Hartz IV: woman sues job center because of additional need for shoes – court agrees with her

Created: 10/05/2022 10:24 am

By: Lisa Mayerhofer

White fabric shoes can shine again with home remedies © imagebroker / Imago

A Hartz IV recipient from Hamburg has a high level of shoe wear due to illness.

But the job center doubts their representation.

Now a court has decided.

Hamburg – Under certain circumstances, Hartz IV recipients may be entitled to additional benefits from the job center in the form of additional needs.

For example, there is an additional need for pregnant women, single parents and people with a chronic illness or a disability if they have expenses that they cannot cover with the standard rate.

Job center does not want to pay Hartz IV recipient additional needs for shoes

The job center grants an additional requirement upon application.

In Hamburg, however, the responsible job center refused to grant a 56-year-old Hartz IV recipient an additional need for street shoes.

The woman suffers from a neurological disease that causes her legs, ankles and feet to become unbalanced.

As a result, the woman has a high level of shoe wear and knee or foot pain due to the abrasion of the shoes.

After one to two months, their shoes are worn out, as confirmed by a report, as can be read in the judgment of the Social Court in Hamburg.

However, despite medical confirmations, the job center did not want to accept the cost of four street shoes as an additional requirement.

The woman therefore went before the social court in Hamburg.

There, the job center referred to the health insurance company and then even denied the need to buy new shoes, reports Inga Hagelstein from the DGB legal protection office in Hamburg, who represented the Hartz IV recipient, in a statement.

Hartz IV additional requirement: the court agrees with the plaintiff

But the job center could not score with the judge.

In a judgment of September 30, she ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to an additional requirement for commercially available shoes because of excessive wear and tear due to her illness.

She could not cover the costs through savings, and the health insurance companies would not consider it, since they only have to pay for aids that are not general commodities of everyday life.