Workfare refers to government programs under which welfare recipients are required to take public-service jobs or to participate in employment training. Many countries worldwide have adopted workfare (sometimes implemented as "work-first" policies) to reduce poverty among able-bodied adults; however, their approaches to execution vary. The United States and United Kingdom are among the countries using workfare programs, albeit with different models.
Background
In the United States, workfare was first introduced by civil rights leader James Charles Evers in 1968; however, it was popularized by Richard Nixon in a televised speech August 1969. An early model of workfare had been pioneered in 1961 by Joseph Mitchell in Newburgh, New York. Traditional welfare benefits systems are usually awarded based on certain conditions, such as searching for work, or based on meeting criteria that would position the recipient as unavailable to seek employment or be employed. Under workfare, recipients have to meet certain participation requirements to continue to receive their welfare benefits. These requirements are often a combination of activities that are intended to improve the recipient's job prospects (such as training, rehabilitation, and work experience) and those designated as contributing to society (such as unpaid or low-paid work). These programs, now common in Australia (known as "mutual obligation"), Canada, and the United Kingdom, have generated considerable debate and controversy. In the Netherlands workfare is known as Work First, based on the Wisconsin Works program from the United States.
Role of the welfare state Workfare approaches to welfare are examples of Active Labor Market Policy (ALMP) that differ based on country, welfare state, and time period. Active labor market policies are utilized to counteract capitalistic market failure that prevent full employment in an economy. Four types of active labor market policies are incentive reinforcement, employment assistance, maintaining occupation, and human (social) capital investment. Workfare/work-first approaches have been identified as more coercive forms of welfare to work regimes. The US and the UK are both examples of liberal welfare regimes that prioritize the market's role in mitigating poverty, hence adopting workfare. There are two main types of workfare scheme: those that encourage direct employment to get individuals off the welfare roll and directly into the workforce, and those that are intended to increase human capital by providing training and education to those currently in the welfare system. In less developed countries, similar schemes are designed to alleviate rural poverty among day-labourers by providing state-subsidised temporary work during those periods of the year when little agricultural work is available. For example, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in India offers 100 days' paid employment per year for those eligible, rather than unemployment benefits on the Western model. However, a workfare model typically not only focuses on provision of social protection through a wage-income transfer, but also supports workers to get into work.
Goals The purported main goal of workfare is to generate a "net contribution" to society from welfare recipients. Most commonly, it means getting unemployed people into paid work, reducing or eliminating welfare payments to them and creating an income that generates taxes. Workfare participants may retain certain employee rights throughout the process, however, often workfare programs are determined to be "outside employment relationships" and therefore the rights of beneficiaries can be different. Some workfare systems also aim to derive a contribution from welfare recipients by more direct means. Such systems obligate unemployed people to undertake work that is considered beneficial to their community.
Germany
Bürgerarbeit Under the label Bürgerarbeit (German for Civic Work) several concepts have emerged over the past few decades in Germany. Some of these workfare programs aimed at activating recipients of basic security benefits for job seekers in Germany and deploying them in non-profit work at the municipal or district level. Initial plans for this date back to 1996, within the framework of voluntary programs. In late 2024, a decision was made in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to develop a concept requiring recipients of the Bürgergeld to perform non-profit work. Recipients refusing to take up assigned work would risk benefit cuts or face financial penalties. A voluntary model is currently in place, which probably is intended to be expanded nationwide. In January 2026, the Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze, announced plans to introduce a workfare style mandatory work program for long-term unemployed recipients of basic security support and for asylum seekers in his state as well. The pilot project started on July 1, 2026, in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz under the established name Bürgerarbeit.
Mandatory Work for Refugees By German federal law, asylum seekers can be required to perform work to maintain and operate their accommodation facilities, as well as work for the state, municipal, and non-profit organizations. In February 2024 the state of Thuringia established a workfare style mandatory work for refugees involving four hours of work per day. The requirement is intended to refugees living in collective accommodation. Since 2024, mandatory work for refugees (German: Arbeitspflicht für Geflüchtete) is established in the following Thuringian districts and independent cities:
Erfurt Kyffhäuserkreis Greiz district Schmalkalden-Meiningen Sonneberg district Saale-Holzland-Kreis Saale-Orla-Kreis However, most districts and independent cities in Thuringia continue to rely on voluntary participation. These include, for example, the Wartburgkreis and the Nordhausen district.
India Federal and state governments in India have established a joint program offering 125 days of guaranteed work in one financial year for anyone willing to participate under the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025. A minimum wage of ₹300 (US$3.10) is available under the scheme.
United Kingdom
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