Document 198 - Amendment to the Act on State Social Support

Scope: Section 30; pages 1–10.

The amendment introduces automatic indexation of the parental allowance in line with consumer price growth so that, after the increase to CZK 400,000 starting in 2027, its value will not be further eroded by inflation. The increase is to be assessed as of January 1 each year, but only if prices rise by at least 1%; if the threshold is not met, inflation is carried over to subsequent years. The first possible increase is set to take effect on January 1, 2028, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will announce the result annually by September 30. The proposal does not change the group of eligible persons or the rules for claiming the benefit, but it may increase state budget expenditures.

Scope: pages 1–5.

The amendment extends the increased parental allowance to families with a youngest child or multiple births born or placed in foster care as early as October 1, 2026, instead of the originally proposed January 1, 2027. It amends the transitional rules so that no entitlement to retroactive payment arises for the period prior to the law’s effective date, but amounts already paid will be credited toward the new, higher total amount. If the current limit has already been exhausted, after the law takes effect, only the remaining portion up to the new limit may be paid out, provided other conditions are met. The proposal thus mitigates the disparity between families in very similar situations.

Scope: Sections 30–30; pages 1–5.

The amendment to the main bill does not change the total amount of the parental allowance, but it expands the options for drawing it more quickly. For parents with a sufficient daily assessment base, the monthly limit increases from 70% of thirty times the daily assessment base to the full thirty times; for parents of multiple births, it increases correspondingly to twice this amount. A transitional provision is introduced, under which the new rules will apply only from the month the law takes effect, with no retroactive effect on previous months. At the same time, it allows for a new choice of benefit amount to be made immediately after the law takes effect, without waiting three months from the previous choice.

Scope: Section 31; pages 1–5.

An amendment to the bill on state social support removes the condition that a child under 2 years of age may attend a childcare facility for only a limited number of hours—120 hours per month—while receiving parental benefits. This amends the main bill so that, in addition to increasing the parental allowance, it also relaxes the rules on children’s attendance and reduces the administrative burden on parents, providers, and authorities. The proposal aims to make it easier to balance childcare and work. At the same time, it stipulates that the months prior to the law’s effective date will be assessed according to the existing rules, so that past periods will not be retroactively reassessed.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 38a–§ 38b; pages 1–6.

The amendment expands the original amendment to the Sickness Insurance Act and extends the deadline for taking paternity leave from the current 6 weeks to 1 year from the child’s birth or the child’s placement in the parent’s care. The duration of paternity leave itself remains unchanged at 2 weeks; only the period during which it can be taken is being modified. Special rules regarding the death of a child or hospitalization remain in effect. The new provision is also to apply to children born or taken into care before the law takes effect, provided that one year has not yet elapsed and paternity leave has not yet been taken.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; Section 13b; pages 1–4.

The amendment extends the increase in parental allowance to include a change to the law on childcare groups: municipalities are now required to provide care or financial compensation for children as young as 2 years and 6 months, instead of the previous age of 3 years. This expands assistance to parents who want or need to return to work earlier, provided the child has not been admitted to a local preschool and the legal conditions are met. The new obligation for municipalities regarding children between 2.5 and 3 years of age will take effect no earlier than September 1, 2027. Thus, in addition to social support, the proposal also strengthens the availability of care for younger children and places greater demands on municipalities.

Scope: Section 31; pages 1–7.

The amendment removes the limit of 120 hours of monthly attendance at a daycare group, preschool, or similar facility for the parental allowance, and at the same time eliminates the age requirement that the restriction applies only to children under 2 years of age. Under the new rules, a child’s attendance at these facilities will not in itself preclude entitlement to the allowance, provided that the other conditions are met. The proposal aims to make it easier for parents to balance child care with work or study and to reduce administrative burdens for parents, authorities, and care providers. The effective date remains unchanged, and the amendment is set to take effect on January 1, 2027, alongside the main proposal.

Scope: Sections 30–31a; pages 1–4.

