Case management interviews and the return to work of disabled employees

In response to an increasing number of sickness and disability beneficiaries, many countries have launched policies that emphasize the role of case management. This study measures the effect of case-management interview (CMI) on long-term sick-listed employees’ probability of returning to work. It is based on combined survey and register data of 1,000 employees sick-listed for more than eight weeks.
The study differs from previous CMI-studies in several respects. In contrast to previous studies, we use instrumental variables (municipal level information) to correct for selection effects in CMI. Furthermore, we distinguish between returning to work for the pre-sick leave employer and a new employer, respectively. Using a competing hazard rate model, we find that CMI significantly increases the probability of returning to work for the pre-sick leave employer, whereas it has no effect on the probability of returning to work for a new employer.
We argue that the effect of CMI may originate from two different sources. First, CMI may motivate sick-listed employees to resume work because it either makes continued benefit receipt appear less attractive or work resumption more attractive. Second, CMI may adjust for asymmetric information about the expected date of work resumption between the employee and the pre-sick leave employer. This may in turn increase the pre-sick leave employer’s incentive to retain the employee.