Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated on Thursday that Germany’s proposed amendment to the basic income program for job seekers would undermine fundamental human rights and violate the country’s constitution, urging parliament to reject the bill.
HRW’s senior Europe researcher, Kartik Raj, said that the proposed bill does not comply with Germany’s human rights obligations under international law—namely, Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. He added that its implementation would worsen the living conditions of low-income families raising children, particularly single mothers.
The bill proposes multiple amendments to the Second Book of Germany’s Social Code, including renaming of the minimum unemployment benefit from “citizen’s income” to “basic income support.” The primary modification involves replacing existing criteria for minimum social security benefits with stricter conditions for claimants, in addition to imposing severe sanctions for non-compliance. For instance, the new bill stipulates that if authorities deem that a claimant missed an appointment with a job centre or refused available employment, their monthly benefit would be reduced by 30 percent. Additionally, repeated failures to report to a job centre would result in withholding all social security benefits and classifying the individual as “unreachable.”
The proposed bill changes job-seeking requirements by treating all single adults as equally available for full-time employment, without distinguishing between those living alone and those raising children. According to HRW, this version of the draft law could impose sanctions on single mothers and deny them benefit payments for refusing full-time employment due to caregiving responsibilities.
The bill is part of the government’s broader policy to reduce social spending and reshape the social security system. The government argued that the amendment aims to increase transparency and maintain a “strong welfare state” that requires cooperation from all employable individuals and ensures that support is provided only to those who need it. The legislation was passed by the lower house of Parliament on March 5, and is set to enter into force in July 2026.
However, HRW criticized the bill’s punitive approach, asserting that it violates the right to a dignified minimum existence enshrined in Articles 1 and 20(1) of the Basic Law and interpreted by the Federal Constitutional Court. The Court has previously ruled that the right to the guarantee of an existential minimum in accordance with human dignity is a fundamental right that includes the physical existence of a human being, the ability to maintain interpersonal relationships, and a minimal degree of participation in social, cultural, and political life. Consequently, HRW had urged lawmakers to reject the bill and comply with national and international human rights standards.
HRW has previously criticized Germany’s social security system for violating women’s rights, noting inadequate protection against poverty. It further explained that although women constitute the majority of low-wage workers, they received smaller pensions because childrearing is excluded from pension calculations. Germany’s social security system faces additional challenges, includuing the rapidly aging society, which increases pressure on the pension system.
