Micheline, what tasks does a representative body for severely disabled employees (SBV) typically have?

The role of the SBV in a company covers a wide range of tasks: It ranges from supporting colleagues with severe disabilities in preparing applications to authorities and mediating general concerns and complaints to checking that the employer complies with collective agreements, guidelines, laws and regulations.

So you mainly provide support with administrative and labor law matters?

Not only! Above all, I am a person of trust. I experience time and again that colleagues are worried that they might not have the same opportunities due to their disability. I want to allay their worries and create the best possible conditions for them in their job. And of course, this always involves extremely sensitive issues such as mental and physical illnesses or personal crises – so it requires a great deal of empathy and discretion.

Let’s take another step back: Can you briefly tell us about your career at VTG?

I’ve been at VTG since September 2012 and was originally hired as a technical drawer. In the years that followed, I studied mechanical engineering and did a lot of development work for WAMOS! Six years ago, a colleague approached me for the first time about SBV because he knew that I had already been involved in the social sector in the past and had worked with people with severe disabilities.

Apart from your previous experience, what made you decide to apply for the position at VTG?

Although I already had experience, I still had no idea at the time what it actually meant to be the SBV for a company. How would the cooperation with HR, the works council and the staff council work? What laws do I need to know about? I therefore saw it as a challenge to face up to this and wanted to prove to myself and VTG that I could do it!

What happened next for you?

In 2018, I initially started as a deputy SBV before moving up to SBV at VTG the following year. For the first two years, I even held the position alone, without a deputy, which was of course particularly challenging. I then attended training and further education courses and gradually built up a network – within VTG and beyond.

Today, I am fortunate to have the support of Melanie Celon-Bauer and Marcel Masak as deputy SBV respectively. And of course I would also like to mention Bernd Tiedemann, who was active as 1st deputy for many years until his retirement at the end of May and whose commitment played a key role in shaping the SBV team – thank you Bernd!

Let´s talk about network: How do you establish this exchange?

In addition to a lot of networking, for example with the SBVs of other companies, I organize many internal meetings, for example on the topic of depression, because this illness can also be classified as a severe disability! In addition, I attend the works council meeting every week and am in regular contact with HR, the staff council and the company doctor, because a constructive exchange with these groups is very important for my work.

And, of course, there is the “Annual Meeting of Severely Disabled and Equally Disabled People at VTG”, where I also invite many external guests, for example experts from the Integration Office. My aim is to be present so that colleagues know immediately that they can turn to me at any time.

Finally, can you tell us about a particular challenge you have faced in your role so far and how you dealt with it?

I still remember a situation with a colleague who initially met me with – let’s say – skepticism. In any case, the colleague didn’t want my support at first and then unsuccessfully approached an authority on her own. Gradually, however, I was able to gain her trust and support her in her case. The colleague was happy afterwards – and so was I!

Thank you very much for the interview, Micheline!

Do you have a request that Micheline can help you with?

Micheline can be contacted at any time by phone (+49 40 2354-2214), by email (Micheline.Rosiny@VTG.COM) and via Teams. In her role as SBC, Micheline will of course treat all conversations as strictly confidential!