Germany is planning to make changes to the system of monthly unemployment benefits, known as Bürgergeld, nenka.info reports. The German Minister of Labor, Hubertus Heil, announced in a surprise interview with Bild that he intends to partially abolish this benefit of 502 euros for those who refuse job offers without a valid reason. A few days before the planned increase in benefits by 12% (to 563 euros from January 1), the Ministry of Labor is preparing a corresponding bill.
According to the innovation, the assistance can be temporarily suspended for a period of up to two months for those who reject job offers. However, the state will continue to pay for accommodation and utilities. After this period, the employment center must again offer employment options, and sanctions will be applied in case of refusal.
Minister Heil stressed the need to avoid cases where a small group of individuals can influence the effectiveness of the entire system. Currently, job centers can punish refusers with fines, but the new changes provide for stricter measures.
There is already a debate in Germany about this initiative, with proponents arguing that the system does not provide enough incentives to find work. Critics also point to the lack of mechanisms to guarantee higher pay for those who work full-time.
Bild predicts that the bill will be considered in the Bundestag and will probably come into force early next year. The debate erupted after the decision of the German Constitutional Court, which led to a budget deficit of 60 billion euros. Experts see that this initiative will allow the budget to save half a billion euros annually.
It is worth noting that Bürgergeld is the main incentive for Ukrainian refugees to come to Germany, in particular for 1.17 million people. According to German authorities, approximately 700,000 Ukrainians receive this benefit, more than half of whom are of working age.
