Der Kooperationsplan in der Beratungspraxis

Abstract

"One of the goals of the reform of the German basic income scheme in 2023 was to promote trust and transparency in interactions between benefit recipients and jobcentres. Among other things, this was to be achieved by replacing the previous integration agreement with the so-called cooperation plan on July 1, 2023. In its draft bill on the citizen’s income law, the federal government at the time described the cooperation plan as a “core element” of the reform (Bundesregierung 2022: 3). Like the integration agreement, the cooperation plan is to be concluded with every person eligible for benefits who is capable of working and sets out the integration goal and the essential steps for integration (§ 15 SGB II). In contrast to the integration agreement, however, the cooperation plan does not provide a direct legal basis for benefit reductions. This research report presents the results of a research project that examined the implementation of the cooperation plan in counselling practice and the views of jobcentre employees on this instrument. The analyses are based on three different types of data: first, cooperation plans from jobcentres jointly run by the Federal Employment Agency and the municipality were analysed; second, group discussions with jobcentre employees from the counselling and placement departments were conducted; and third, interactions between jobcentre employees and benefit recipients were observed by researchers. Analysis of the cooperation plans shows that, in addition to work-related goals, goals from other areas, such as health or language acquisition, are also frequently included. The same applies to the activities to be undertaken by benefit recipients. In addition to job search, these include, for example, improving health, formal assessment of employability, language acquisition, and family and personal circumstances. In principle, the instrument thus appears to offer the possibility of documenting many of the topics addressed in jobcentre interactions without narrowing the focus to job search. However, there is a tendency toward very general cooperation plans when it comes to health-related goals or personal circumstances. With regard to support from the jobcentre, the most frequent references are to labour market-related counselling and job suggestions. Concrete support offers are less common in the cooperation plans that were analysed. Jobcentre employees justify this, among other things, with uncertainty regarding the financial resources available for such support. The group discussions show that jobcentre employees appreciate the cooperation plan for its clarity and brevity. A key point of criticism is the requirement to draw up and regularly update a cooperation plan with all benefit recipients. If the usual repertoire of job placement services offers little scope for change, which is the case, for example, when benefit recipients have severe health restrictions, the respondents see this as unnecessary bureaucratic effort. In addition, the fact that the cooperation plan is not legally binding has attracted criticism. Some interviewees would like to see legally binding agreements from the outset, while others consider a flexible transition to legally binding obligations of benefit recipients to be important. The options provided for by law to demand legally binding obligations and to reduce benefits on this basis are perceived as imprecise, and few routines for their use had developed during the study period. Still other interviewees express positive views on the legal non-binding nature of the cooperation plan. These interviewees appreciated the associated reduction in formal requirements for the instrument and describe the cooperation plan as an opportunity to actively involve benefit recipients in planning the next steps and to document agreements in small steps in everyday language. In the counselling sessions observed, it was common practice to frame the cooperation plan as a summary and documentation of what had been discussed previously. This means that, initially, goals and the next steps to be taken are discussed separately from the cooperation plan. The discussion is then documented in the cooperation plan. This process was mainly controlled by jobcentre employees. In addition, jobcentre employees sometimes used the cooperation to (re)define goals and activities in dialogue with benefit recipients, which suggests its use a participatory tool. At times, the cooperation plan also served as a basis for jobcentre employees to control compliance with the specified activities. In addition, there were cases in which jobcentre employees did not bring up the cooperation plan in interactions, for example because a valid cooperation plan was still in place or because, in their view, concluding a plan would have overwhelmed the benefit recipients in their situation. The reform of SGB II planned for 2026 retains the cooperation plan in principle. At the same time, the rules for the legally binding enforcement of obligations are being clarified. Against the background of the findings presented in this research report, this may increase the acceptance of the cooperation plan in jobcentres. It remains to be seen what role the instrument will play in counselling practice under the changed conditions." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Senghaas, M. (2026): Der Kooperationsplan in der Beratungspraxis. (IAB-Forschungsbericht 02/2026), Nürnberg, 39 p. DOI:10.48720/IAB.FB.2602