Commitment to People with Disabilities
We improve the position of people with disabilities through their education, professional rehabilitation, and employment, and by providing support and assistance to individuals and families. We achieve this goal by cooperating with the local community to realize joint activities towards creating an inclusive environment, by cooperating with the governmental sector, by participating in public meetings where the problem of persons with disabilities is resolved, and by joint projects and other activities with the non-governmental sector to improve the position and problems of persons with disabilities. Disabilities thus become and encourage the entire society to solve them.
So far we have done, among other things:
- Monthly donation of fruits and vegetables to the “Humane Heart of Šabac” organization;
- Collected plastic caps for the “Cap for Handicap” campaign;
- Provided support and help to a colleague whose child has developmental disabilities;
- Participated in joint activities of the organizations “Serbs for Serbs”, ” Children’s Joy” and others;
- Participated in the project “Responsible for Society”, organized by Delhaize Serbia;
- Organized the first consultation in the Mačvan district called “How and why to employ a person with disabilities”;
- Participated in the conference “Equality in the Value Chain”, intending to involve large companies in the supply chain;
- As active panelists, participation in the Seventh European Congress of Persons with Disabilities “Living in Encounter”;
- Participation in the project “Let’s Focus on the Essentials” of the Association of Enterprises for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, which was supported by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs;
- Participation in the work of the workshop “Procurement with Meaning – Response from Practice”;
- Participation in “EQUAL” events, organized by the Sector for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs;
- Participation in the public class “How We Do It”;
- Participation in the series “I, Entrepreneur”;
- Cooperation with the special school “Sveti Sava”;
- Participation in the panel discussion “Persons with Disabilities, Experience, Integrity”;
- Organization of the visit of special school students to the company “Novitas Consult”;
- Provision of annual pool tickets for all employees;
- Provision of regular medical specialist examinations for all employees;
- Continuous organization of joint trips and excursions for our employees twice a year;
- Presentation of the activities of companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities at the meetings of the Council for Socially Responsible Business of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce;
- Active participation in the work of the in the Association of Companies for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of the Republic of Serbia and the Association of Business Women in Serbia;
- Direct and continuous cooperation with the National Employment Service;
- Participation in the twice-yearly educational workshop “Support to Women’s Entrepreneurship”, organized by the Association of Business Women in Serbia and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, in cooperation with the Fund for the Development of the Republic of Serbia and the Development Agency of Serbia, with the support of DHL International from Belgrade;
- Participation in the Freja Forum 2018 as part of the project of international importance coordinated by the Association of Business Women in Serbia, in partnership with organizations from the public, business, and non-governmental sectors from the region, which are gathered around the Freja Forum;
- Presentation of the advantages of the cooperation with companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities at the conference “Social Entrepreneurship as a Tool in the Fight Against Social Exclusion and Poverty”, organized by Caritas Šabac;
- Participation in the implementation of the training with five people within the project “Inclusion of Roma and Other Marginalized Groups in Serbia”, organized by GIZ (German Cooperation in Serbia) and the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of the Republic of Serbia;
- Presentation of our work and motivated employers at the workshop “How and Why to Employ People with Disabilities”, in cooperation with the City Administration of Šabac.
So far we have done, among other things:
- Monthly donation of fruits and vegetables to the “Humane Heart of Šabac” organization;
- Collected plastic caps for the “Cap for Handicap” campaign;
- Provided support and help to a colleague whose child has developmental disabilities;
- Participated in joint activities of the organizations “Serbs for Serbs”, ” Children’s Joy” and others;
- Participated in the project “Responsible for Society”, organized by Delhaize Serbia;
- Organized the first consultation in the Mačvan district called “How and why to employ a person with disabilities”;
- Participated in the conference “Equality in the Value Chain”, intending to involve large companies in the supply chain;
Influence
Novitas Consult is a part of a business-social environment with an acquired reputation, which is why people with disabilities and their families, associates, customers, and governmental and non-governmental organizations turn to it with confidence, which enables the connection and joint work toward the achievable goals of creating a society in which all of its members can participate equally.
Verified training programs encourage and ensure the availability of work training that enables the employment, maintenance of employment, or career change of persons with disabilities. This is the right way to work on their empowerment, with the simultaneous development of a sustainable form of production, care for the environment, and promotion of the rights of people with disabilities.
