Facts
The present case concerns the disability assessment of an insured person who had voluntarily reduced her employment as a nurse to 80% in order to have more free time for her hobbies, particularly sports. At that time, the insured person lived in a single-person household and later shared the household chores with her then-boyfriend. The IV-Stelle (Disability Insurance Office) took the view that the insured person was engaged in an area of activity under Art. 5 para. 1 IVG (Federal Disability Insurance Act) due to the management of a household and therefore the mixed assessment method should be applied. However, the insured person and the Administrative Court of the Canton of Bern were of the opinion that the disability should be assessed solely according to the principles for employed persons.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court decided that the reduction of the reasonable employment workload without using the freed-up time for activities under Art. 5 para. 1 IVG is irrelevant for the choice of the assessment method. The decisive factor is solely whether the insured person was or would have been engaged in an area of activity under Art. 5 para. 1 IVG in addition to employment. Since the insured person had only reduced her workload to have more free time for her hobbies and not to perform household activities, the disability is to be assessed according to the principles for employed persons.
Accordingly, the earned income of the healthy person is to be determined based on the part-time employment exercised without the health impairment.…