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The standard benefits of citizen’s money are flat-rate. They are therefore only intended to cover a general need. However, in various life situations, additional needs may arise in cases of hardship.
Regarding the requirements, SGB II stipulates that additional needs are recognized for those entitled to benefits if there is an unavoidable, special need in individual cases; for one-off needs A further requirement is that a loan in accordance with Section 24 paragraph 1 is exceptionally unreasonable or not possible due to the nature of the need.
What requirements apply to hardship applications?
However, not all hardship needs are recognized by the job center. The rules for this are very narrow. In cases of hardship, there must be an unavoidable, special need; In the case of one-off needs, a further requirement is that a loan in accordance with Section 24 paragraph 1 is exceptionally unreasonable or not possible due to the nature of the need. In this article we describe examples of when the hardship regulation applies.
Difference between hardship case and application for additional needs
Citizens’ benefit is used to pay for various additional needs in special but typical life situations. For example, there are additional needs during pregnancy, additional needs for expensive nutrition or for single parents. Additional requirements are therefore already regulated in Section 21 Paragraphs 2 to 5 SGB II. Accordingly, a regular application for additional requirements must be submitted.
An atypical need exists if it arises in an atypical life situation and is not covered by existing additional needs. The need must also be unavoidable.
Typically, a need arises in the context of a hardship case in special situations. These situations are not covered by the standard requirements. However, it may also be the case that the requirement is already included in the standard benefits, but in individual cases it is not sufficient because the requirement is above average.
Dr. Utz Anhalt: Then you can apply for additional needs via the hardship regulation
An example of when the hardship regulation does not apply
An example of when the hardship regulation not applies: The washing machine is broken and a new one has to be purchased. There is a higher demand that cannot be paid from the monthly standard benefits.
In principle, such requirements must be saved from the standard benefits. Since this is only possible for very few people, those affected can apply for a loan from the job center. This loan must be repaid to the job center in small monthly installments. As a rule, the authority offsets the installments against the monthly benefits.
Exception: The washing machine must be purchased as part of the initial equipment. There is a special surcharge that can be applied for. Or saving cannot be expected. More on this below.
Examples of when a hardship application can be submitted
Since not all atypical needs can be listed here, we have put together the most common ones:
- Household help for physically disabled people, if the costs are not already reimbursed within the framework of SGB XII.
- Reimbursement of costs for exercising access rights (e.g. travel and hotel)
- Additional requirements for care and hygiene items in the event of health restrictions (must be certified by a doctor!)
- Costs for tutoring, provided that no free funding or tutoring lessons can be taken and the education and participation services do not already reimburse these costs. The job centers only reimburse these costs in individual cases.
- Tablet/PC computer with internet function for students who participate in homeschooling. However, this additional need was recognized by the respective judgments (ref.: L 7 AS 719/20 B ER, L 7 AS 720/20 B) during the pandemic period
- other individual needs
Hardship application to the health insurance company
There are also other hardship applications that become necessary, for example, due to treatment at the dentist. Such a situation occurs when the person concerned has to pay extra for dentures but cannot afford the additional payment. A hardship application can then be submitted to the health insurance company. This article describes what requirements must be met for this.
Exceptional stress, but not a hardship
When is there an extraordinary financial burden that is not considered a case of hardship? In these cases, the job center will reject the application and refer you to other options.
- School materials and school meals, as these services are covered by the standard benefits and by the participation and education package. Under certain circumstances, an additional requirement request can be submitted for school books. However, Section 21 Paragraph 6a SGB II and Section 30 Paragraph 9 SGB has to be recognized as additional need.”
- School trips (is included in the standard services)
- Oversized clothing and shoes (although the verdict here is different)
- Children’s clothing at growing age (Judgment BSG Az. B 14 AS 81/08 R)
The job center checks whether other service providers are responsible
When applying for a hardship case, the job center will always check whether other benefits from other service providers can be claimed. These could be, for example, maintenance advances, health insurance and nursing care insurance. The authority is also examining whether its own savings can be used to cover additional needs.
These topics might interest you:
– Deadlines must be adhered to if additional citizens’ money is required
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Unavoidable needs cannot then be saved
Another important criterion for granting an additional requirement for hardship cases is that the requirement cannot be saved through the standard benefits, since the requirement exceeds the standard requirement by 10 percent according to Section 20 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1. All requirements below this limit must be covered by savings from the standard requirements.
The job center expects a duty to cooperate
The job center expects those affected to help keep the additional need as low as possible. For example, the beneficiary is obliged to keep the costs as low as possible when exercising the right of access. You should always choose the cheapest mode of transport with a discount and the cheapest accommodation.
We have published an article here on the topic of additional need for access rights.
Hardship applications even if citizen benefits are increased?
Anyone who earns earned income and tops it up with citizen’s allowance can deduct from their monthly income the additional requirement for special ongoing needs in the amount of the employment tax allowance in accordance with Section 11b SGB II, provided this has been recognized.
Special needs as one-off needs
There may also be a so-called special need for clothing, which can be applied for at the job center. This special need arises when extraordinary burdens arise that do not recur regularly but are not covered by the standard benefits or cannot be saved. One example is special needs for clothing. One arises at:
- Apartment fire
- Flood (furnishings and clothing were destroyed)
- Theft of clothing
- significant weight loss (in which you skip several dress sizes,
- for example due to a serious illness)
- After becoming homeless, there is no clothing available
- After a long period of imprisonment there is no clothing available
- other stressful situations that are justified
Special needs as initial equipment also arise if a desk is needed for school or your child’s bed has become too small. These needs should not be confused with hardship applications.
Additional need for hardship due to rising electricity costs?
With rising electricity costs, a hardship situation could arise at the moment. The social advice center Tacheles eV is of the opinion that benefit recipients can therefore submit a hardship application. Find out more here.
Hardship rule enables new washing machine
For example, a citizen’s benefit recipient fought for a new washing machine in a social court using this regulation. The job center initially rejected the application for a new washing machine. However, the social court confirmed that the savings amount included in the standard benefits is far too low to save this amount for a new washing machine. You can also read more about the case here.
Conclusion: The job center will rarely recognize an atypical additional need. Many needs must first be fought for in the courts. Benefit recipients should therefore closely follow current judgments. To stay up to date, you can use our free newsletter, for example. Here we report weekly on new judgments and possible claims.
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Jan Heinemann studied social sciences. His areas of expertise are social law and corporate law. Jan has been an editor at Gegen-Hartz.de since 2021
