Factsheet for measure
PL-2020-11/833
–
Updated
– measures in Poland
Care allowances for working parents forced to provide personal daycare for young children due to school/pre-school system lockdown
Zasiłki opiekuńcze dla pracujących rodziców zmuszonych do sprawowania osobistej dziennej opieki nad dziećmi w związku z zamknięciem placówek oświatowych
Background information
As provided for in the Special Act, if the crèche, kids club, nursery school or school which is closed unexpectedly, the parent (if covered by public sick-leave insurance) of a child up to 8 years of age is entitled to receive an additional care allowance, as he/she is forced to provide personal day care for the children at home. It is also available to parents whose children used to be under day care at home provided by remunerated third persons (babysitters).
Parents of disabled children of up to 16 years of age or up to 18 years of age, if the children have officially recognised special educational needs are also covered. The allowance is available for the entire period of the facilities remaining closed. Schools closed on 25 March but the measure was paid (in a retroactive manner) from 12 March and lasted until 26 July. After the summer holiday, it resumed but only until 20 September. With a possibility of another total lockdown, as of early November, reactivation of the measure is being considered.
Content of measure
Eligible are employees, self-employed and holders of mandate contracts (freelancers) covered by public sick-leave insurance scheme (
ubezpieczenie chorobowe
). The eligible persons have to submit application for the allowance to the entity that pays sick-leave dues on their behalf (either the employer or the other party to the freelance contarcts, the orderer) or Social Security Institution (ZUS) directly (self-employed).
The care allowance amounts to 80% of gross wages or, in case of self-employed, of average monthly revenue (calculated for 12 months). The availability of the measure was said to be subject to prolongation, in line with the actual needs (that is, if the restrictions forcing parents to stay at home were to be extended).
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
|
12 August 2021
|
With the second lockdown the measure was extended for periods: 9 November 2020-24 December 2021 and 28 December 2020-25 June 2021.
|
Use of measure
Since the allowance became available, more then 1,266.1 thousand applications were submitted, of which 1,040.5 thousand (82.2 %) were granted, whose total worth amounted to PLN 704,7 million (€155 million).
Target groups
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Workers
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Businesses
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Citizens
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Parents in employment
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Does not apply to businesses
|
Does not apply to citizens
|
Actors and funding
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Actors
|
Funding
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National government
|
National funds
|
Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
|
Trade unions
|
Employers' organisations
|
|
Role
|
No involvement
|
No involvement
|
|
Form
|
Not applicable
|
Not applicable
|
Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
-
No involvement
-
Main level of involvement: Unknown
Involvement
No involvement.
Views and reactions
No positions of social partners are known.
Sources
-
31 March 2020: The Act of 31 March 2020 amending the Act on the System of Development Institutions
(prawo.sejm.gov.pl)
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11 May 2020: Additional care allowances: will the government cut financing?
(www.fakt.pl)
-
29 July 2020: Reply of the Social Security Institution to the Ombudsman regrading the delay in payment of allowances
(www.rpo.gov.pl)
