In order to ensure the highest quality of our services, we use small files called cookies. When using our website, the cookie files are downloaded onto your device. You can change the settings of your browser at any time. In addition, your use of our website is tantamount to your consent to the processing of your personal data provided by electronic means.
Back
your europe

Get a care allowance for caring for a sick child

You cannot go to work because you are taking care of a sick child? Remember that you are entitled to a care allowance. Find out who may receive such an allowance and how.

Who may receive the care allowance

Anyone who meets both of the following conditions:

  1. you cannot work because you are taking care of a sick child and:

  • you are that child’s parent,

  • you are that child’s adoptive parent,

  • you are that child’s foster parent,

  • you are that child’s legal guardian,

  • it is not your child but you raise it and support it,

  1. you are covered by sickness insurance and:

  • you are a worker (you have an employment contract),

  • you are a contractor (you have concluded an agency contract, a contract of mandate or another contract for the provision of services, including a formal nanny agreement if you work as a nanny),

  • you work together with a contractor,

  • you are an outworker working under a contract for outwork (i.e. you work at home, for example assemble pens, sew or make felt jewellery),

  • you carry out non-agricultural economic activities or you work together with a person carrying out such activities,

  • you are a member of a farming cooperative or a farmers’ cooperative association,

  • you are a member of the clergy.

Although both the mother and the father of a child are entitled to the allowance, the allowance will be granted only to one parent: the one who submits an application. You will not receive the allowance if other family members whom you live with are able to take care of the sick child. This rule does not apply if the child is under the age of 2.

A formal nanny agreement is an agreement with a nanny taking care of a child:

  • older than 20 weeks until the end of the school year in which the child reaches the age of 3, 

  • under the age of 4 if it is impossible or difficult for the child to receive pre-school education. 

The agreement is concluded in written form between the nanny and the parents or a single parent.

What you need to prepare

If your contribution payer has a profile on the PUE ZUS portal, the doctor will issue an electronic sick note (e-ZLA), which will be sent to the ZUS and the payer automatically. If your payer does not have a profile on the PUE ZUS portal, that person will inform you about this in writing.

  • a medical certificate issued on a printout from the system in an alternative manner, for example when the doctor has no internet connection. If you have a profile on the PUE ZUS portal, check whether the doctor has already entered your sick note into the system – if so, you do not need to submit this printout,

If you receive a printout of an electronic sick note (e-ZLA – open the file in a new window) and your contribution payer has a profile on the PUE ZUS portal – do not submit the sick note – it will be sent to the ZUS and the payer automatically.

  • a contribution payer’s certificate – if you know that it is the ZUS that will pay you the allowance:

  1. Z-3 certificate if you are a worker,

  2. Z-3b certificate if:

  • you carry out non-agricultural economic activities,
  • you work together with a person carrying out non-agricultural economic activities,
  • you are a member of the clergy,

  1. Z-3a certificate in other cases,

  • an identity document, for example identity card or passport, if you submit the documents personally at a ZUS branch.

If you are taking care of a child during a stay abroad, you will receive a certificate issued by a foreign doctor instead of a certificate from a Polish doctor. The certificate must contain the following data:

  • the name of the medical centre (for example, a hospital or a clinic) and the full name of the doctor,

  • the date of the certificate and the doctor’s signature,

  • the beginning and end of the period during which you will be taking care of the child.

Does the certificate need to be translated into Polish?

No, if it was issued in a Member State of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), or in a country that has signed a social security agreement with Poland.

Yes, if it was issued in other countries. A certified translation is not required.

If you are taking care of a sick child with disabilities older than 14, you must additionally submit a document confirming that the child has disabilities, i.e.:

  • a certificate of severe disability, or

  • a disability certificate, indicating that the child needs the constant or long-term care or assistance of another person due to a severely limited ability to live independently and needs the constant daily assistance of another person in treatment, rehabilitation or education.

What you need to do

  1. Collect all the necessary documents. See What you need to prepare for a detailed list.

  2. Submit the documents to the ZUS or to the contribution payer. See Where to submit the documents for details. You may submit the documents in person or through a plenipotentiary. You may also send them by post.

A contribution payer is any company, institution or person that registers insured persons with the Social Insurance Institution and settles and pays social or health insurance contributions for them. It may be, for example, an employer or a person carrying out non-agricultural activities.

When to submit the documents

Straight away – if you have all the necessary documents.

