The terms "unemployed" and "seeking work" are often used interchangeably in everyday life. In fact, however, there are two different processes behind it. If you lose your job, you must usually register as both unemployed and seeking work. Otherwise, you risk reductions in your unemployment benefits. What is the difference between the two and which deadlines you have to observe, you can find out here.
The correct notification is decisive for the unemployment benefit
Regardless of whether you are giving notice yourself, a fixed-term employment contract is expiring or your employer is handing you notice: as soon as it is foreseeable that you will soon be without a job and will need new employment to support yourself, you must notify the Employment Agency. Immediately. The legal basis for this is § 38 of the Third Book of the Social Code (SGB III). If you violate this rule, you will be subject to sanctions for unemployment benefits.
When do you have to register as unemployed??
SGB III stipulates that you must register as a jobseeker no later than three months before your employment relationship ends. In practice, however, this is only possible if your employment contract is subject to at least three months’ notice or if it is limited in time from the outset. Therefore, the following deadlines apply Job seeker notification:
- Three days after you know about it After the end of the employment relationship, for example, after receiving the notice of termination, if the employment relationship ends in less than three months.
- At the latest three months before the end of the contract, if the end of the employment relationship is known more than three months in advance.
You must always register in person at the relevant employment agency as a jobseeker. In order to meet the deadline, however, it can be sufficient if you initially only report by telephone or via the corresponding online form.
What happens if you do not register as a job-seeker in due time??
If you do not register as a job seeker within the prescribed period, a one-week blocking period will be imposed on your unemployment benefits. The right to Unemployment benefits will be reduced by one week.
However, the actual aim of registering as a job seeker is not to receive unemployment benefits. But that the employment agency supports you in your job search and ideally finds you a new job. And the sooner the notification is made, the higher the probability that this will work out seamlessly. Therefore the obligation to report early.
As a rule of thumb, you should register as a jobseeker as long as you are still in a job. Unemployed only when you are actually without a job. Of course, the two can also coincide, for example in the case of termination without notice.
When you have to register as unemployed?
Reporting as a jobseeker does not ensure that unemployment benefits will automatically be paid after the end of the employment relationship. For this, the registration of unemployment is crucial. It is at the same time the application for ALG I, if there is a right to it.
In this case, different deadlines apply than for the job-seeker notification, which are regulated in § 141 SGB III. It is possible to register as unemployed up to three months before the actual occurrence of expected unemployment. No later than the first day of unemployment, the However, you must register as unemployed. The only exception: If the responsible agency is closed on that day, it is sufficient to register on the next day on which the agency is in service again. The unemployment registration must be done in person in any case. As a rule, it is not possible to register as unemployed by telephone, e-mail or letter.
Late registration for unemployment can have far-reaching consequences: In the worst case, the entitlement to ALG I is completely forfeited and you only receive ALG II, i.e. Hartz IV. Even if you are not entitled to ALG I, it is important to register for unemployment in good time. Because only then does unemployment count as a qualifying period for the statutory pension.