Unemployment benefits and basic income support

Processing your orders through Smart is generally possible while receiving unemployment benefits (ALG I). However, you must comply with the rules regarding additional income and working hours.

If you receive unemployment benefits, your secondary activity must comprise less than 15 hours per week. As soon as you work 15 hours or more per week, you are generally no longer considered unemployed and are therefore no longer entitled to unemployment benefits.

You must also notify the Federal Employment Agency before or at the latest when starting any secondary activity. Any changes to your working hours or additional income must also be reported.

For ALG I, there is generally an income allowance of €165 per month for additional income. For basic income support (Grundsicherung), the allowance is €100 per month. Additional income up to these amounts is generally not deducted from your unemployment benefits. If your additional income exceeds the allowance, your unemployment benefits may be reduced accordingly. Under certain conditions, a higher allowance may apply. You can find further information in the information leaflet provided by the Federal Employment Agency.

Do you have an order that exceeds the the applicable allowance? You can deregister with the Federal Employment Agency for this period and be employed by Smart with a higher salary. In some scenarios you'll still receive unemployment benefits, but they could be reduced. You always have to inform Agentur für Arbeit about any additional income.

If you are receiving unemployment benefits at the same time, you should not “stockpile” your budget by issuing higher invoices while paying yourself only a lower amount as salary.

If you receive or plan to apply for unemployment benefits or basic income support (Grundsicherung), please inform us immediately. We can arrange a consultation with you if necessary.

If you have been employed for at least 12 months during the last 30 months, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits (ALG I).

If you know that your employment will end, you must register as a jobseeker (arbeitssuchend) with the Federal Employment Agency at least 3 months before your employment ends. If you only learn about the end of your employment later, you must register within 3 days. A late jobseeker registration can result in a suspension of unemployment benefits (Sperrzeit).

You must also register as unemployed (arbeitslos) no later than your first day without employment. You can register up to 3 months in advance. If you register late, unemployment benefits can generally only be paid from the date of registration. See the website of the Arbeitsagentur for more information.

After your employment with Smart ends, you must request the electronic transmission of your employment certificate (Arbeitsbescheinigung) from us. We will then send it to the Federal Employment Agency.