You may also apply for an allowance for a period that has already ended. You must do this within 6 months from the last day for which the allowance could be received. Example: if you took care of a sick child from 1 to 8 July, then 8 July is the last day for which you may receive the allowance. Thus, you must submit all the documents by 8 January of the following year in order to obtain the allowance (6 months after 8 July).

If you cannot submit the application within this deadline for some reason (for example, you are in hospital), you may submit it within 6 months from the date on which this reason ceases to apply.

Where to submit the documents

  • to the contribution payer – for example, your employer – if the payer employs more than 20 persons,

  • to the contribution payer or at the ZUS branch having jurisdiction over the contribution payer’s registered office – if the payer employs up to 20 persons (submit the printout of the electronic sick note to the contribution payer),

  • at the ZUS branch having jurisdiction over the contribution payer’s registered office – if you carry out non-agricultural activities, work together with a person carrying out such activities or you are a member of the clergy.

You may send the documents by post, or submit them in person or through a plenipotentiary. If the allowance is paid by the ZUS, you may submit the application electronically via the ZUS Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS). The contribution payer may also submit Z-3, Z-3a and Z-3b certificates via the PUE ZUS portal.

Use the ZUS browser to find out at which branch you may submit the documents. Enter the postal code of the contribution payer.

How much you will pay

The service is free of charge.

How long you will wait

You will receive the allowance up to 30 calendar days after you submit all the documents.

The ZUS may refuse to pay you the allowance, in which case you will receive a decision on this matter.

If the contribution payer refuses to pay you the allowance or pays you an incorrect amount of the allowance, you may request the ZUS for a decision on this matter.

How much you may receive

80% of the allowance assessment basis. The ZUS or the contribution payer will calculate the amount of your allowance.

Benefit assessment basis

  • If you are a worker – it is your average monthly remuneration (gross) from the last 12 months before the month in which you took care of the sick child. The portion of social insurance contributions that you pay must be deducted from this amount.

  • If you are not a worker – it is your average monthly revenue from the last 12 months before the month in which you took care of the sick child. This amount should be reduced by 13.71%.

If you have been covered by sickness insurance for a period shorter than 12 months, then the allowance assessment basis is calculated on the basis of full calendar months of insurance before the month in which you took care of the sick child. Other specific rules apply to you if you carry out non-agricultural activities, work together with a person carrying out such activities or you are a member of the clergy. See the ZUS website for more information on the allowance assessment basis.

How long you will receive the care allowance

You will receive the allowance for up to:

  • 60 days in a calendar year – if you are taking care of a sick child under the age of 14,

  • 14 days in a calendar year – if you are taking care of a sick child older than 14,

  • 30 days in a calendar year – if you are taking care of a sick child with disabilities that is older than 14 but has not reached the age of 18.

You may take advantage of all the care allowances for a total of 60 days in a calendar year. The number of days does not change, regardless of how many children are under your care. For example, if you have two children under the age of 14, then you will receive the care allowance for a total of 60 days (not 120 days). 

Please remember that you may also receive the care allowance in another situation (for example, when you do not work because you are taking care of a healthy child under the age of 8 or you are taking care of another sick family member). Also in these cases, the total number of days during which you may receive the allowance cannot exceed 60 days in a calendar year.

If you are taking care of a sick child with disabilities older than 14 but younger than 18 and another sick member of your family (for example, a sick mother or a sick child older than 14), you will be entitled to the care allowance for 30 days in a calendar year. If, for example, you have two children older than 14 but younger than 18, including one child with disabilities, then you will receive the allowance for a total of 30 days in a year. If you are taking care of a sick child under the age of 14 and a sick child with disabilities older than 14 but younger than 18, then you will be entitled to the care allowance for 60 days in a calendar year (only 30 days for caring for the sick child with disabilities).

If you do not agree with the ZUS’s decision

You may appeal to the district labour and social security court through the ZUS branch that issued the decision. You should do this within one month from the receipt of the ZUS’s decision. There is no fee for lodging an appeal.

Legal basis:

Act of 25 June 1999 on cash benefits from social insurance in case of sickness or maternity (consolidated text, Journal of Laws from 2020, item 870)
 

NAME OF THE ENTITY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTENT OF THE INFORMATION

Ministry of Family and Social Policy

Department of Social Insurance

email: info@mrips.gov.pl 

{"register":{"columns":[]}}