Changing benefits provision
The government is fundamentally changing the way benefits are given so that they serve as incentives and not as disincentives for seeking employment and that the beneficiaries do not turn to the underground job market.
But squaring the circle has proven quite difficult: Some of the reforms are still being mulled and officials are at odds about how to proceed.
For a start, dispersed and often contradictory legislative provisions that even disagreed on what constitutes income will be ironed out and criteria for benefits will be recalibrated so people do not lose them for a few euros of extra income.
There are three thorny areas:
First, the unemployment benefit, which will be decoupled from the minimum wage and be considered with the unemployed person’s wage and work experience. With the system as it is, a person who has worked for 20 years and loses their job gets the same benefit as one who has worked only a couple of years. But recipients could see benefits reduced over time.
Even more difficult are seasonal unemployment benefits. Officials are at odds over whether to raise or cut them.
