Childcare benefit

One of the parents (adoptive parents) or a foster parent, or one of the child grandparent covered with the maternity social insurance is entitled to the childcare benefit if:

• he is covered with maternity social insurance;
• he has been granted a childcare leave according to the procedure established by law;
• before the first day of the childcare leave he has the maternity social insurance record of not less than 12 months during the last 24 months.

The maternity social insurance record includes the periods during which state social insurance contributions for maternity social insurance are paid or had to be paid as required by law, as well as the periods during which the insured person received sickness benefit (including the benefits payable by the employer during the first two days of sickness), vocational rehabilitation, maternity, paternity and childcare benefits, sickness due to accidents at work or occupational disease benefits, unemployment social benefits and partial work benefits.

In case an individual does not have the required maternity social insurance record as she/he has been on a childcare leave, the maternity social insurance record shall be calculated throughout the preceding 24 month period until the child attained the age of 2.

When an insured person who receives a childcare benefit, becomes entitled to a maternity or childcare benefit because of the birth of another child, she/he shall be paid both the benefits, however the sum total of the benefits may not exceed 78 per cent of the compensatory wage of the beneficiary.

When one of the parents (adoptive parents) or guardians, or one of the child grandparent who receives a childcare benefit, becomes an uninsured person within 24 months before the first day of childcare leave, he or she shall be paid a childcare benefit according to the same procedure as used for the employed women on the childcare leave.

When one of the parents (adoptive parents) or guardians, or one of the child grandparents, who has a maternity social insurance record, becomes an uninsured person within 24 months before the first day of childcare leave and for that reason the person has not been granted childcare leave, he or she shall be paid a childcare benefit according to the same procedure as used for the employed women on the childcare leave.

Duration of childcare benefit payment

A childcare benefit shall be paid for the period of a childcare leave from the end of pregnancy and childbirth leave until the child is 18 or 24 months old, or during the period of childcare leave granted in accordance with Article 134 of the Labour Code.

Parents can choose how long they want to take look after the child and receive child care benefit – until the child turns 18 months or until the child turns 24 months. Out of all lenght there are non-transferable months – 2 months for father (adoptive or a foster father) and 2 months for mother (adoptive or a foster mother) or guardian (total 4 months). For grandparents, childcare benefit for non-transferable months are not paid.

If the parent raises the child alone, he or she will not be able to receive the non-transferable months of the other parent but will be able to receive additional months (2 months) which will be paid in the same way as the non-transferable months.

There is a list of cases when a child will be considered to be raised by one parent:

* when the other parent (adoptive) or guardian is dead or recognized as dead;

* another parent (adoptive) or guardian is recognized as being of unknown whereabouts;

* another parent (adoptive) or guardian has parental authority limited for a limited or indefinite period of time;

* paternity has not been established for a child whose care has been granted;

* a child for whom childcare leave has been granted is separated from one of his parents (adoptive parents);

* another of the child's parents (adoptive parents) or guardians is recognized as incapable in this field;

* the child's place of residence is established with one of his parents (adoptive parents), and the other parent (adoptive parents) is restricted from communicating with the child;

* another of the child's guardians is dismissed or removed from their duties;

* the other of the child's parents (adoptive parents) or guardians is serving a prison sentence in a prison and cannot take care of the child as a result.

It is important to know that grandparents cannot take advantage of the non-transferable months, but they can look after their grandchild and receive childcare benefit for the rest of the time if they meet the conditions.

If the mother did not receive maternity benefit for the period of a pregnancy and childbirth leave, a childcare benefit shall be granted to other persons entitled to it from the day that the child is born or the first day after the end of paternity leave.

If the mother who received a maternity benefit during the pregnancy and childbirth leave dies, a childcare benefit shall be granted to other persons entitled to it from the day of the mother’s death.

During the paternity leave the father, in receipt of a paternity benefit, shall not be paid childcare benefit.

The amount of a childcare benefit

The amount of childcare benefit depends on chosen receipt duration  of the benefit: if the insured person chooses to receive the benefit until the child turns 18 months old, the amount of the benefit is 60 per cent of the beneficiary’s compensatory wage; if the person chooses to receive the benefit until the child turns 24 months old – the benefit until the child turns 1 year old is 45 per cent and 30 per cent of the beneficiary’s compensatory wage until the child turns 24 months old.

In both the first and the second option, the amount of the childcare benefit of non-transferable months of childcare leave is 78 per cent amount of of the beneficiary’s compensatory wage. The childcare benefit of the same amount will be paid for the additional 2 months of childcare leave, which is granted in cases where the child is raised by only one parent.

The same conditions apply to parents who adopted children, only the benefit is paid to for eighteen or twenty-four months (not until the child turns 18 or 24 months).

Monthly childcare benefits cannot be less than the size of 8 Basic Social Benefits.

When two or more children are born to the insured person and the person is on the childcare leave, the childcare benefits shall be increased taking into account the number of children born simultaneously, however the sum total of the paid benefits may not exceed 78 per cent of the beneficiary’s compensatory wage.

If parents work during non-transferable leave, the benefit will be reduced by the amount of income received. It will be possible to work during transferable childcare leave, but the amount of the benefit and the salary received will not be able exceed the salary from which the benefit was calculated. Parents who receive the minimum childcare benefit and other supplementary income can work and their benefits are not reduced, as long as the childcare benefit and other supplementary income together do not exceed the minimum monthly salary. Parents who receive the maximum benefit may work and receive supplementary income and shall not have their benefit reduced, provided that the childcare benefit and other supplementary income together do not exceed the former average wage, up to a maximum of 5 times the average national wage. During the additional two months (paid for lone parents) it is possible to work and receive the full amount (78 percent) of childcare benefit. Self-employed recipients of childcare benefit do not receive a reduction in the amount of childcare benefit if they have self-employment income during the benefit period.

The compensatory wage on the basis whereof the amount of childcare benefits are determined shall be calculated on the basis of the insured person’s insured income during twelve consecutive calendar months before the calendar month preceding the month in which a childcare leave began. For example, for individuals who qualify for the childcare benefit on 01.05.2023, the compensatory wage shall be calculated on the basis of insured income received during the period from 01.04.2022 to 31.03.2023.

Insured income of the insured person includes all income and other amounts of a person on which state social insurance contributions for maternity social insurance were paid or had to be paid as well as sickness benefits (including the first 2 days of sickness for which the employer pays), vocational rehabilitation, maternity, paternity, childcare benefits, sickness due to accidents at work or occupational disease benefits, and also unemployment social insurance benefits and partial work benefits.

The maximum compensatory wage for calculation of childcare benefits cannot exceed the size of two national average monthly wages for the quarter two quarters preceding the day on which the right to receive childcare benefits arose.

The childcare leave is calculated based on the average number of working days per month and is payable for previous month.