This is a highly anticipated act that fundamentally changes the support system and the system of benefits - those benefits related to the family and those related to people with disabilities  - said Paweł Wdówik, the Deputy Minister of Family and government representative for people with disabilities, during a briefing held at the Ministry of Family and Social Policy on Thursday.

A few days earlier, President Andrzej Duda signed the act on the supporting benefit for people with disabilities.

As he emphasized, the act fully implements the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal on the differentiation of benefits depending on the date of the onset of the disability. From now on, the benefits will be exactly the same for everyone, regardless of when the disability arose.

Parents and guardians allowed to work without restrictions

According to Deputy Minister Paweł Wdówik, the act also fulfills the demand that parents of children with disabilities should be allowed to work while receiving the nursing benefit.

This act completely eliminates any mechanisms for linking employment to the benefit. This means that parents and caregivers of people entitled to the nursing benefit will be allowed to work without any restrictions. This is a great change that has been highly anticipated and is highly praised by parents of children with disabilities - he stressed.

In addition, a separate nursing attendance benefit will be paid for each child with a disability.

The new supporting benefit

Another important change is that the nursing benefit will be paid until the age of 18. This means that when a person with a disability comes of age, the benefit his parents receive ends, and he or she becomes entitled to other benefits: a social benefit, a supplementary benefit, or the new supporting benefit.

As Deputy Minister Paweł Wdówik emphasized, the supporting benefit is based not on the cause or degree of the disability, but on the level of need for support.

Despite having the same disability of the same degree, people are different in terms of the assistance they need, and these differences are often very apparent. This benefit is tailored to meet needs of its recipients. The greater the need, the greater the benefit -  he said.

He noted that a special scale, which is currently being prepared and tested, will be used for evaluation.

We will announce it within the statutory deadline, so that we can ensure the highest quality of this evaluation and the adequacy of the benefit -  assured the government representative for people with disabilities.