The "Hartz Committee" was founded on 22 February 2002, by the federal government of Germany led then by Gerhard Schröder.
Whether or not a claimant is eligible for Arbeitslosengeld II depends on his or her savings, life insurance and the income of spouse or partner.
If taking on a specific placement is deemed reasonable by the responsible agency, not applying will result in a reduction or even complete suspension of the appropriate payment.
Job income is debited from Arbeitslosengeld II payments according to a formula that leaves a certain amount of the additional revenue untouched.
The Hartz IV reforms continue to attract criticism in Germany, despite a considerable reduction in short- and long-term unemployment.
[6] In a November 2019 ruling the Federal Constitutional Court prohibited controversial harsh sanctions against benefit recipients.
[7] In November 2022, the Bundestag decided to replace Hartz IV with the so-called Bürgergeld on 1 January 2023, which reduces conditionalities and increases the standard unemployment benefit (Regelsatz) of ALG II to a monthly 503 euros.
[8] Although the official term for long-term unemployment benefits is still Arbeitslosengeld II, most Germans, even news programmes and politicians in parliament, refer to it as Hartz IV.
[9] Earlier, in 2002, the term Ich-AG (another Hartz measure, see above) had been chosen as the German Un-Word of the Year by a jury of linguistic scholars.
In 2010, a solitary activist pretending to be a movement, Bewegung Morgenlicht threatened and executed attacks in protest against government policy symbolized by Hartz IV.