Tightening of citizens’ money sanctions should be limited in time

If someone permanently refuses to take up work, the citizen’s benefit can be canceled completely. This planned tightening is a contentious issue in the coalition. Now the regulation is apparently being changed.

The federal government has planned stricter sanctions for those receiving citizens’ benefit, and now the regulation will probably come with a time limit. According to the compromise, the stricter sanctions will initially only be in place for a limited period of two years. That became dem ARD capital studio confirmed from government circles.

The planned regulation provides for the possibility that in the future job centers will completely cut off citizen’s benefit for unemployed people for a maximum of two months if those affected consistently refuse to take up work. “The regulations on the withdrawal of standard requirements in the event of refusal to work are limited to two years after they come into force,” says a new version of an amendment to the Budget Financing Act.

The tightening of sanctions is part of a savings package for the 2024 budget. The planned regulation on citizens’ money is expected to bring savings of around 170 million euros per year – 150 million for the federal government and 20 million for the municipalities. The government is also relying on the deterrent effect.

SPD politician Ralf Stegner recently declared that the issue of sanctions was being “vastly overestimated” and that only a few would be affected by cuts. Accommodation and heating costs should not be eliminated. So far, the sanction options for citizens’ money have been comparatively moderate: ten percent for missed appointments, up to 30 percent for applications or course participation that are not agreed upon.

Sanction will be reviewed after two years

Whether the possibility of complete sanctions should remain permanent after two years will then be decided on the basis of a review. The Federal Ministry of Labor should coordinate with the Federal Employment Agency and its research institute for labor market and career research on how this can be included in the ongoing evaluation of citizens’ benefit.

The Greens in the Bundestag, who had heavily criticized the tightening, claimed to have enforced the time limit. “We have ensured that the regulation will automatically disappear from the law,” said parliamentary group deputy Andreas Audretsch to the dpa news agency. Until then, the application and effect would have to be intensively monitored and checked.

The Subsistence level must be secured

“Nobody in Germany is allowed to be deprived of the money they need for food and drink,” said Audretsch. The possibility of completely abolishing citizens’ money directly affects Article 1 of the Basic Law, i.e. human dignity. “In its 2019 ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court decided that the subsistence minimum in Germany must be guaranteed at all times.” Audretsch was concerned about the current debate about people who receive citizen’s benefit. “The fact that the CDU is even suggesting that the Basic Law be changed in order to circumvent the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling is irresponsible.”

Union parliamentary group vice-president Jens Spahn (CDU) had suggested a constitutional amendment for stricter sanctions on citizens’ money. “People who can work and receive a job offer but do not accept it should basically no longer receive citizen’s benefit,” the CDU politician told the Germany editorial network. “If a general deletion is not covered by the case law of the Federal Constitutional Court, we should simply change the constitution.”