If a long-term unemployed person does not take up an offered job because the job center refuses to provide the necessary help, this is not considered "anti-social behavior" according to a new ruling. That was decided by the Lower Saxony-Bremen state social court in Celle on January 26, as was announced on Monday. It is not socially unacceptable not to be able to start a job if the place of work is too far away to commute and a new apartment cannot be rented because the money for the deposit is missing and the job center does not want to pay the rent deposit.

The state social court announced that the background to this was the proceedings of a long-term unemployed person from Osnabrück who was born in 1962 and worked as an accountant until 2003. After that he was unemployed and kept doing unskilled work. For many years he applied unsuccessfully to work as an accountant, until the job center finally no longer wanted to cover travel expenses to job interviews from 2017.

"Surprisingly," the man received an employment contract as an accountant with an authority in Düsseldorf in 2019. However, he did not take up this job because the job center did not want to pay the rent deposit for a new apartment and he was therefore unable to move. In 2020, the job center asked him to repay basic security benefits of around 6,800 because of "socially unfriendly behavior" - he did not show up for the appointment.

On the other hand, the man complained that he had not signed the rental agreement in Düsseldorf because he had no money for the deposit. The Higher Social Court confirmed the plaintiff's legal position.