Social affairs - Stricter rules to get recipients of citizens' income into work
The German government intends to implement stricter rules to encourage more recipients of social benefits to take up work. In the future, a commute time of up to three hours should be acceptable for a daily working hours range of up to six hours, and even three hours of commuting time may be required for working hours exceeding six hours. Job centers are expected to search for jobs within a 50-kilometer radius.
According to the 31-page document obtained by the German Press Agency in Berlin, the "Bild am Sonntag" newspaper first reported on the social benefits aspect. "To maintain the acceptance of benefits and to bring more beneficiaries into employment, it is necessary to strengthen the principle of reciprocity," the document states.
Acceptable commute time:
In the future, an acceptable commute time of up to three hours should be considered for a daily working hours range of up to six hours. For working hours exceeding six hours, even three hours of commuting time may be required. Job centers will be responsible for searching for jobs within a 50-kilometer radius.
Stricter participation requirements:
Beneficiaries who reject a suitable job, training, or integration measures without a valid reason will face increased benefit cuts, as stated in the document. The government plans to introduce a uniform reduction rate and duration of 30% for three months.
Penalties for black market work:
Beneficiaries who are available for the labor market will be required to report in person once a month at the responsible authority. Black market work by social benefit recipients will be treated as a breach of duty and result in benefit cuts of 30% for three months.
Use of own assets before claiming benefits:
Before beneficiaries can claim social benefits, they will be required to exhaust their own assets. However, retirement savings are excluded from this requirement. The coalition also intends to assign "Ein-Euro-Jobs" to people who repeatedly refuse integration measures.
The proposed changes aim to implement stricter rules in Berlin, part of Germany, to encourage more individuals on social benefits to seek employment. The Traffic light coalition, which forms the Federal Government, plans to increase the acceptable commute time for work, up to three hours for six hours of daily work and three hours for more than six hours. These changes will impact social affairs and benefits, such as Hartz IV, and may influence the concept of citizen's income. According to the German Press Agency, this information was first reported in the "Bild am Sonntag" newspaper.
