Blocking period (social law)

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In German social law, a blocking period is understood to be the period for which the right to unemployment benefit due to behavior contrary to insurance is suspended according to Section 159 SGB ​​III . The duration of a blocking period varies from one week in the case of failure to report to twelve weeks in the case of work abandonment. In the event of a blocking period, the duration of the entitlement to unemployment benefit is reduced by at least the duration of the blocking period in accordance with Section 148 (1) No. 3 or 4 SGB III.

Blocking times occur

  • late jobseeker registration (one week)
  • Failure to register (one week)
  • Rejection or termination of a vocational integration measure (three to twelve weeks)
  • insufficient personal effort (two weeks)
  • Rejection of work (three to twelve weeks)
  • Work assignment (twelve weeks)

According to the blocking period ruling by the Federal Social Court of June 27, 2019, only three-week blocking periods are initially imposed when receiving unemployment benefits (ALG). The Federal Social Court (BSG) called the Federal Social Court (BSG) legally ineffective (Ref .: B 11 AL 14/18 R and B 11 AL 17/18 R) all of almost 150,000 six- and twelve-week blocking periods imposed on ALG recipients from the beginning of 2015 to June 2019.

A blocking period does not apply if the insured person had an important reason for his behavior.

Reasons for blocking times

Blocking period for late jobseeker registration

The blocking period in the case of late jobseeker registration occurs if the insured person does not register or registers too late as a jobseeker in accordance with Section 38 SGB ​​III. According to this, everyone must report to the employment agency as looking for a job no later than three months before the end of their employment relationship or immediately after receiving the letter of termination. In the case of fixed-term employment contracts of less than three months, you have to register as a job-seeker when you start work.

Blocking period in the event of failure to report

The employment agency may be entitled to invite insured persons to consultations or medical examinations. According to Section 309 of Book III of the Social Code, the insured person must follow such summons and appear in person. If he fails to do so, a one-week blocking period occurs, provided the person obliged has been instructed about the legal consequences of the blocking period. This instruction is regularly included in the text modules of the Federal Agency.

Blocking period in the event of rejection or termination of a vocational integration measure

This blocking period occurs if the insured person refuses to take part in a measure for activation and professional integration in accordance with Section 45 SGB ​​III or a measure for vocational training or further education or a measure for participation in working life, or through such a measure , despite being informed about the legal consequences breaks off behavior that is contrary to duty (e.g. permanent disturbance or absence). The blocking period is three weeks for the first violation, six weeks for the second violation and twelve weeks for each further violation.

Blocking time in the event of insufficient personal efforts

A blocking period of two weeks occurs if the insured person fails to make certain required personal efforts, although he has been instructed about the possibility of imposing a blocking period. Which specific personal efforts are required is usually set out in an integration agreement.

Blocking period in the event of work rejection

A blocking period occurs if the insured person does not accept an existing, reasonable job or if he thwarts attempts to find a job by not making an appointment or doing it but fails due to inappropriate behavior. The blocking period is three weeks for the first violation, six weeks for the second violation and twelve weeks for each further violation.

Inappropriate behavior can also be found in a particularly negatively formulated application that is specifically aimed at not being considered as an applicant. (so-called "negative application"). On the other hand, the insured person is not obliged to present himself more positively than he is. Facts that the employer would recognize in the interview anyway because the insured would be obliged to answer truthfully related questions need not be kept secret.

Blocking time due to work assignment

This blocking period of twelve weeks occurs if the insured person voluntarily terminates an employment relationship for no good reason (e.g. by giving notice or a termination agreement) or causing dismissal on the part of the employer through inappropriate behavior. The blocking period of twelve weeks is shortened if the employment contract would have expired in the near future, for example due to an ordinary termination or a time limit.

An extraordinary or ordinary termination for behavioral reasons therefore leads to a blocking period. A minimum goal of the employee will therefore be that the extraordinary termination is converted into an ordinary termination in a settlement. The formulation: "From today's perspective, the defendant (= employer) is no longer upholding the allegations" is also worth striving for. In addition, the reason for the termination should be "for operational reasons" (or: "for reasons related to illness", if illness plays a role). Some employers are only willing to use the phrase “for operational reasons”.

The labor administration is not bound by it. In practice, court settlements are usually accepted without any problems. There is usually skepticism in the case of out-of-court settlements or even termination agreements.

Important reason

Even if there is behavior contrary to insurance, no blocking period is imposed if there is an important reason. An important reason for giving up work is, for example, if the insured person marries and moves in with a spouse or if the previous job cannot be reached from the new place of residence within a reasonable time. It is important that the marriage takes place before or at the end of the employment relationship.

