Due to the decision to close schools, nurseries and preschools until Easter, work is under way to extend the allowance for parents caring for a child by additional days. The new solutions are to apply retroactively, that is, from 26 March 2020. The additional allowance is available to parents under the special act adopted in March, which grants parents of a child up to the age of 8 the right to use the additional care allowance. Under this act, the allowance was initially paid for 14 days.
“Because schools are closed for longer, parents are already reaching the end of their entitlement to the additional 14-day care allowance, so they can apply now for further payments. The declaration should be submitted in the same way as before, while the application itself will be processed once the amended regulations enter into force,” explains Iwona Kowalska-Matis, ZUS regional press spokesperson in Lower Silesia. “This means that self-employed people send their applications directly to ZUS, while people employed under contracts submit them to their employer.”
In addition, parents may apply for the care allowance under the general rules; in that case, it will be granted within the limit of 60 days per calendar year. It is enough to complete the form available on the ZUS website—Z-15A—and a declaration confirming the closure of the facility.
“However, once the new regulations enter into force, this period will be settled as an additional allowance and will not count toward the 60-day pool,” assures I. Kowalska-Matis.
ZUS:
The declaration for the additional care allowance can be submitted online. A person conducting non-agricultural business activity or cooperating with someone conducting such activity, for whom ZUS is the allowance payer, may send the declaration to the institution electronically via the Electronic Services Platform (PUE) ZUS.
An employee should inform their employer about using the allowance, a contractor should inform their contracting party, while a person conducting business activity should notify ZUS directly.