Die Eingliederungsvereinbarung (EGV) – der erste Hack des Jobcenters

Imagine you've lost your job, your income. Unfortunately you had to change jobs several times in the last year so that you cannot apply for Arbeitslosengeld I ... now you have a few hours while the children are in school and you think you are doing the right thing by going to the Jobcenter to register and apply for Arbeitslosengeld II (Hartz IV) ...
Well, so that you get the best possible result for you, you should briefly deal with the integration agreement (EGV) - the document that the Jobcenter wants you to sign. Say goodbye to the idea that the Jobcenter is about finding a suitable job for you. Perhaps you have studied computer science and you will also receive the appropriate € 6000 training in the latest programming language from the office. Then you are lucky. But if you work in precarious jobs anyway, part-time, on a mini-job basis or on a € 451 basis, then you will almost certainly become a victim of the quota. In other words: the clerk on the other side of the desk is primarily concerned with HIS * YOUR placement rate. Because this legitimizes his * her existence, the wages, and only the fulfillment of the quota leads to a pleasant job for the clerk. Your needs are secondary.
This is common practice. There may be clerks who see their job as a service for the unemployed (at least that's what they say) but prepare yourself for the fact that things will / could be different for you.

The integration agreement - what is it?

The Jobcenter can only do what it wants with you, if you sign the so-called integration agreement (EGV). It will be presented to you very early and is often signed at the first meeting, giving you the impression that this is a common, customary procedure. BUT IT IS NOT! The EGV is a contract that you conclude with the Jobcenter and as soon as you sign it, the agreement is valid for 6 months and is very difficult to contest! The EGV regulates the conditions and services that you have to provide to the Jobcenter in order to get the financial benefits from the center, in other words: What you have to do for your money that you have paid with your taxes for years.
Usually this is, for example, the number of applications that are written per month. A standard value of 30 applications is often used here. You have to be aware that this means one application per day! This can only be done through ‘aopy and paste applications’ and the complete shutdown of the search. Quantity instead of quality. Who needs quality in life? Maybe you don't want to work in a different industry than before? Not in temporary or seasonal work? Not doing internships or meaningless courses? The EGV is the chance for the job center to ignore all your wishes by making you sign a standardized, unsuitable contract - often in which it is simply suggested that money only flows when you sign it. This is wrong! That is why it is never said in concrete terms (at least not in front of witnesses) but always only suggested! You will not find out all of this in the job center, but only when it is too late and you find out what you have just signed. Personal advice from the center is actually a mandatory requirement for the validity of the EGV, which is ignored in common practice.
But the fact remains about the EGV: The EGV is a contract, you are not obliged to sign the contract, especially not directly and on site! Just like the Jobccenter, you can influence and change the content of the contract! Even if the job center acts as if the version is the only possible one: No! Everything in it can be changed until both sides have signed it! An unsigned EGV is no reason not to pay out a Hartz IV rate, even if this is often suggested linguistically and between people!

Why then sign the EGV at all? The administrative act of the office!

This is where the decisive power tool of the Jobcenter comes into play. If it becomes clear that you never intended to sign the EGV or you resisted too long, the Jobccenter can issue the EGV as an administrative act.
An administrative act is then no longer a contract, it can be decided unilaterally by the Jobcenter. You then have a month (be careful, pay attention to the deadline!) zo file an objection, but this is difficult too. You must / should then explain why you have not yet signed the EGV. A lack of a legal remedy declaration from the Jobcenter can also be a reason for the objection.
Nevertheless, this approach remains difficult for you personally, as you first have to accept restrictions and edicts, even if you have actively lodged an objection. If necessary, you have to put shelves at the minimum wage at night, even if you are a trained cook, until a social court agrees or doesn't agree with you.

The most sensible way & concrete tips

For most people, the following way seems to make the most sense:

1.) Witnesses!
Never go to an appointment with the Jobcenter alone, take emotional support with you (friends, family, lawyer, etc.) who can support you on site and offer yourself support if you hear from acquaintances about an appointment at the Jobcenter to have! This usually means that the Jobcenter follows the rules much more correctly and when the going gets tough you have a witness in court for your information. Everyone has the right to be accompanied by another person, use this right! Ideally, your companion can even wear a suit, introduce themselves as a law professor at the university anyway and take (real or fake) notes during the conversation. Appearance determines consciousness! However, expect that the clerk will also take a witness to the interview (often supposed superiors who are supposed to be on site to check the clerk - but can actually testify in court as a witness in the sense of the Jobcenter. ), if you consistently implement this right and always take someone with you. However, this is important and correct! Especially people who have difficulties with the German language, are generally easily unsettled or are simply afraid should definitely take someone with them! If necessary, members of the Independent Basic Union of Heidelberg can also accompany you to appointments, provided they are on site!

2.) Don't sign anything immediately!
No matter what is presented to you: do not sign anything on site. You are probably nervous, maybe you have existential worries and the person from the Jobcenter seems so friendly ... but the rule is: nothing is signed on site! If you insist on having your alleged or real lawyer read it against it, you can get advice from friends or people who have already been in similar situations, also from us, the Heidelberg base union. Insists on time to think about it or argue with a headache: everything can be taken with you and usually brought to the next meeting or sent back by post.

3.) Avoid the administrative act but exhaust the negotiations on the EGV!
The aim should be to avoid unilateral adoption of the integration agreement as an administrative act. But that leaves you enough leeway to massively exhaust the contractual conditions of the EGV:
- As long as you are negotiating, the Jobcenter has to pay your Hartz4 without you having to work - which alone should motivate you to negotiate as long as possible.
- Think about what you can and want to achieve for yourself personally in the negotiations; be it for you privately or for you professionally. This includes, for example, educational and advanced training measures (language courses, IT courses, driver's license (s), key qualifications, expensive advanced training for your desired career, etc.). Of course you have to pay attention to a certain logic here. But even a sausage specialist can argue that English language skills increase their value on the job market. The Jobcenter never has to find out whether you want this for your vacation, your education or your job. Stay creative and just give it a try! They cannot refuse more than it!
- These negotiations can drag on! There are no deadlines for this! It is important that the Jobcenter retains the impression that you are negotiating actively and sensibly.
- Also consider other aspects of your life in the negotiations. Taking care of children in the household, for example, is a good reason to massively reduce the demands of the Jobcenter and e.g. writing only 5-10 applications per month.
- Explicitly exclude forms of work, areas or industries in which you do not want to work, but which may be related to your previous occupations: If you are a car mechanic and do not want to screw anything on bicycles because you hate bicycles, then negotiate that way long until this is in your EGV.

4.) Exceptions and special regulations
Notice if any special rules might apply in your situation. (For example, for single parents, top-ups, self-employed, students, life partners with Hartz4, mini-job income below the Hartz4 limit, need for follow-up care, e.g. due to psychological problems due to unemployment). These special rules are complex and numerous. You can often find advice on this on the Internet, but if necessary a specialist labor law attorney should also be consulted. Make sure that you meet the conditions for advisory assistance under the BerHG, so that this legal advice may not cost you more than € 15.

Remain in solidarity!

If this information is useful or helpful to you, if you turn to us as a base trade union, if other people agree to go to your appointment at the Jobcenter with you as a witness - then share this solidarity and work with us on a better, more solidary and a fairer world in which you can share the knowledge you have gained among friends and acquaintances. Become a member of us and help other exploited people or go to their appointments with acquaintances and friends! Solidarity is our weapon, fear is theirs!