INTRODUCTION: The balance between the demands of a profession and the capacity to accomplish to them, the labor capacity, is an important concern to be considered by the worker (insured or not to the Social welfare)/employer/Social welfare. The worker with epilepsy (WE) can have labor incapacity and difficulty to get into the labor market. OBJECTIVE: To present issues related to the relevant diagnostic aspects of the epilepsy, principles of the labor capacity, benefits/services granted by the Social Welfare especially the one of Incapacity Benefit, professional rehabilitation and welfare/medical investigation. METHODS: Narrative review on epilepsy and work mainly from national papers published enrolled in the Pubmed with the terms epilepsy and work in their titles, besides issues related to the epilepsy, Incapacity Benefit and welfare/medical investigation. RESULTS: The granted benefits to WE, such as the Incapacity Benefit, are common among those granted by the Social welfare. The WE with pharmaco-resistance and with comorbidities are the more prone to have partial or total/temporary or permanently labor incapacity, for one or several professions. CONCLUSION: The WE can fit well in the labor market regarding his/her professional qualifications, but keeping in mind the intentional or no intentional barriers. Patients with pharmaco-resistance and with incapacitating comorbidities may need welfare benefits. The doctors, medical referees, rehabilitation team, employers, educators and appropriate legislation have a relevant role in the integration of the WE into the labor market.
epilepsy; comorbidity; work; Social welfare; Incapacity Benefit
