Placement (employment office)
The placement is a service of the German employment agency , which is regulated in §§ 35–39 SGB III .
The placement service is available to jobseekers , but recipients of unemployment benefit and unemployment benefit II can also receive placement services from the employment agency.
Principles
Advice and mediation are generally free of charge ( Section 42 SGB III). Until 2014, the international placement was subject to fees due to an order issued in accordance with Section 43 SGB III ; once the order is repealed, this service is also free of charge.
Placement may not be provided if the job or training position violates applicable law or good morals ( Section 36 (1) SGB III). Even today, prostitution is considered immoral and placement in such positions is not permitted.
A restriction of jobs according to gender, age, state of health, nationality or similar characteristics is only permissible if these restrictions are essential (for example, in the case of the employment ban for women in mining that was in effect until 2004). Other characteristics such as race, religion, disability or sexual identity may only be taken into account if this is permitted under the General Equal Treatment Act (e.g. for church employers). Restrictions on the basis of union or party membership are only permitted in companies with a tendency to be active if the type of activity to be carried out justifies this ( Section 36 (2) SGB III).
In addition, the employment agency is only allowed to mediate in a company that is affected by a strike if the jobseeker expressly requests it. ( Section 36 (3) SGB III)
Employer Obligations
Employers are obliged to report every vacancy to the employment agency. This obligation arises from the severely handicapped law , because according to Section 164 (1) SGB IX , employers have to check whether vacancies can be filled with severely disabled people, in particular those who are registered as unemployed or looking for work.
Employers have to provide the employment agency with all necessary information and submit documents. You can decide whether the vacancy will be sent to jobseekers as a placement proposal, whether the position will be listed in the job exchange or whether you just want to receive contact details from jobseekers ( Section 39 (1) SGB III).
If a vacancy is still vacant after three months, the employment agency should offer the employer labor market advice ( Section 39 (2) SGB III). The mediation can be stopped if it is unsuccessful; this is the case no later than six months after a job market consultation has taken place, in the case of training positions three months after the start of the training year ( Section 39 (3) SGB III).
Jobseeker's duties
Job seekers receive specific suggestions for jobs in the form of a placement suggestion, which is usually sent by post.
A refusal to apply for a placement proposal with instructions on legal consequences leads to a placement ban of twelve weeks for jobseekers. For recipients of unemployment benefit and unemployment benefit II, it leads to a blocking period or a sanction. A refusal also exists if the jobseeker prevents the initiation of employment through his behavior, for example by deliberately submitting a negative application with the intention of not being considered by the employer.
A placement offer must at least contain the name of the employer and the type of job. Further criteria apply in the legal system of SGB II, here the exact working hours and remuneration must also be specified in order to be able to specifically check the reasonableness of the placement proposal.