Through their work and engagement, all employees participate, on an equal basis, and with equal participation, in raising people’s awareness of the basic standards of human rights, and with it the results in reducing stereotypes and prejudices, while achieving benefits for all citizens.
Legislative Framework
The enactment of the Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities in 2009 opened opportunities for the employment of more persons with disabilities on the open labor market and an improved the quality of work of companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, by introducing a significant number of demanding standards that must be met to obtain and retain a work permit.
The contribution of the law is reflected in the obligation of every employer, except for a newly founded company, in the first 24 months of operation:
- Employment of a person with a disability, and/or
- Participation in encouraging the employment of persons with disabilities, through the financing of these activities by paying into the budget fund in the amount of half of the average gross salary, every month and for each person with disabilities whom they did not employ, and/or
- Business cooperation with companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, buying their products and services worth 20 average gross wages to fulfill their legal obligation to employ persons with disabilities for the following 12 months.
This adopted approach has made it possible for people with disabilities, as one of the most marginalized social groups, to be put in the focus of the entire society, creating prerequisites for their economic and social empowerment.
How to Get Involved
You can support the achievement of the goals and the work of Novitas Consult by:
- Purchasing products and services, you strengthen the financial basis for the greater inclusion of people with disabilities in the world of work, the security and durability of their employment;
- Recommending a cooperation with Novitas Consult to its customers and suppliers, as well as other companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, which creates a unique network of cooperation and support;
- Forming funds by socially responsible companies that can be accessed without lengthy administrative procedures and that would be available for financing training programs and organizing workshops where Novitas Consult experts work on the development of work and social skills of people with disabilities who are active job seekers;
- Initiating, holding and participating in gatherings where the rights of persons with disabilities are discussed and solutions to problems of importance for their wider inclusion in the life of the community are found;
- Posting on social networks, media, and other available sources about people with disabilities as an important part of human potential;
- Donating funds for the participation of employed persons with disabilities in cultural, sports, and other activities, removing informational, constructional, and architectural barriers.
- Initiating, holding and participating in gatherings where the rights of persons with disabilities are discussed and solutions to problems of importance for their wider inclusion in the life of the community are found;
- Posting on social networks, media, and other available sources about people with disabilities as an important part of human potential;
- Donating funds for the participation of employed persons with disabilities in cultural, sports, and other activities, removing informational, constructional, and architectural barriers.
Standards
Novitas Consult has adopted and applied the following standards:
HACCP food health safety system for packaging, repackaging, and sorting of fruits and vegetables
HACCP is a food safety system based on the analysis and control of potential biological/microbiological chemical and physical hazards to which raw materials are exposed, and possible hazards during the handling, production, distribution, and consumption of the final product.
Quality management system following the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 standard for packaging, repackaging, sorting of fruits and vegetables, office, advertising, and consumables
The ISO 9001:2015 standard provides a logical approach to managing business activities that consistently achieve client satisfaction.
GLOBALGAP standard of good agricultural practice
The GLOBALGAP standard provides information to the consumer about the fact that the specific agricultural product they are buying corresponds to global safety requirements and positive practices in production.
Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) FSSC 22000 food safety standard
The FSSC 22000 standard is used throughout the food supply chain to ensure food safety standards and processes.
Awards
The work and achieved results of Novitas Consult have been recognized by the following awards:
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Recognition for the contribution to sustainable business in 2023, awarded at the Second MAXI National Food Festival and organized by Delhaize Serbia.
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Gold medal for the prune product at the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad in 2023
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Gold medal for the dry apple chips product at the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad in 2023
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Gold medal for the dried pear product at the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad in 2023
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Special recognition to Novitas Consult within the “Đorđe Weifert” Award competition for social responsibility leaders of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce for the year 2022, for a special contribution to the support and empowerment of persons with disabilities;
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Director of Novitas Consult, Marija Ignjatović, is one of the winners of the national competition organized by JP “Post of Serbia” in 2022 – “100 Successful Business Women” under the slogan: “The best is yet to come”;
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Special award and recognition for the special initiative and excellence in entrepreneurial creativity in Central and Southeast Europe “Creators for the Century” for the year 2018, which, along with the Committee’s assessment of necessity, was equally awarded to Novitas Consult and its director Marija Ignjatović, who has successfully and significantly developed the company’s work, through good business management and in just four years;
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“Flower of Success for a Dragon Woman” for social entrepreneurship in 2017, which was presented to the director of the company Marija Ignjatović, and which was awarded by the Association of Business Women in Serbia.
