By Jan C. Bockenheimer
The traffic light puts on the kid gloves: the coalition cancels the penalties for listless Hartz IV recipients!
From July, recipients of support will no longer have to fear sanctions if, for example, they skip an appointment at the job center or do not show up for job interviews at companies. The SPD, Greens and FDP are suspending the punishment until the summer of 2023. In extreme cases (repeated violations) there is a maximum risk of a 10 percent reduction in Hartz benefits.
So far, Hartz recipients have had to accept a reduction in their support of up to 30 percent if, for example, they skip appointments at the job center without an excuse.
U-turn on Hartz IV!
Above all, the SPD and the Greens had pushed for the penalty stop, among other things because they want less psychological pressure on the unemployed. “We want to overcome Hartz IV,” Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) justified the decision on Thursday.
The traffic light parties are therefore also working on the final end of Hartz IV: the support is to be replaced by “citizen money” in 2023. It provides for a fixed amount for each recipient (amount still open) and fewer office visits for those affected. “When sanctions are imposed, the law should move from a mandatory to an optional rule,” Greens expert Frank Bsirske (70) told BILD.
According to the FDP, however, higher penalties should then apply again: For example, anyone who skips job interviews should be able to reduce the amount by up to 30 percent. Heil wants to present the final draft in the summer.
Experts sharply criticize the traffic light stop for listless support recipients! “Capitulating in front of a small group of stubborn people who refuse to cooperate is completely wrong,” said CDU social expert Hermann Gröhe (61) to BILD. In 2021 only 34,600 of the more than 3 million Hartz recipients had their support cut anyway.
And employment agency boss Detlef Scheele (65) also finds penalties for defaulting Hartz recipients “quite reasonable”.