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🏭 Workshop for disabled people (Werkstatt für behinderte Menschen) and Budget für Arbeit

If the general labour market is not (yet) possible, there is sheltered employment and subsidies for employers.

workshop WfbM Budget für Arbeit wage subsidy 75 percent § 219 SGB IX § 61 SGB IX

In brief

Not everyone can work on the general labour market. A workshop for disabled people (Werkstatt für behinderte Menschen) offers training and employment. The condition is that, at the latest after vocational training, you can perform at least a minimum amount of economically usable work.

The Budget für Arbeit (work budget) helps you move into a job with a regular employer. The employer can receive a wage subsidy of up to 75 percent of the wages. In addition there is money for guidance and support at the workplace.

There is no entitlement to the provider finding a job with an employer for you.

Step by step

  1. Use advice servicesGet advice from the EUTB (independent participation advice centre) and the rehabilitation provider.
  2. Clarify the providerAsk who is responsible, for example the pension insurance, the Bundesagentur or integration assistance (Eingliederungshilfe).
  3. Look for an employer or workshopLook for an employer or a workshop in your region.
  4. Submit an applicationSubmit the application to the responsible provider.

Deadlines

up to 75 percent
Wage subsidy in the Budget für Arbeit§ 61 SGB IX
minimum amount
economically usable work as an admission requirement of the workshop§ 219 SGB IX
Watch out – common mistakes
  • Pay from workshops for disabled people is excluded from the additional income limit under § 96a SGB VI. Have the details checked.
  • Anyone in the workshop without economically usable output can be cared for in another way (§ 219 SGB IX).
  • The requirement under § 58 SGB IX for the Budget für Arbeit was not checked against the full text here.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Workshop (§ 219 SGB IX)

The workshop is an institution for participation in working life and integration into working life for people who, because of the nature or severity of their disability, cannot, not yet or not yet again work on the general labour market. It offers vocational training and employment and promotes the transition to the general labour market. Admission: expectation of at least a minimum amount of economically usable work at the latest after measures in the vocational training area. Persons with significant danger to themselves or others, or with a care need that permanently makes a minimum amount impossible, are excluded.

Budget für Arbeit (§ 61 SGB IX)

Anyone entitled under § 58 SGB IX who receives an offer of an employment relationship subject to social insurance contributions at collectively agreed or locally customary pay can apply for the Budget für Arbeit. It comprises a wage subsidy (up to 75 percent of the regularly paid wages) and the costs of guidance and support. A subsidy is not granted if there is a suspicion that another employee was dismissed only to obtain the subsidy. § 61 Abs. 2 SGB IX currently names no upper limit in monetary terms. The wage subsidy is up to 75 percent of the regularly paid wages; duration and scope depend on the individual case.

Reference

The group Menschen mit Behinderung explains further participation benefits such as the personal budget (Persönliches Budget).

Who is responsible
  • Integration assistance provider (Eingliederungshilfeträger), pension insurance or Agentur für Arbeit depending on the case
  • EUTB
  • Integrationsamt (integration office) (not checked)
Further reading
Rehabilitation, participation in working life and when rehabilitation becomes a pension applicationWorking with a reduced earning capacity pension: additional income 2026 and trial workAdvice and contact points

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Workshop for disabled people (Werkstatt für behinderte Menschen) and Budget für Arbeit“?
If the general labour market is not (yet) possible, there is sheltered employment and subsidies for employers.
Which deadlines and figures matter?
  • up to 75 percent: Wage subsidy in the Budget für Arbeit (§ 61 SGB IX)
  • minimum amount: economically usable work as an admission requirement of the workshop (§ 219 SGB IX)
What should I do first?
  • Use advice services: Get advice from the EUTB (independent participation advice centre) and the rehabilitation provider.
  • Clarify the provider: Ask who is responsible, for example the pension insurance, the Bundesagentur or integration assistance (Eingliederungshilfe).
  • Look for an employer or workshop: Look for an employer or a workshop in your region.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • Pay from workshops for disabled people is excluded from the additional income limit under § 96a SGB VI. Have the details checked.
  • Anyone in the workshop without economically usable output can be cared for in another way (§ 219 SGB IX).
  • The requirement under § 58 SGB IX for the Budget für Arbeit was not checked against the full text here.
Evidence
  • § 219 SGB IX, gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved 21 September 2026
  • § 61 SGB IX, gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved 21 September 2026
  • § 96a SGB VI, gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved 21 September 2026
As of

September 2026 · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.