In Germany, it is planned to make changes to the system of monthly unemployment benefits, known as Bürgergeld, reports nenka.info. The Federal Minister of Labor, Hubertus Heil, in a surprise interview with Bild, announced the intention to partially cancel this benefit of 502 euros for those who refuse offers of employment 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 draft law.
According to the innovation, 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 living expenses and utilities. At the end of this period, the employment center must again offer employment options, and in case of refusal, sanctions will be applied.
Minister Heil emphasized the need to avoid cases where a small group of individuals can influence the efficiency of the entire system. Currently, job centers can punish refusers with fines, but the new changes provide for tougher measures.
In Germany, there is already a debate about this initiative, the initiators of which believe that the system does not sufficiently stimulate the search for work. Critics also point to the lack of mechanisms to guarantee higher pay for full-time workers.
Bild predicts that the bill will be considered in the Bundestag and will probably enter into force early next year. The discussion erupted after the decision of the Constitutional Court of Germany, which led to a deficit in the budget of 60 billion euros. Experts believe 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 coming to Germany for Ukrainian refugees, in particular for 1.17 million people. According to the German authorities, approximately 700,000 Ukrainians receive this assistance, more than half of them are of working age.
