Applying for welfare benefits

Do you have too little income to live on? Then you may be entitled to social assistance benefit. This benefit supplements your income up to the social assistance standard applicable to you. First register as a jobseeker on Werk.nl. Then apply online for social assistance benefit. If you are unable to complete the application, we will be happy to help you at Maanplein 88.

Once your report is in, someone from Werkgeversservicepunt (WSP) Parkstad will contact you. Together we will discuss your possibilities towards employment. This mediation is mandatory. The municipality of Heerlen will also contact you by telephone. We will discuss your situation and you will be given information on how to apply for benefits.

Application Werk.nl

Reporting online

Approach

This is how you apply for welfare benefits:

register as a job seeker at www.werk.nl
complete the online notification form (arrange online)
after your first report we discuss your situation over the phone
after this telephone consultation you will receive a link from us to do the application digitally
also submit all your supporting documents digitally with this application (this is called: data upload)
Make sure you have all supporting documents digitally
make sure you have a valid DigiD

We review your application when we receive it. The municipality determines whether you are entitled to welfare benefits and how much money you will receive. Do you have roommates? If so, this may affect the amount of your benefit.

Description

It is important that you earn your own income and receive benefits only as long as you need them. That is why we help you find work. Sometimes this happens automatically, but you may also need help to do so.

The municipality cooperates with Werkgeversservicepunt (WSP) Parkstad and WerkvoorHeerlen. You will be notified by WSP Parkstad within 24 hours of applying for social assistance benefits. You will attend an introductory interview and together we will discuss your options towards employment.

Note! This guidance to work is not without obligation. If you receive benefits, you also have obligations. The guidance is one of these obligations and applies from the moment you register. This means that we also share your data with WSP Parkstad and WerkvoorHeerlen.

You are entitled to social assistance benefit if your income and assets are below the social assistance level. The income and assets of the partner with whom you live also count. Your own assets include not only your savings, but also valuable property, for example.

Terms

You do not have enough money for your living expenses. Do you have a partner? Or do you live with someone and share household expenses? Then this person's income and assets will count. The income of children living with you does not count as long as your child is under 27.
You are 18 years of age or older.
You live in the Netherlands.
You can show that you have basic knowledge of Dutch(level 1F). That means you can write and understand short, easy texts.
You are not entitled to any other benefit.
You do not belong to an excluded group of persons, such as prisoners or aliens without residence permits.
Do you want to move to another municipality? And do you have an assistance benefit? Then you must first look for work there.
You follow the rules imposed on you by the municipality.

Are you from 1 of these European countries? Then for the first 3 months that you are in the Netherlands you will only receive assistance in 1 of these cases:

You are an employee or self-employed person under EU law. That is:
- You work a minimum of 16 hours per week.
- You earn at least 50% of your country's welfare standard.
- If you are self-employed: your company is registered with the Chamber of Commerce (CoC).
You became unemployed or disabled against your will. This is less than 6 months ago.
You are a family member of an EU resident who lives, works, studies or has started a business in the Netherlands. You live at the same address as this family member.

Term

The municipality decides within 8 weeks of receiving your application. The municipality may extend this period once.

Objection and appeal

You can object to the decision on your application. Do this within 6 weeks. Do you then disagree with the decision on the objection? Then file an appeal with the court.