African asylum seekers in Germany face reduced salaries, the reason is because they are supposedly operating in collective accommodation. The Düsseldorf Social Court says this is not allowed.
The Düsseldorf Social Court says that the reduction in benefits for asylum seekers who live in collective accommodation are unconstitutional. The court agrees that the amount of 330 euros per month is below the subsistence level and therefore violates the guarantee of human dignity.
The decision made by the court relies heavily on the Karlsruhe judgement of 2012 which says that benefits may vary if the needs of a certain group are typically lower.
Single asylum seekers have had their benefits, which are already below the Hartz IV standard rate, reduced by a further 10 percent since 2019. This case was justified by the decree that residents of collective accommodation have lower expenses because they have the capability to shop and cook together.
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When the matter reached the social court it said that the approach is neither verifiable nor plausible. Cuts should not be objectionable if the situation is that the money is managed together.
It was considered that for African asylum seekers they serve higher costs for telecommunications and that despite the 330 euros received, there are a lot of costs that are incurred that are essential like; food, clothing, tickets etc.
It is also important to note that those in asylum seekers’ homes did not choose this method of accommodation voluntarily and therefore can not and did not choose their roommates.
Source: Sueddeutsche