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Citizens' money lawsuit: Landshut court protects rights of a recipient!
A court in Landshut decides on the rights of citizens' benefit recipients and obligations to cooperate. A precedent.
Citizens' money lawsuit: Landshut court protects rights of a recipient!
In a groundbreaking ruling, a social court in Landshut decided a crucial case regarding citizens' benefits. A citizen's benefit recipient successfully defended herself against the threatened cancellation of her social benefits. The reason for the dispute was the job center's refusal to inspect their property, which the job center interpreted as a violation of its obligation to cooperate. But the court made it clear that consent to inspect the property is not part of these obligations. The woman is therefore allowed to keep her citizen's money because she has not broken any law, as fr.de reports.
This judgment makes clear the central role of the obligation to cooperate for those receiving citizens' benefit. These obligations include providing all necessary information, participating in reintegration measures and the obligation to report changes that could affect the citizen's allowance. In addition, applicants must be able to prove that they are actively looking for work and, if necessary, accept reasonable offers, explains buerger-geld.org. Failure to comply can result in sanctions ranging from reductions in performance to complete suspensions, depending on the extent to which the obligations have been breached.
Duties and limits of participation
The obligation to cooperate is binding for all recipients of citizens' benefit, but there are some important limits: Disproportionate demands from the job center are not permitted. Applicants must only provide information that they actually know and are not responsible for information provided by third parties. Sanctions must also always be proportionate, with complete suspensions of benefits only being permitted in exceptional circumstances, as arbeitsagentur.de explains. Before any sanction, a hearing must also take place in order to examine individual cases of hardship.
In the current case, the court made it clear that the obligation to cooperate is not limited to consent to physical assessments. This shows that recipients of citizens' benefit also have rights and cannot simply be sanctioned. The decision provides an important precedent and could set a precedent for future decisions related to citizens' money.
The importance of this ruling is made clear by the large number of possible sanctions: If recipients of citizens' benefit do not fulfill their obligations, they can expect their benefits to be reduced by up to 30%. A reduction of 10% is often used, particularly if you fail to register, i.e. if you do not attend appointments or submit documents. This makes it even more important to know exactly what rights and obligations you have.
For many recipients of civil benefit, this ruling could be a decisive turning point. It invites you to take a closer look and consider possible legal action if the job center makes excessive demands or threatens sanctions.