessary and urgent.

　　When attaching disability certificates becomes a business, it undoubtedly runs counter to the original purpose of the government in establishing the employment security fund for persons with disabilities. False attachment actually squeezes out the normal employment of other persons with disabilities and lowers the wage standards for the group of persons with disabilities. Meng Yuping believes that efforts should start from the source: all localities should grasp the true situation of certificate holders, including whether they have the corresponding employment qualifications or abilities, and whether they are resting at home or in employment. At the same time, efforts should start from multiple channels such as human resources and social security departments, tax departments, and industry and commerce management departments to strengthen cross-verification and comparison of information.

　　Li You believes that relevant departments should strengthen supervision, flexibly adopt methods such as regular spot checks and special inspections, examine how many positions employing units have provided for persons with disabilities, and go to the front line to understand the working and living conditions of persons with disabilities, thereby completely closing institutional loopholes. At the same time, punishment should be strengthened, and full accountability should be pursued for the individuals, enterprises, and intermediaries involved, enhancing the warning effect through administrative penalties, concentrated exposure, and inclusion in blacklists.

　　In reality, there are indeed situations in which some employing units' job requirements do not match the abilities of persons with disabilities, and although they open their doors to job seekers with disabilities, they are unable to recruit anyone for a long time. To solve this problem, Li You suggests starting with setting up suitable positions, providing appropriate training, and showing more understanding and tolerance toward their work, so as to comprehensively improve their employment quality and experience. In this way, not only can the worries of employing enterprises be eliminated, but the confidence of persons with disabilities in supporting themselves through their own work can also be consolidated.