Jobcenter expect around 60,000 refugees from Ukraine as of June

The Jobcenter (job centres) in Berlin are preparing to take care of around 60,000 Ukrainian refugees from June onwards.

"We are preparing for this deadline," said a spokesperson for the Berlin-Brandenburg employment agency on Wednesday. Accordingly, among other things, a special hotline for information in Ukrainian and Russian has been set up. Until now, refugees in Berlin have been looked after by the district offices. From 1 June, according to federal plans, social benefits are to be paid out via the job centres. Refugees from Ukraine should then be able to receive basic benefits - like Hartz IV recipients.

No fear of overburdening of job centres

According to the spokesperson, a possible overload of the Berlin Job Centres is not to be feared. The employment agency had already gained "a certain amount of crisis experience" in 2015, when thousands of refugees arrived in Berlin, especially from Syria, and through the payment of short-time allowances during the Corona pandemic, the spokesperson said. In the job centres in Brandenburg, 24,000 refugees are expected.

Social benefits to be paid out via Jobcenter as of June

The prerequisite for receiving basic welfare benefits in the future is that the Ukrainian refugees have applied for a residence title for temporary protection, have been registered in the Central Register of Foreigners and meet the other requirements for basic welfare benefits under the Social Code. The Bundestag and Bundesrat still have to pass the corresponding bill.