Family Rights Day, which falls on 22 October, is a good opportunity to take a closer look at the activities of the Ministry of the Family, Labour and Social Policy precisely in the area of family support. And these are many.

Active parent

The latest MFLSP Active Parent programme is very popular. Since 1 October this year, when the call for applications for benefits under the programme started, parents have already submitted more than 230,000 applications. The vast majority, around half of them, relate to subsidising the fees of a nursery, children's club or day-care provider.

How does it work? Parents can choose one of the three benefits available: active parents at work, actively in the nursery or actively at home. You can receive up to PLN 1,500 childcare allowance for a young child, and up to PLN 1,900 for a child with disabilities.

No means test has to be satisfied to receive this benefit, nor does the scheme affect other benefits. An application can be made at any time. The benefit will be paid no later than two months of the date of application, with adjustment.

More childcare places for toddlers

On the one hand, we want childcare for the youngest children to be affordable - and this is what the Active Parent programme aims to achieve - but on the other hand also just available.

This year we presented the Active Toddler programme, which is a new version of the programme known until recently as Toddler+. The new programme changed not only the name, but also the amount of the allocation - after a positive revision of the NRRP, the Programme budget amounts to nearly PLN 6.5 billion (previously PLN 5.5 billion). The amount of funding for the creation of care places for local government units has also been increased, to PLN 57 528 excluding VAT per one care place.

PLN 1,000 allowance for social workers and the foster care system

As a result of the Labour Ministry's actions, social workers, employees of the foster care system (including those running family children's homes and professional foster families), as well as employees of local government-run childcare institutions for children up to the age of three, have received allowances of PLN 1,000 per month since 1 July this year.

Why is this essential? The additional funding is, on the one hand, an appreciation of the work that makes a real contribution to improving the situation of families in Poland and, on the other, an increase in the prestige of these extremely important professions. For there is still a shortage of candidates. In addition, these workers also have their families whose financial situation has improved.

Important support after the loss of a spouse

The widow's pension is also undoubtedly an extremely important item on the list of measures implemented at the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy. The death of a wife or husband, with whom a senior citizen has often lived most of their life, is a huge blow. The challenge is not only to face the trials of everyday life alone, but also to meet the financial obligations with one, rather than two pensions.

The introduction of a widow's pension will mean that the widowed person will be able to keep their benefit and increase it with a part of the deceased spouse's survivor's pension, or collect the deceased spouse's survivor's pension plus part of their pension.

The law will enter into force on 1 January 2025. The payment of benefits in concurrence will start on 1 July 2025.

Greater protection for employees

In June this year, legislation came into force expanding the catalogue of carcinogenic and mutagenic substances and enabling the issuing of a regulation by the Minister of Health on chemicals, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic effects in the working environment. This is greater protection for several hundred thousand employees and their families. Indeed, reprotoxic substances can have adverse effects on sexual function and fertility in adult men and women, as well as on the development of their children.

In September this year, in turn, the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers came into force. By providing protection against retaliation for employees reporting violations regardless of the basis and form of their work or service, they will not have to choose between the common good and the safety of their loved ones. The vision of losing one's job has so far been an extremely strong brake against whistleblowing.

Family is our common denominator

Parents of children born prematurely and hospitalised after birth will soon be able to count on additional leave, pensioners will be able to count on additional valorisation of their benefits if inflation in the first half of the year exceeds 5 per cent, while employees will face a reform of seniority calculation. And these are just some of the planned solutions.

All the solutions described above were accompanied by one common goal - to improve the safety, comfort and quality of life of parents and their children, employees, seniors. All of these people have families and loved ones they care about and for whom they are the whole world. The role of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy is to look after all citizens, all families - on Family Rights Day we want this message to resonate particularly clearly.