They are supposed to help people get a job - but according to a study, Hartz IV sanctions have no positive effect. On the contrary: those affected are intimidated and demotivated. And in many cases, their health would deteriorate.
The Hartz IV sanctions are ineffective and can even cause illness in the recipients. This is the result of a new long-term study. Instead of getting people to work in the long term, cuts in basic security in the event of violations of conditions would have a more intimidating effect, according to the study.
"Sanctions do not have the claimed effect. They almost always create a culture of distrust," said the founder of the Sanctions-Free Association, Helena Steinhaus, at the presentation of the study. The sanctions would also have no motivating effect on the willingness of those receiving basic security to cooperate. Sanctions had a demotivating effect and in many cases worsened the health situation, said the President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher.
"Sanctions have been proven to have no educational effect," said the general manager of the joint association, Ulrich Schneider. They represent a "deep black raw stick pedagogy" that should be abolished.
The sanctions-free association, the DIW and the Paritätische Gesamtverband called for a comprehensive reform of the basic security system, which also includes a substantial, needs-based increase in the standard rates. The joint criticism was that the plans presented so far by the traffic light coalition for a citizen's income are insufficient.
The current draft law for the new citizen's income gives job centers the option of reducing the standard rate by up to 30 percent as a sanction in the event of violations. According to current announcements, the standard rate is to be increased by just 50 euros to around 500 euros from January 1, 2023.
The plus must be at least 200 euros, said "Sanktionsfrei" founder Steinhaus. Fratzscher pointed out that inflation of almost ten percent is to be expected in the current year and a further eight percent in the coming year. Therefore, the increase in benefits planned by the government, which accounts for around eleven percent, is not sufficient.
From January 2023, Hartz IV is to be replaced by the new citizen's income. The new regulation of the sanctions was also necessary because the Federal Constitutional Court had declared some of them unconstitutional in 2019. The judges in Karlsruhe ruled that sanctions are a serious encroachment on personal rights and are only justified if they can be proven to have a positive effect on the work behavior of those affected.
According to projections by the Federal Employment Agency, around 5.6 million people lived in Hartz IV communities of need in July 2022, including around 1.75 million children. The three-year long-term study "Hartz Plus" was carried out by the Berlin Institute for Empirical Social and Economic Research (Ines) on behalf of the Sanctions-Free Association.
