Factsheet for measure
CZ-2020-12/357
–
Updated
– measures in Czechia
Care allowance during emergency period for homeschooling 6 to 13 year-old children
Ošetřování člena rodiny – „Ošetřovné“ v době krize
Background information
The government action that closed school institutions at all levels subsequently required also the amendment of the definition of care allowance in the Act No. 187/2006 Coll., on Sickness Insurance. In an extraordinary bill the government has decided to modify the period of validity for payment of the care allowance to support the parents of young schoolchildren who are home schooling their children. Parents are entitled to care allowance as long as the ban on school attendance remains in force.
Content of measure
The current phrasing of the Act No.187/2006 Coll., on Sickness Insurance provides care allowance for a period of nine calendar days to parents of children under the age of 10 who cannot be put in the care of a school / child-care facility; for single parents the care allowance is for a period of 16 calendar days. Due to COVID-19 the Czech government decided to raise the age limit for these children from 10 to 13 years of age and parents will be entitled to care allowance as long as the ban on school attendance remains. Those taking care of the disabled members of the family at home following the closure of day care centres are also to be entitled to the care allowance.
Also the self-employed are entitled to apply for the money. The government has approved a financial contribution for the self-employed who are currently at home to ensure childcare. The state will pay CZK 424 (€15.41) per day, i.e. just under CZK 14,000 (€510) per month, to all self-employed persons taking care of children aged 6 to 13, on condition that a second member of the family no longer receives the care allowance.
Applications are collected online.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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01 July 2020
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The amount of care allowance has been increased to 80% of the daily assessment income. This increase is in effect from 1 April 2020.
The possibility to draw care allowance has been extended also to employees working on the basis of so called “work agreements outside employment relationships”, e.g. Agreement to complete a job (DPP) and Agreement to perform a work (DPČ).
Extended (more favorable) options of drawing care allowance are valid until 30 June 2020. Despite the fact that schools have reopened on 25 May 2020 for the first graders and on 8 June for secondary graders and secondary schools. After reopening the childrens' school attendance was voluntary and remained a parents' decision. Therefore, if a child under the age of 13 has not attended school during the crisis period up to the 30 June 2020, the parents were entitled to ask for care allowance. If the parent wanted to draw care allowance even after the school institutions reopened, she/he had to state the reasons why the child did not start to visit the school facility.
The MoLSA defines three distinct reasons:
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health
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capacity of school facilities,
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operating.
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Use of measure
Statistics of applications for care allowance - total
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1 July to 12 July: 46,661
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11 June to 30 June: 257,391
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1 May to 31 May: 231,765
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1 April to 30 April: 151,168
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1 March to 31 March: 76,208
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1 February to 28 February: 64,185
Statistics of applications for care allowance due to school closure
* 12 March to 12 July: 307,014
* 1 July to 12 July: 6,068
* 1 June to 30 June: 48,331
* 1 May to 31 May: 80,789
* 1 April to 30 April: 158,689
* 12 March to 31 March: 13,137
The payment of care allowance benefits for self-employed is the responsibility of the
Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic
. As of 22 June 2020 the MPO received 129,000 applications and approved 115,000 of them (8,000 applications were rejected and 6,000 were sent back for reprocessing). Paid out: as of 22 June 2020 CZK 1.2 billion.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social insurance
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Consulted
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Consulted
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Form
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Unknown
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Unknown
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: Unknown
Involvement
consulted
Views and reactions
Unknown
Sources
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19 March 2020: CORONAVIRUS (illness COVID-19)
(www.cssz.cz)
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20 March 2020: Government agreeed to extend the payment of care allowance during an emergency; the self-employed will also get money
(www.vlada.cz)
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22 June 2020: The use of support provided by MPO in the fight against COVID-19 (•Přehled čerpání poskytovaných podpor v rámci boje s koronavirem v gesci MPO)
(www.asocr.cz)
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01 July 2020: Care allowance (Ošetřovné)
(www.mpsv.cz)
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13 July 2020: STATISTICS ON SICKNESS INSURANCE BENEFITS PROCESSED
(www.mpsv.cz)
