From the point of view of the president of the Federal Social Court, Rainer Schlegel, marginal employment, also called mini-employment, no longer belongs to the modern welfare state. “They should be abolished or allowed only for schoolchildren and students,” said the lawyer in an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Tuesday). “Such a reform would ease the burden on social security funds and would be good for the labor market.”
“This harms citizens' acceptance of money”
This means that mini-workers still have the possibility of being exempt from mandatory pension insurance. This means your monthly deductions are significantly lower. That's why mini-jobs are popular, but people who have marginal employment throughout their lives do not receive an adequate pension from them, Schlegel warned. “This is contradictory.” Marginal employment becomes socially unfair, at the latest with regard to old-age security, “because it imposes costs on the general public,” the judge explained.
Schlegel also advocated for reductions in citizen benefits to be applied more consistently. “The sanctions are inconvenient for employees of employment centers. But it is a mistake not to make use of legal options for violations. “This harms the acceptance of money by citizens and the welfare state as a whole,” the lawyer warned. This will not significantly reduce the burden on the social budget. “But the way we treat this group is crucial for the general population to accept the whole system.”
Schlegel criticized the basic child welfare measures introduced by the federal government. This complicates existing procedures and is “an inappropriate approach”, said the president of the Social Court. “Nothing will be easier for families, but it will take a huge increase in staff to implement basic child safety.” Furthermore, in his opinion, increased cash benefits are not the correct way to resolve families' difficulties, the judge explained. “If you want to do something for children, do it by strengthening educational infrastructure.”