Disability refers to a number of deficiencies, either physically or mentally, as well as difficulties in the participation or adaptation to social life. That is, disabilities prevent the individual from fulfilling his/her duties in social and business life.

Like every human being living in society, people with disabilities endeavor to produce and develop themselves. Together with working and producing, people not only meet their economic needs but also their social needs. Therefore, people with disabilities who are looking for a job can work either in the public or private sector. 

The fact that a person has a disability does not require him/her to give up or be hindered from his/her working life and right to work. Because, like all individuals, people with disabilities must meet their daily needs and health expenses. Thus, people with disabilities will not only be consuming but also producing. If a person with a disability is placed in a job suitable for his/ her qualification, education and disability, he/she will also feel confident, in addition to facilitating his/her daily life and meeting his/her needs. In addition, facilitating the lives of disadvantaged groups is the basic principle of being a social state and a social municipality.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Directorate of Disabled People has a wide service network and infrastructure in terms of services for the disabled. The Directorate of Disabled People contacts 700 companies annually on the subject of employment of disabled people, and provides employment to 400 people with disabilities. Thus, it contributes to the employment policies of Turkey and Istanbul. In this context, when the services for disabled people are evaluated, the Directorate of Disabled People ensures the participation of the disabled people in social life, increases their self-confidence and helps them to have a social status.

As in many developed countries, Turkey has necessary legal laws and arrangements on the employment of disabled people, such as kind of businesses, rights, work and social adaptation, and vocational training, etc.. Employment laws for disabled vary somehow from one country to another, but there are many similarities. All legal arrangements for the employment of disabled have been guaranteed under the law enacted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and are identified as below.

For the first time in 1986, a council recommendation was made on the employment of persons with disabilities at the European Community level. Again in 1997, the ‘European Employment Strategy” was adopted. In this context, a “National Action Plan for Employment” was requested from the member countries. It is also expected that job opportunities, including groups of people with disabilities, will be explored, and efforts will be made to improve the work skills of people with disabilities. In 2000, the European Commission issued the “Equal Treatment of Employment and Work” directive. With this directive, all kinds of discrimination were challenged. It is emphasized that if a regulation on the work environment of the disabled individual is issued, the disabled individual may be suitable for the job. 

In Turkey, according to Article 30 of the 4857 Act; employers are obliged to employ %3 disabled people in private sector work places where they employ fifty or more workers. According to the same article, individuals are obliged to work in jobs that are appropriate to their occupational, physical and mental status. According to the Civil Servants Law No. 657; public institutions and organizations are obliged to employ disabled people in their staff. The obligation to employ disabled people in the public institutions and organizations with fifty or more employees is 4%.

As a result of the discussions and researches on how, in what conditions and under what conditions the persons with disabilities brought about by the legal obligations regarding the employment of persons with disabilities, various methods of employment of persons with disabilities have emerged. Because, when the literature studies and researches are examined, it can be seen that there are seven different methods of employment for the disabled. These seven different methods of employment for the disabled are: The Quota System Consists of Protected Workplaces, Personal Working Methods, Employers’ Employability without Obligation, Working at Home, Cooperative Working Methods and Employment Method in Selected Jobs, where only Disabled People are Employed.

The Istanbul Municipality Directorate of Persons with Disabilities first invites the disabled to apply for employment. A face-to-face interview is held with the disabled person, who comes to the employment office upon invitation. These interviews are usually conducted with psychologists. A resume pool is formed by psychologists filling in the resumes of the disabled. Essentially, the aim is to find out what qualifications are required by the employers. The qualified resumes are called for interviews according to the qualifications demanded by employers. In this way, employers have interviews with disabled people who can work in their own positions. In other words, they do not meet the staff who cannot meet their needs. Thus, employers do not have to waste time unnecessarily interviewing people with disabilities. Therefore, due to this classification of resumes, private sector workplaces generally apply directly to the Directorate of Persons with Disabilities for the employment of persons with disabilities. 

As mentioned above, the Directorate of Disabled People not only organizes private sector employer and employee meetings, but also organizes for free the disabled public personnel selection exam (E-KPSS) courses for the disabled. Thus, people with disabilities who attend the courses are better equipped and prepared for the examinations organized and conducted by the state. Candidates who take the exam as a result of the courses can become civil servants if they pass the exam. As can be seen, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Directorate of Disabled People carries out its activities in a multi-dimensional manner in order to enable disabled people to work in both the private and public sectors.