Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka is introducing significant changes to the social benefits system. According to the ministry, the reform aims to simplify the system and make benefits more targeted. This massive overhaul marks the most significant changes in the field in the last 30 years.
The current system will be replaced by a single benefit next year. This new system will consolidate child allowances, housing allowances, subsistence allowances, and housing supplements. According to Jurečka, the current benefits system is complicated, and the most crucial types of support are poorly communicated.
The reform will affect nearly a million people who receive benefits. The current volume of benefits amounts to thirty billion crowns. According to the Ministry, the merging of benefits will better target those in need, making it easier to help families and children. The new system will also simplify the process, reducing paperwork and allowing electronic applications.
“We will operate on the principle of one family, one application, one administrative procedure, and consequently one benefit,” said the minister. The grant size and entitlement will be assessed based on four components. One of them is a work bonus intended to encourage recipients to improve their situation through their efforts.
Part of the conditions will also be the control of children’s school attendance. According to Jurečka, it currently often happens that children do not even finish elementary school. If applicants do not look for work and have no income, they will not have to receive anything, unlike the current situation.
Thus, the new system promises major changes and improvements. With the finalized parameters, the Ministry expects the new conditions to be effective next year.