The amendment to the government’s proposal further increases the parental allowance from the original CZK 350,000, through the proposed CZK 400,000, to a new amount of CZK 420,000; for multiple births, it is correspondingly doubled. At the same time, it introduces an annual adjustment starting in 2028 based on inflation and one-third of real wage growth, so that the benefit does not lose its real value. Existing entitlements are also to be temporarily increased: to CZK 375,000 for children born or adopted by the end of 2025 and to CZK 400,000 for children born in 2026. The proposal does not change the group of eligible persons or the basic conditions for receiving the benefit, but it will increase government spending.

Scope: Section 30; pages 1–3.

The amendment modifies the main proposal such that the parental allowance is no longer to be a fixed amount of 400,000 CZK, but is instead to be automatically derived from the minimum wage: from the current CZK 350,000 and the government’s proposed CZK 400,000 to 20 times the minimum wage, and 40 times the minimum wage for multiple births. At the same time, the monthly withdrawal limit is changing from a fixed amount of CZK 15,000 to one twenty-fourth of the total amount, while other eligibility conditions and the duration of benefits remain unchanged. On a transitional basis, for existing entitlements, the amounts are to be increased to CZK 375,000 for children born or adopted by the end of 2025 and to CZK 400,000 for children born in 2026; the amounts paid will be offset. The proposal aims to introduce predictable indexation of family support starting January 1, 2027, while also linking government spending to the growth of the minimum wage.

Scope: pages 1–4.

The amendment originally extended the increase in the parental allowance to families with a youngest child born or taken into care in 2025 and 2026, provided their entitlement was still in effect after the law took effect. However, it is clear from the text that this entire addition to the transitional provisions and the explanatory memorandum was subsequently deleted. In practice, therefore, the main government proposal remains unchanged without this extension: the higher amount is not to apply to existing entitlements. The proposal concerns support for families, but without changing the basic conditions for receiving benefits.

Scope: Section 31a; pages 1–7.

The amendment adds a new mechanism to the government’s increase in the parental allowance, providing for its future adjustment in line with inflation. The government could increase the amounts by decree as of January 1 if the cumulative growth in consumer prices for the relevant period reaches at least 5%, and the increase would correspond to the full rate of inflation, rounded up to the nearest thousand crowns. The increased amounts would apply only to the youngest children born or taken into care starting in the year the amount is increased, with the first reference period set to begin on January 1, 2027. The proposal does not change the group of eligible individuals or the conditions for receiving benefits, but it creates the possibility of higher government expenditures in the future.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 4–§ 60; pages 1–3.

In addition to increasing the parental allowance, the amendment also introduces a change to the law on state social assistance benefits. Under the new provisions, when assessing household income, the amounts actually withheld or paid in connection with debt relief, enforcement proceedings, and the execution of court decisions must be taken into account, so that benefits are better based on the household’s actual disposable income. Compared to the current regulation, the rule changes from a general deduction of ordinary expenses and contributions to an expanded deduction that also includes these deductions, while aiming to prevent undesirable incentive effects. Employers are now required to include the amount of these deductions in the income statement.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; Section 38; pages 1–6.

The amendment extends the original amendment to the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits and modifies the conditions for the child bonus. Under the new provisions, employment status for eligibility for the bonus is assessed only for parents of a dependent child in the household, rather than for all adult members of the household as was previously the case. The goal is to prevent a child from losing benefits due to the inactivity of another adult who is not the child’s parent. The proposal also sets the effective date of this change as October 1, 2026, while the other parts of the Act take effect on January 1, 2027.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 5; pages 1–6.

The amendment extends the main amendment to the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits and changes the method for calculating the income of self-employed individuals for the purpose of determining eligibility for benefits. For primary self-employment, the minimum countable income is reduced from 80% to 60% of the average wage, which may help low-income self-employed individuals qualify for benefits. For self-employed individuals under the flat-rate regime, 1.5 times the average wage is now counted in both the first and second brackets, and twice the average wage in the third bracket; consequently, eligibility may actually be limited for some individuals. This change is set to take effect on October 1, 2026, while the other parts of the main amendment will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; Section 4; pages 1–7.