A judgment of the LSG Lower Saxony / Bremen from 2018 regards the commitment to an upcoming marriage as “no longer appropriate” and also names the moving in together of unmarried partners without the intention to marry as an important reason, as they would otherwise be disadvantaged compared to couples willing to marry.

There is also an important reason if the insured person's child is to start school at the new place of residence and a later job would involve a change of school in the current school year.

It is disputed under which circumstances there is an important reason if the insured person changes from a permanent to a fixed-term employment relationship and this then expires. An important reason is if there was a concrete prospect of an open-ended employment relationship, i.e. the insured person did not willfully accept the impending unemployment. Another important reason is the change of occupational field with the employment relationship, since occupational freedom has a higher priority. A higher wage in the fixed-term employment relationship compared to the previously performed permanent employment is an important reason.

Effect of the blocking period

In contrast to the mere rest period , the blocking period leads to a real reduction in performance. The duration of the unemployment benefit entitlement is reduced by the duration of the blocking period. In contrast to other rest periods, the overall entitlement is not just postponed.

In the case of a blocking period of twelve weeks due to work, the duration of the total entitlement is also reduced by the number of days of the blocking period, but by at least a quarter ( Section 148 (1) No. 4 SGB III). If the entitlement duration is at least 340 days, the quarter reduction reduces the entitlement duration by more than the 12 weeks of the blocking period, because 12 weeks only last 84 days (12 * 7), while a quarter of 340 days is 85 days.

If the unemployed falls ill during the blocking period, the entitlement to sickness benefit is suspended. In the first month of the blocked period, however, the unemployed can claim health insurance benefits in kind.

If blocking periods add up to at least 21 weeks, the total entitlement to unemployment benefits expires ( Section 161 SGB ​​III). This means that you are 'steered' by receiving unemployment benefits. Since on June 27, 2019 the Federal Social Court declared the legal consequences information on offers of jobs and integration measures to be legally ineffective, blocking time notices and dismantling notices issued from 2015 to June 2019 can be contested if any blocking period in the 21 weeks was legally ineffective. A large part of the issued control decisions must therefore be revised.

Beginning of the blocking period

The blocking period begins on the day after the event that caused the blocking period ( Section 159 (1) SGB III). Which event this is depends on the type of blocking period. For the blocking period in the event of late jobseeker registration, the occurrence of actual unemployment is decisive, not the occurrence of unemployment.

Frequency of blocking times

More than 600,000 blocked times are recorded every year, with an increasing trend: in 2007 there were 639,222 blocked times, in 2009 already 843,071 blocked times; Failure to register or late jobseeker registrations are the reason for almost 70% of the blocking times, and the task for around a quarter.

year Number of blocking times Work task Rejection of work inauspicious. Self-effort Rejection of the integration measure Termination of an integration measure Failure to report Late registration as jobseeker Number of claims that have finally expired
2007 639.222 26.7% 3.6% 1.5% 1.3% 0.5% 29.0% 37.5% 4,726
2008 741.119 24.5% 3.7% 1.4% 1.4% 0.5% 28.8% 39.7% 6,625
2009 843.071 24.5% 2.5% 1.3% 1.6% 0.7% 28.8% 39.7% 6,650
2010 765.497 25.5% 3.2% 1.9% 1.6% 0.8% 33.9% 33.2% 6,906
2011 728.233 25.7% 3.7% 1.8% 1.4% 0.6% 33.9% 32.9% 7,555

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Change in the blocking times for unemployment benefits on August 28, 2019
  2. § 159 Paragraph 5 SGB III
  3. ^ BSG, December 9, 2003, AZ B 7 AL 106/02 R
  4. BSG, November 17, 2005, AZ B 11a / 11 AL 49/04 R
  5. ^ BSG, October 26, 2004, AZ B 7 AL 98/03 R
  6. BSG, July 12, 2006, AZ B 11a AL 55/05 R
  7. BSG, July 12, 2006, AZ B 11a AL 73/05 R
  8. ↑ Blocking period: entitlement in the event of illness. Retrieved August 10, 2019 .
  9. Unemployment benefit: the tax notice is contestable on September 3, 2019
  10. Instructions from the Federal Employment Agency: §159 Rest during blocking time
  11. Annual reports "Labor market in Germany" of the Federal Employment Agency ( Memento of the original from November 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / statistik.arbeitsagentur.de

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