Employment and Inclusion Project. Disability and Illness in Society 5.0 – E&I

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda include the realization of the concept of decent work and the guarantee of adequate levels of workplace protection for people in more vulnerable situations, particularly workers with disabilities (SDG 8.5).

Project’s email address: employment.inclusion@ulusofona.pt

This project aims to reflect on the challenges of labor inclusion in Society 5.0, where technology can create innovative solutions but may also increase discrimination and risks to physical and mental health, especially for more stigmatized groups.

Within this framework, CEAD Francisco Suárez hosts the project Employment and Social Inclusion, funded by the SEED Funding Program of the Lusophone Institute for Research and Development (ILIND), led by the Principal Investigator, Professor Dr. Joana Neto.

With a duration of 12 months (May 2026 to May 2027), this multidisciplinary project seeks to promote reflection on labor inclusion. It also aims to support the design of public policy measures to foster the labor and social inclusion of people with disabilities and those at increased health risk, in the context of the profound transformation brought about by the introduction of the cyber-Fordist paradigm in labor relations.

The main objectives of the E&I project are:

• To identify the state of the art in legislation, employment, and social protection in the context of disability and health status, taking into account the impact of new technologies;
• To systematize national and European case law concerning the protection of workers with disabilities or increased health risks, particularly regarding reasonable workplace accommodations;
• To select collective agreements from various sectors and analyze their content and level of detail concerning employment protection in the context of disability;

The team includes researchers from CEAD and CEDIS – Nova School of Law, as well as PhD, Master’s, and undergraduate students, and strategic partners such as the Observatory on Disability and Human Rights (ODDH) – Institute of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon; AFID Diferença Foundation; the Independent Living Center; the Portuguese Autism Voice Association; APPACDM Porto; and PRÁXIS – Reflection and Debate on Labor and Trade Unionism.

The period for submitting expressions of interest runs from March 20, 2026, to March 25, 2026.