Social Firms are one type of social enterprise; their specific social purpose is to create sustainable paid employment for people who are either disabled or severely disadvantaged in the labour market. These are businesses that use their market-orientated production of goods or services to achieve their social mission and they exist all over Europe, albeit at different stages of development and with different levels of intervention/recognition/legal status.
It is cheaper for any government to have people with severe disadvantages in work than out of work for the rest of their lives. The ethos of Social Firms is to CREATE the jobs that can be filled by people with severe disadvantages by employers that understand their support needs and who are committed to this objective.