Pressure on the unemployed: CDU plans a tight reform of the citizens' allowance!

Pressure on the unemployed: CDU plans a tight reform of the citizens' allowance!

keine Adresse oder Ort vorhanden - The discussion about the citizens' allowance, the new basic security for job seekers, is picking up. The current government plans to push comprehensive tightening, which in particular aim to urge unemployed people to take a quick job. This reports fr.de .

The reform stipulates that the loss of all services is threatened when rejecting offered jobs. The CDU and CSU are working intensively to quickly revise the citizens' benefit, in particular to contain the group of the so -called "total refusal". Union faction leader Jens Spahn emphasizes the need for rapid legislation not only before the summer break, but also with regard to falling unemployment rates.

Legal challenges and social effects

The implementation of the reform could be put to the test by legal questions. In 2019, the Federal Constitutional Court classified total sanctions in the Hartz IV system as unconstitutional. It was found that basic security services are based on the fundamental right to a decent subsistence level and that sanctions that reduce existential services must be subject to strict proportionality requirements. The decision of the court shows that the legislator can define obligations to overcome need, but the human dignity remains protected even in the case of unworthy behavior (cf. bundesstücksungsgerung.de ).

SPD Minister Bärbel BAS in favor of tightening the sanctions, but rejects a complete deletion of basic security. Carsten Linnemann, a leading CDU politician, demands total sanctions for citizen applicants without any obstacles to placement that reject job offers. He expects an introduction of the new regulations in spring 2026 after the legislative process is expected to take one year.

Current sanction regulations and their critical consideration

The term “citizen benefit” is the basic security for job seekers, which is often also referred to as “Hartz IV”. Power recipients must actively participate in their integration into the labor market and are obliged to accept offers for work. If these obligations are not complied with, sanctions can be imposed that reduce the performance or in the worst case can be completely deleted. This throws a field of tension between the guarantee of a decent life and the enforcement of obligations to cooperate, as on

The sanction regulations have been revised several times in recent years. In 2023 the possibility was introduced to impose sanctions of the standard requirement for two months. However, it turned out that only a small proportion of the beneficiaries, around 3% per month between 2007 and 2019, was affected by sanctions. The majority of the sanctions were due to the failure of the report. This shows that a balanced design of the regulations is necessary in order to create incentives to work without drastically endangering the living conditions.