Carer´s allowance during the state of emergency

On 10 March 2020 it was decided to temporarily ban teaching at primary, secondary, universities and other school programs.

Are parents entitled to a paid carer's allowance if they have to stay home with their children?

In case you need to take care of a child under 13 years (a child that has not yet reached 13 years of age) who cannot attend school or kindergarten due to ordered quarantine, you are entitled to carer's allowance. In this case, you need to apply though the application form titled Žádost o ošetřovné při péči o dítě do 10 let due to the closure of the schooling facility.

UPDATES:

Dependency care benefit will be provided for the entire duration of emergency measures.

Financial support for lost earnings (so-called dependency care benefit, ošetřovné in Czech) in the amount of 424 CZK per day will also be paid to the self-employed caring for children aged 6 to 13 years. The contribution will be paid by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the basis of a declaration submitted through a municipal trade licensing office. More information about the dependency care benefit can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration (available in Czech) or in the online material of SIMI (Association for Integration and Migration), which is available in Czech, English and Russian.

How to get carer´s allowance?

Parents do not have to go to the facility personally because the completed form can be sent electronically and serves as proof for the employer in order to be excused from work. In order to obtain the paid out benefit, the parent needs to print out the form, complete all required information, sign it and hand it over to the employer. It should be enough to take a picture of it (or scan it) and send it to the employer by e-mail. If the school or parent has a certified electronic signature, it's good to use it, but even without the certified electronic signature, the document will be accepted. The employer then shall submit the application together with other documents to the District Social Security Administration either thought a data box or by e-mail with an electronic signature.

The basis for the calculation of the carer's allowance is the average daily income for the decisive period (usually 12 calendar months before the month in which the need for care arose). This is further regulated according to the National Health Insurance Act by means of three reduction limits, thus obtaining the socalled reduced daily assessment base. The carer's allowance is paid for calendar days (from the first day) and amounts to 60% of the reduced daily assessment base.

The carer's allowance application form can be downloaded HERE (453.84kB)

Does the carer's allowance also apply when taking care of children who cannot attend preschool if they are closed?

Yes, according to the current interpretation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and the Czech Social Security Administration, if the current measures result in the closure of pre-school care facilities, it will be proceeded in the same way as in case of the closure of other school facilities.

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