Reform suggestions of the German parliamentary parties concerning access to unemployment insurance

Abstract

"In this statement, IAB comments reform suggestions of the German parliamentary parties concerning access to unemployment insurance.<br> The motions of the three parliamentary parties the SPD (Social Democratic Party) ('Strengthening the protective function of unemployment insurance - Extending the framework period - Further developing regulations for short-time employees', parliamentary printed document 17/8574), Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Alliance 90/The Greens) ('How to better protect persons employed flexibly via unemployment insurance', parliamentary printed document 17/8579) and Die Linke (The Left) ('Unemployment benefit instead of Hartz IV - Making access to unemployment insurance easier', parliamentary printed document 17/8586) are aimed at improving the unemployment insurance coverage of persons employed either in a flexible way or for a short time. According to the suggestions, an average employment period of two months a year would be sufficient to acquire an entitlement to unemployment benefit within two (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) or three years (SPD and Die Linke). It is questionable whether a more generous configuration of unemployment insurance is a suitable way to increase the participation opportunities of such marginal workforces as atypical employees, those with low skills and those with low wages. From IAB's perspective it would be a much more important starting point to create incentives for long-term employment relationships and to bolster the bridging function towards higher-value employment relationships.<br> In the motion of the parliamentary party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, the Federal Government is called upon to grant the unemployed of both legal spheres a so-called 'temporary placement interval'. From the perspective of IAB, a segmentation of clients must not produce an exclusion effect on account of the utilization of a 'placement interval'. That is why it is in principle not advisable to apply this to placement oriented to employers. Within the framework of placement oriented to employees, such a placement interval can indeed be sensible in individual cases in order to support those out of work in developing their own perspective for employment. This procedure could be pursued at a subordinate level. A 'placement interval' should additionally be embedded in a scientific concept aimed at stable integration into gainful employment without temporary transfer payments.<br> The coalition fractions of the CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union) and the FDP (Free Democratic Party) suggest in their motion for amendment (committee printed document 17(11)845 on the draft law of the Federal Government of Germany on the introduction of a blanket system of remuneration for psychiatric and psychosomatic institutions, parliamentary printed document 17/8986) that, instead of working relationships subject to social security which last up to six weeks, now those lasting up to ten weeks should be taken into consideration. This is intended to result in an extension of the circle of persons covered by entitlement. Evaluations undertaken by IAB show that, through this, the circle of persons covered by entitlement would be increased by a factor of five." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Dietz, M., Jahn, E., Kupka, P., Lehmer, F., Ramos Lobato, P., Sowa, F., Stephan, G. & Werner, D. (2012): Reformvorschläge der Bundestagsparteien zum Zugang zur Arbeitslosenversicherung. Öffentliche Anhörung von Sachverständigen vor dem Ausschuss für Arbeit und Soziales des Deutschen Bundestags am 23. April 2012. (IAB-Stellungnahme 04/2012), Nürnberg, 23 p.