Unemployment benefit II: No more need for breastfeeding mothers
According to information from the magazine “gegen-hartz.de”, the social court in Wiesbaden has ruled that breastfeeding mothers are not entitled to additional needs. During pregnancy, women have an additional need for costly nutrition. Because the applicants saw unequal treatment here, they complained about a higher need for regulation.
However, the social court did not share the view of the lawsuit. The additional need for pregnant women is not transferable to breastfeeding, as stated in the reasoning of the judgment. There is no legal basis for the request, the judges said. The standard requirement was designed as a flat rate, which did not take into account any special features beyond § 21 SGB II. After all, mothers would also save costs if they breastfeed instead of baby food. Accordingly, despite the increased calorie requirement, there was no additional financial need for mothers in the Hartz IV benefit scheme. (ag)
