"EU free movement" on-road test:
I have recently dealt with a law case which exemplifies the legal situation with regard to the topic in question.
My client: a 50 years old woman from Greece (EU country), who had lived a good civic life working as a bank assistance (“the irony”) for more than 20 years. She lost her job because of the financial break down in Greece, had to live from unemployment money which is paid for 12 months only and then she was depending on welfare money.
As she saw no other option for her life, she then at her age decided to move to Germany to earn a living (imo “a brave, inspiring woman”).
As an EU citizen she is inherited to a right of free movement within the EU countries to live and work there. But of course, this right has its limits. No country can afford an uncontrolled immigration of people into its social security systems.
The limits:
a) for the first 3 months of your stay in a different EU country, you can’t claim welfare money,
b) after that you either have a job which pays you a living, then part of your income is paid into the unemployment insurance, if your then lose your job, you receive unemployment money to which you have contributed to before by paying money into the insurance while you had a job, or
c) you still have no job, or have not worked long enough to claim unemployment money or you only have a “minijob” which means that you can only in parts meet your living expenses and you depend on supplemental social security money. If that is the case, if you would have to claim welfare money, your stay in a EU country other than your own, is limited to a maximum 6 months period. Then they will send you back home.
My client had worked for a period of 12 months in Germany on low-wage jobs as French maid and dish washer, which did not put her into the position to be able to claim unemployment money, then lost one of her “minijobs” which meant that she would depend on additional welfare money.
The social security office refused to make any payments as long as she does not submit translations of some Greek documents. I pointed out to them that as an EU citizen she can claim interpreter and translation costs to be paid by the office if she can not afford the costs, and made the proposal that social aid could be paid as a loan until the translations of the documents are submitted and her claim for social money can be decided.
As the office still refused any payments, I sued it to the Social Court and at court we made a settlement which involved temporary payment of welfare money as a loan until the translations are available, which have to be paid by the office, and in addition: my client gets legal aid to cover the legal costs which means that I got paid by the state.
I am under the impression that the agents at the office did not know yet how to handle such cases, and that the EU law involved is all new to them. It could have been cheaper, if the agent would have asked the in-house legal advisors of the office on how to handle the claim, so that the costly court case would have been avoided.
After the settlement at the Social Court, the immigration office showed up and wrote to my client that they are planning to expel her. But as my client defines as “employed” even with her part time “minijob” and even though she is depending on additional welfare money, they can’t do that, which they acknowledged after we sent them salary statements.
Within the 6 months period (c), she will start an apprenticeship which was offered her by her present employer under the condition that she improves her German which she does by taking German language courses for immigrants, which means that she can stay in Germany, if all works out as planned.
Imo it is kind of obvious that there will be further restrictions in future either by the Courts or the law-makers as to what defines as "employee" under EU law, which is what gives you the right to free movement within the EU, e.g. "As "employee" you define under EU law, if you have a minimum income of ,let's say, 16.800 € p.a. for you own living".
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