The German government has announced that Bürgergeld recipients will soon be obliged to attend monthly meetings at the Jobcenter, but the policy still faces a Bundesrat vote.

German government announces mandatory Jobcenter visits

According to a law seen by the dpa, the German coalition government will make it obligatory for people receiving the long-term unemployment benefit Bürgergeld to attend monthly meetings at the Jobcenter. It will no longer be sufficient for Bürgergeld recipients to have contact with Jobcenter employees via telephone or email.

“For unemployed people entitled to Bürgergeld an obligatory monthly appointment will be introduced, if this is necessary for integration to the labour market,” the law states. These meetings should “increase contact density” and ensure that “existing integration opportunities are better utilised,” according to the coalition.

In its announcement, the coalition said that the obligation will largely apply to Bürgergeld recipients claiming the benefit for 12 months or fewer. ZDF reported that it remains unclear when the new rules will be introduced and to whom they will be applied, but previous government statements have suggested that the new rules could apply to people who do not have dependents or are in further education, long-term recipients.

Obligatory Bürgergeld appointments face Bundesrat vote

So far, resistance has come from representatives of Germany’s state governments (Bundesländer), who have called the law “an inappropriate interference with the local exercise of discretion and Jobcenter organisation”. Pushback from the Bundesländer is significant because the law must face a vote in the Bundesrat, which represents governments of the 16 federal states, before being enforced.

Since January 2024, the Bürgergeld payment for single people has been 563 euros per month. Normally subject to a small annual increase, in September 2024, Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) announced that the benefit would not be increased in 2025.

Bürgergeld replaced the infamous Hartz IV payment in 2022 and was introduced as a fairer benefits system with fewer sanctions and more support for recipients to find long-term work. However, since its introduction payments have already been found to be insufficient to cover recipients’ utility bills.

New Bürgergeld requirement is part of the Wachstumsinitiative

The new obligation for Bürgergeld recipients is being introduced as part of the coalition’s “Wachstumsinitiative” (growth initiative), which was announced in early September.

Alongside the Jobcenter meeting requirement for recipients, the Wachstumsinitiative will penalise cash-in-hand work by Bürgergeld recipients more harshly and Bürgergeld recipients will have to use any “substantial assets” after six months of claiming rather than 12 months.

Other Wachstumsinitiative policies include expanding possibilities for work and incentivising employment in old age, providing tax concessions for people taking up work in Germany, reducing barriers for jobseeking refugees, making private pensions more attractive, expanding AI data centres and reducing the application of data protection requirements.

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