Losing your job in Germany: unemployment benefit versus job centre support
Translated from the Arabic original. Read in Arabic
Losing your job is hard, but the German system provides a safety net if you know how to use it and act at the right time. The mistakes that cost people the most money are registering late and confusing the two types of benefit.
Register early: the legal deadline
Social Code Book III (SGB III) requires you to register as a jobseeker with the employment agency (Agentur für Arbeit) at least three months before your job ends, if you know the end date. If you learn that your job is ending less than three months in advance, you must register within three days of finding out. Late registration can be penalised with a short suspension of benefit. You can make the initial registration online on the employment agency’s website.
Unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld I)
This is an insurance benefit: you paid contributions for it from your salary. You usually qualify if you worked in a job subject to social insurance for at least 12 months in the 30 months before becoming unemployed. It is about 60% of your previous net pay, or about 67% if you have children. How long it is paid depends on how long you worked and your age. It does not depend on your savings or your partner’s income.
When can benefit be suspended?
If you resign without an important reason, or sign a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag) yourself, the employment agency may impose a blocking period (Sperrzeit) without benefit, usually up to 12 weeks. So do not sign any termination agreement before you understand its effect; ask the employment agency, a trade union or a legal adviser.
Job centre support (Bürgergeld)
If you are not entitled to unemployment benefit, it has run out, or it does not cover your family’s needs, the job centre steps in with basic income support, currently called Bürgergeld. It is means-tested social assistance: calculated on the whole household’s income and savings, and it includes housing costs. It may be reformed and change its name and conditions, so always check the current situation on the job centre’s website.
Effect on residence and citizenship
This is very important for non-EU residents. Unemployment benefit is an insurance benefit and is not usually treated as reliance on social assistance. Bürgergeld, however, may affect the renewal of some types of permits and the self-sufficiency requirement for citizenship and settlement permits. Holders of some work-related permits must tell the foreigners’ authority that their job has ended and may be given time to look for a new one. Contact a migration advice centre as soon as you lose your job.
Practical steps
Keep your termination letter and the date you received it. Register with the employment agency immediately. Ask your employer for the employment certificate (Arbeitsbescheinigung) the agency needs. Check your last payslip and any remaining holiday entitlement. And if you receive a decision you think is wrong, you have one month to object.
This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Laws change, so check the official sources below or the competent authority for your situation. Found a mistake? Tell us.