On Wednesday, the Sejm adopted a law on supporting parents in their professional activity and child-rearing. Active Parent, or the so-called granny allowance, introduces new forms of support for families with the youngest children. The money - up to PLN 1,500 per month - is to be paid from 1 October this year.

Money for the care of a young child will soon be coming to Polish families. Because work and family do not have to be mutually exclusive, and every toddler deserves to be cared for," points out Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy.

New benefits for parents

Active Parent is introducing three new benefits for families with the youngest children - active parents at work, active in the nursery and active at home.

The choice is entirely up to the parent, on the understanding that one benefit may be paid for the same child in a given month. But the parent will have the possibility to change their decision multiple times during the programme, to give up one form of support and switch to another, Deputy Family Minister Aleksandra Gajewska said during the second reading of the bill in the Sejm.

What if a parent loses their job?

As the deputy head of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy pointed out, the benefit at which the professional activity of parents will be examined is 'active parents at work'.

If someone loses their job, the month they lose it and the following month they will have their support maintained, their benefit at the level as if they were professionally active. They can then use the 'active in the nursery' benefit or opt for independent childcare ('active at home'), explained Deputy Minister Gajewska.

Parents will have a real choice

The Active Parent programme introduces systemic solutions that will contribute to the development of institutional care for children up to the age of 3, facilitate the return of parents, especially mothers, to the labour market, and provide favourable conditions for combining family roles with professional work. While leaving it up to the parent to choose the form of childcare - it is the parent who knows best what solutions are good for them and their child.

According to the law, parents will be able to take advantage of the new solutions from 1 October 2024. The benefit will be paid by the Social Insurance Institution.