AfD on work and social affairs

The AfD wants to link welfare benefits more closely to cooperation, need and willingness to work. People who work should have noticeably more money than those who do not. Social programs and funded providers would also be reviewed regularly.

The AfD wants conditions for help from the state. People who get help should cooperate and look for work. People who work should have clearly more money. The state should check more often who really needs help.

Help would be available to people who fall into hardship through no fault of their own, but not permanently. The plan includes recurring means tests, sanctions for refusal, strict checks against abuse and priority for taking up work. Programs would be evaluated for effectiveness and long-term funding of providers and associations limited, because the party believes money is lost in bureaucratic structures. A wage gap between work and benefits is to be ensured, since the platform says benefits sometimes match earned income. Against undeclared work, the AfD calls for more inspections, effective sanctions and public information.

The AfD supports the nationwide statutory minimum wage but rejects Berlin's higher state minimum wage. In the party's view, it distorts competition and makes public contracts more expensive.

Germany has a minimum wage for the whole country. The AfD thinks it is right. Berlin also has its own, higher minimum wage. The AfD rejects this one.

The platform sees the nationwide minimum wage as protection against wage dumping and poverty. It calls the state minimum wage excessive. According to the AfD, it leads to higher costs, more complicated procurement procedures and less investment. The party puts entrepreneurial freedom and economic considerations first.

The AfD wants to expand accessibility based on actual need and keep sheltered workshops for people with disabilities. For older people, it calls for affordable age-appropriate housing, non-digital access to public offices and measures against loneliness. Volunteering would be supported but kept separate from government duties.

The AfD wants to remove barriers where the need is greatest. Workshops for people with disabilities should stay. Older people should get suitable homes. People should be able to reach public offices without the internet.

Accessibility would advance mainly in public offices, local transit and health care, with realistic funding, since the party believes smaller providers would otherwise be overwhelmed. Workshops would remain as a voluntary option and be modernized. According to the platform, criticism of them rests on a one-sided understanding of inclusion. For seniors, the AfD lists more age-appropriate housing, non-digital routes to public offices, and support for participation and volunteering to counter loneliness. Volunteer work should not replace regular jobs or public services.

The AfD wants to refocus homeless services and promote voluntary return programs for homeless people without a German passport. Those the party considers truly in need of protection would receive more support.

Many homeless people in Berlin have no German passport. That is what the AfD says. It wants to help them return to their country by choice. Help for homeless people should be organized differently.

According to the platform, a large share of Berlin's homeless people are not German citizens and often have no lasting prospect of staying. Existing options for return are said to be used too rarely. The party makes three demands: funded voluntary return, more help for those in need of protection, and a redesign of services aimed at results. In the AfD's view, help should be targeted, humane and realistic.