Sick beneficiaries are being illegally denied cash assistance, and politicians are demanding the minister find a solution.
According to the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, many cash benefits may have been illegally withdrawn from recipients, and the political majority in the Danish parliament wants the Minister of Labor to take action on this matter. The parties want the Minister of Labor to ensure that all those who have been defrauded in the cash benefits receive the money they are entitled to.
The file processing systems in Danish municipalities were set up to automatically obtain cash benefits from citizens, despite the fact that a certain category has a limited capacity to work, so municipalities should not deprive them of their assistance at all, and many may have already been cheated in 2020.
Several parliamentary parties described the fact that cash benefit recipients had been unlawfully denied cash benefits as completely wrong and unacceptable, and called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
In Randers municipality, for example, cases were discovered and verified, and an IT system problem was investigated. Per Damgaard Petersen, department manager at Jobcenter Randers, confirms that the problem applies to a larger number of people than initially investigated. He added, ”There are also some other people whose benefits have been reduced. We simply went and checked the files of married citizens who were subject to the 225-hour rule to see if there had also been an erroneous reduction in their benefits. It showed that it had happened in some cases as well.“.
Victoria Velásquez, employment officer for the United List party, said: “Every municipality must review these rules and see if they have complied with the law. Taking money from sick citizens is illegal, and municipalities must address this urgently.”.
Accordingly, the political majority, consisting of the Unity List, the Socialist People's Party, the Radicals, the Danish People's Party, and the Liberal Party, will ask the Minister of Labor to find a solution and for the Minister to order the municipalities to investigate the matter thoroughly.
According to the source, Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard acknowledges the problem but does not promise a full investigation, commenting: “I agree with the political majority because none of us can live with the fact that citizens have lost the rights they are entitled to. My only interest as minister is that no citizen is wrongfully deducted from benefits, and if that also means more transparency, then we must do it. Essentially, it is the responsibility of municipalities to ensure that administration is carried out according to the law and that no citizen is wrongfully deducted from benefits.”.
Municipalities are expected to pay money to citizens who have been unlawfully denied cash benefits if the municipalities locate them.
