Deferral of payment of contributions & pandemic nursing benefit

UPDATES ON NURSING BENEFIT AS OF 1ST SEPTEMBER 2020

After school opening on 1^st September parents (or responsible persons) are no longer entitled to decide whether their children will or will not attend school due to the concerns of the child's health. Deciding not to send a child to school (even due to the concerns of the child's health) would be breach of law.
Parents are entitled to the nursing benefit only if:

• they care (or are responsible for) children aged 0-11 years old (or until 18 years in case of adverse health condition) whose school or kindergarten was closed by decision of the director or Ministry of Education
• take care of ill child until 16^th year of age

Updates for parents taking care of children attending a kindergarten (as of 23^rd September) :

• parents are entitled the nursing benefit only in case the kindergarten was closed by decision of responsible authority 

DEFERRAL OF PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR MARCH, MAY, JUNE AND JULY 2020 (SOCIAL LEVIES FOR THE EMPLOYER)

The Government has approved a degree, based on which the due date for social insurance contributions that selected employers must pay for March 2020, May 2020, June 2020 AND July 2020 is extended until 31 December 2020.

This applies to employers and self-employed persons that reported in respective months a decrease in net turnover, income from business or self-employed activity due to COVID-19 of at least 40%.

The originally extended deadline for payment of social insurance contributions for March 2020 until 31 July 2020 is postponed until 31 December 2020. Currently, the extension does not apply to health insurance prepayments for March 2020, for which the due date remains 31 July 2020.

Deferred payment of insurance contributions does not apply to employee contributions.

AM I ENTITLED TO THE PANDEMIC NURSING BENEFIT EVEN AFTER THE TERMINATION OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION?

Entitlement to the pandemic nursing benefit is linked not only to the duration of the emergency, but also to the extraordinary situation. This means that if the state of emergency ends, the entitlement to pandemic nursing benefit remains, as the extraordinary situation persists.

Assuming the end of a crisis situation (emergency or extraordinary situation declared in connection with the COVID-19), the insured person's entitlement to this pandemic nursing benefit ends, as one of the conditions for maintaining the entitlement is the duration of the crisis situation.

The above-mentioned information also applies in relation to those parents who, after the end of the right to parental allowance, became entitled to pandemic nursing benefit.

ARE PARENTS ENTITLED TO PANDEMIC NURSING BENEFIT EVEN DURING SUMMER HOLIDAYS?

Due to the fact that during the summer holidays the schools is closed by the law (School Act) and not by decision of the competent authority (e.g. UVZ SR), the parent is not entitled to pandemic nursing benefit, even if the crisis situation lasts. Entitlement to pandemic nursing benefit for a parent of a child attending the school thus ends no later than the last day of schooling (30 June 2020).

A parent of a child attending a pre-school or crèche shall be entitled to a pandemic nursing benefit for this period if the parent does not place the child in a pre-school or crèche for capacity reasons or due to the child's health concerns.

WHO WAS ENTITLED TO A PANDEMIC NURSERY BENEFIT AFTER OPENING THE SCHOOLS AND PRE-SCHOOL FACILITIES?

After the opening of kindergartens and primary schools of the 1st level (1st - 4th year) and the 5th year from 1 June 2020, the right to the pandemic nursing benefit for those parents, whose children began to attend school facilities, ended. Parents of the children, who stayed at home in June and did not enter the facility (because the parent decided to do so due to the concerns of the child's health or lack of space at school / kindergarten) were entitled to continue to receive the pandemic nursing benefit.

Until the end of the school year 2009/2020, school attendance was voluntary and was dependent on the capacities of the school and kindergarten, the pandemic nursing benefit does not disappear.

The same conditions applied to the childcare facilities for children under three years of age (crèche). However, under certain conditions the parents' entitlement to nursing benefit remains, see the previous question.

The parent claims for the nursing benefit by sending a declaration of honor form to the Social Insurance Agency at the end of the month. In the form the parent states the days during which he/she has taken care of the child and for which he/she claims the benefit.