PLN 3,287 per month, but there are refusals. The court dispelled doubts.

• From January 1, 2025, the care benefit amounts to PLN 3,287 per month (previously it was PLN 2,988)
• According to the new regulations, carers of people with disabilities can combine receiving benefits with professional activity.
• Infor.pl cites the judgments of two courts regarding the care of seniors - the commune refused to grant care benefits
• According to the commune, care does not prevent the caregiver from taking up work, although the disability certificate itself indicated that the care should be of a permanent nature.
• The NSA criticized the actions of officials and compared caring for seniors to caring for a child.

The regulations regarding care benefits have changed since January 1, 2024. The most important changes to care benefits include:

• from 1 January 2024, the amount of the care benefit is PLN 2,988 per month;
• from 1 January 2025, the care benefit will increase by almost PLN 300, to PLN 3,287 per month;
• Care benefits under the new rules may be granted to persons who care for people with disabilities up to the age of 18;
• the regulations also expand the group of people entitled to the care benefit – from 1 January 2024, the care benefit is available to the following caregivers:

- mother or father

- other persons who are obliged to pay maintenance, as well as spouses,

- the actual guardian of the child,

- a foster family, a person running a family children's home, a director of a care and educational facility, a director of a regional care and therapeutic facility or a director of a pre-adoption intervention center;

• One of the most important changes being introduced is the ability to combine professional activity, without any restrictions, with receiving the care benefit. This means that from 1 January 2024, the employment or other paid work of a caregiver – its type, duration, location, remuneration, etc. – has no impact on the right to the care benefit;
• the status of the guardian as a farmer, a farmer's spouse or a member of the farmer's household does not constitute any obstacle to receiving care benefits under the new rules from 1 January 2024; care benefits under the new rules, applicable from 1 January 2024, are also granted in a situation where the guardian of a child under 18 years of age has an established right to their own pension or disability pension or other retirement and disability pension;
• the new regulations also stipulate that if a guardian receiving care benefits under the new rules takes care of more than one person (child) under 18 years of age who holds the relevant disability certificate mentioned above, the amount of the care benefit is increased by 100% for the second and each subsequent person under care – the condition is that the guardian submits an application for an increase in the care benefit (note: this does not apply to the director of a care and educational facility, the director of a regional care and therapy facility and the director of an intervention pre-adoption center);
• the new provision also states that in the event of the death of a person requiring care, the person providing care retains the right to the care benefit until the last day of the month following the month in which the death of the person requiring care occurred.

Problems with benefits and senior care

As Infor.pl points out, municipalities conduct background checks and create a list of activities that elderly people can perform independently. In this way, municipalities believe they have the right to assess whether someone is bedridden and, based on this, refuse to pay care benefits.

The website cited a judgment of the Provincial Administrative Court in Rzeszów, confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court. It described the practice of municipalities refusing to grant care benefits based on a community interview. It turns out that the interview indicated that the care provided did not prevent the caregiver from taking up employment, although the disability certificate itself indicated that the care provided was to be permanent.

Therefore – in the case cited by Infor.pl – without the court’s intervention, there would be two contradictory decisions in legal circulation:

• administrative decision refusing to grant care benefits (based on a community interview);
• a medical certificate indicating the need for constant care, which only in exceptional situations allows combining work with care.

The judgment of the Rzeszów Regional Administrative Court concerns a senior citizen who cannot function independently and therefore requires constant care, which was confirmed by a disability certificate.

However – as quoted by Infor.pl – the officials considered that his daughter’s care consisted of shopping, preparing meals, and attending doctor’s appointments, and therefore concluded that there were no obstacles to the daughter-caregiver going to work, which, under the law at that time, excluded the granting of care benefits.

The court criticized the officials' position and stated that "caring for an elderly person is often comparable to caring for a child. It is not necessary to perform all the activities for that person to be considered caring. The mere inability to leave a person alone due to the impending danger caused by helplessness may be a justified obstacle to taking up employment."

At the same time, Infor.pl reported that the "old" system for granting the benefit will continue to operate for many years , under which combining work with receiving the benefit is excluded and there is no limitation to caring for minors. Therefore, the judgments cited by the portal are important, among others, for individuals exercising acquired rights who are engaged in disputes over denial of care benefits under the old rules.

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