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Passers-by in front of a job center in Berlin
Photo: via www.imago-images.de / imago images / Joko
If a legal dispute with the job center lasts too long, Hartz IV recipients do not have to hand over any compensation paid to the job center.
The Federal Social Court (BSG) in Kassel decided that the money was not counted as income.
The plaintiff and her husband had been arguing with the Holzminden job center about their reimbursable expenses for accommodation and heating since 2017.
The proceedings before the Hildesheim Social Court lasted around five years.
The couple then sued for compensation because of an overly lengthy legal process.
The law provides 100 euros for each month that is unnecessarily delayed.
After a comparison, both spouses received 2100 euros each.
The lawyer kept part of it to himself, 3000 euros ended up in the plaintiff's account in May 2017.
The job center then canceled the benefit grant of 805 euros for that month.
After all, the plaintiff had enough money to live on.
However, according to the BSG, the job center is not allowed to count the compensation as income.
Earmarked public law payments are excluded from the crediting.
This also includes compensation because of an excessively long legal process.
This is intended as reparation and not for a living.
Az: B 14 AS 15/20 R
dab / AFP