Unemployment benefit

Other Titles - The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 continue the federal acid rain research program and contain several provisions relating to research, development and air monitoring. They also contain provisions to provide additional unemployment benefits through the Job Training Partnership Act to workers laid off as a consequence of compliance with the Clean Air Act. The Act also contains provisions to improve visibility near National Parks and other parts of the country. Strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act Amendments is the driving force behind pollution abatement. Non-compliance is simply not an option, since there are both financial and criminal liabilities that outweigh any benefits derived from a business. 

This was also due to the fact that Hartz IV led to a change in unemployment statistics. As the reform changed the rules for eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits, requiring... 

Table 3. Contribution-based and means-tested unemployment benefits (2006)...

When unemployment benefits were exhausted, the unemployed could apply for unemployment assistance which was still related to previous earnings but on a lower level. Although unemployment assistance was tax-funded, it was seen as a prolongation of unemployment insurance benefit (Karl et al. 2002). The equivalence principle was complemented by the principle of occupational protection that defined the suitable job an unemployed person had to accept as more or less adequate to the position held before becoming unemployed. Last but not least, persons relying on unemployment insurance benefits could also benefit from heavy investment in enabling active labour market policy schemes. These programs were not primarily used as a work-test but as instruments to stabilise human capital and restore benefit claims. 

The claim to unemployment benefit under 118(1) SGB III arises in the event of unemployment and further vocational training. Workers entitled to unemployment benefit must be unemployed and registered with the employment office and must have fulfilled the qualifying period. 

The amount of unemployment benefit is regulated in 129 SGB III and depends on family status, wage-tax bracket and weekly remuneration. Accordingly, insured persons with at least one child are entitled to 67% or, without children, to 60% of net remuneration fixed as a lump sum. Unemployment insurance claims are based on an employment record and provide for benefits proportional to prior earnings in the reference period. It does not take individual means or need into account. 

The concept of personal effort bears activating features in that the search for employment is a precondition for the receipt of unemployment benefit. The nearest sanction for lack of personal effort is the imposition of a disqualification period. Unemployed are deemed available for the placement efforts if, inter alia, they are capable of and allowed to exercise an occupation which can be reasonably expected of them under the usual conditions of the labour market, and which is subject to compulsory insurance and comprises a weekly working time of no less than 15 h. An important criterion of this definition is suitability, which is detailed in 121 SGB III and purports that an unemployed person can be expected to perform all occupations conforming to his or her working capabilities to the extent that general or personal grounds do not oppose the reasonability of an employment. 

The introduction of Unemployment Benefit II in 2005 was combined with the creation of joint bodies of BA and the municipalities - the ARGE consortia - that are now in charge of administrating ALG II and designing employment services for benefit recipients in all districts except for regions where the municipalities opted for taking over the complete responsibility and for the districts with continued division of responsibilities. 

UB II Arbeitslosengeld II Unemployment Benefit B (Basic Income Support)... 

A non-contributory solidarity benefit was paid as a second security mechanism in the form of an integration allowance (allocation d insertion) to unemployed persons lacking sufficient entitlement to unemployment benefit, but able to fulfil certain other requirements (these were mainly young people, but the benefit was abolished for them in the early nineties). Those whose claims to a contribution-based benefit had expired or who were no longer eligible for insurance benefits... 

Introduction of PARE and repeal of the degressive unemployment benefit. 

During the term of the convention on unemployment insurance, UNEDIC had modified the assessment basis of unemployment benefit. Unemployed persons who were disadvantaged by this alteration took the matter to court and prevailed. TGI Marseille, lere cham-bre civ., 15 avril 2004, TPS 2004, comm. 199 TGI 11 mai 2004, RJS 2004, 946. See for instance Supiot 2004. 

ATA has been paid out since November 2006 in place of the allocation d insertion (integration allowance unemployment assistance), but only for certain unemployed persons, notably asylum seekers and other persons with specific backgrounds, who fail to meet the requirements under insurance law governing the receipt of contributory unemployment benefit (allocation d assurance), but otherwise fulfil the conditions stipulated in the Code du travail are entitled to this solidarity-based benefit (Art. L. 351-9 R. 351-10 Code du travail). 

An important innovation of the 1995 law was the introduction of a network of regional placement offices (RAV/ORP), which are responsible for the implementation of the new law. They process unemployment benefit claims, monitor job search activities, provide access to active labour market polices and can enforce sanctions upon non-cooperative recipients. Regional placement offices were set up by the cantons, but financed essentially by the federal unemployment insurance scheme. As will be shown below (see Sect. 5), this resulted in some important differences in the activation practice across cantons. 

Insurants are entitled to daily unemployment benefits if they meet the following preconditions in their entirety (Art. 8 AVIG/LACI) are fully or partially unemployed suffer a loss of earnings on at least two working days per month are residents of Switzerland (nevertheless under due observance of bilateral agreements) have completed compulsory schooling, but have not reached retirement age have fulfilled the contribution requirement or been exempt therefrom and are employable. 

Among the thirteen countries included in the OECD statistics on unemployment benefit sanctions, only the United States experience a higher incidence of sanctions during the benefit period than Switzerland (OECD 2000). 

Prevention of benefit exhaustion, measured by the share of unemployed no more entitled to federal unemployment benefits on total number of unemployed (weighting 20%)... 

Prevention of re-inscription to the unemployment insurance, measured by the share of earlier unemployed having reintegrated in the labour market which apply again for unemployment benefits during 4 months after having left the unemployment insurance (weighting 10%). 

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