The amendment extends the main amendment to the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits and changes the calculation of reference income for people undergoing debt relief. Unlike the current provisions, selected insolvency payments and deductions will now also be subtracted from income, so that the benefit more accurately reflects the household’s actual disposable income. The goal is to reduce disincentives to legal employment and to support debt resolution through debt relief; some of the changes are set to take effect in October 2026, with the remainder taking effect in January 2027. The proposal may increase government spending, but its sponsors also expect motivational and fiscal benefits due to higher legal incomes.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 39; pages 1–9.

The amendment supplements the government’s increase in the parental allowance with a change to the state social assistance benefit for the poorest families with children. Under the new proposal, the bonus for a dependent child in households with an income below three times the subsistence minimum will be standardized at 1,000 CZK per month; the existing lower bracket up to 1.43 times the subsistence minimum is abolished, so the amount changes from 500 Kč to 1,000 Kč. The proposal aims to eliminate the inequality whereby the poorest households received less support than households with slightly higher incomes, and estimates the additional impact on the state budget at approximately 300 to 400 million CZK per year. This change to the benefit is set to take effect on October 1, 2026, while the other provisions of the law will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Scope: Part Two–Part Four; § 7–§ 29; pages 1–8.

The amendment expands the original amendment to the parental allowance to include changes to state social assistance benefits. For single parents, the age limit for a child to qualify as a vulnerable person is raised from 7 to 15 years, which may strengthen their entitlement to support. At the same time, the calculation of standard rent is changing from a breakdown by municipality size to a breakdown by district to better reflect actual regional housing prices. These changes are set to take effect as early as October 1, 2026, while the increase in the parental allowance will take effect on January 1, 2027; the proposal could increase public spending by up to 3 billion CZK per year.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 3–§ 32a; pages 1–3.

The amendment expands the government’s proposed amendment to the Sickness Insurance Act and introduces a related entitlement to maternity benefits for women whose employment—typically a fixed-term contract—has since ended after the birth of their first child. The rule in § 19(3) is now amended from the original provision, which applied only to female employees in the same employment, to a broader provision covering all women, including the new entitlement under § 32a, while retaining the more favorable previous assessment base. Entitlement arises only if the woman has previously received maternity benefits, personally cared for her previous child, and the next maternity leave begins no later than when that child reaches the age of 4. A transitional provision allows the new rules to be applied to earlier cases as well, but without retroactive payment for the period prior to the effective date.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 4–§ 60; pages 1–4.

The proposed amendment expands the government’s bill to amend the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits. Under the new provisions, when assessing household income, insolvency payments and deductions from enforcement or execution of judgments will also be subtracted from income; thus, instead of counting the full nominal income as has been the case, the assessment will be based more on the income actually available to the household. Employers are now required to indicate the amount of these deductions on income statements. The proposal aims to improve the situation of low-income households undergoing debt relief and prevent them from being disadvantaged in terms of benefits due to their legal debt resolution.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 10; pages 1–4.

The amendment extends the government’s proposed amendment to the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits and newly and explicitly stipulates that an adult dependent child may be assessed outside the parents’ household if the child manages their own finances and lives outside the household. It is aimed primarily at students living independently, so that they are not automatically included in their parents’ household simply because they are studying away from home. According to the explanatory memorandum, other rules—including parental support obligations and the calculation of income—remain unchanged. The proposal thus modifies the group of individuals assessed for social benefits and may affect students’ eligibility for support.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 17–§ 42; pages 1–10.

The amendment extends the main amendment to the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits and regulates the assessment of personal automobile ownership during the means test. The Labor Office will no longer be bound solely by the information in the vehicle registry; discrepancies between the registry and actual circumstances may be substantiated by an affidavit, provided there are no reasonable grounds for doubt and the applicant is simultaneously taking steps to correct the record. At the same time, it is proposed that the three-month waiting period for a new application not apply in these cases if the benefit was denied or withdrawn solely because of an incorrectly registered car. The aim is to protect vulnerable individuals in particular from the unfair denial of social benefits due to erroneous data in the registry.

Scope: Part One–Part Three; § 28–§ 29; pages 1–9.

The amendment expands the main amendment not only to include an increase in the parental allowance but also to amend the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits. A new rule is added stipulating that the standard rent for a larger household must not be lower than that for a household with fewer members in the same area; if this were the case, the amount would be adjusted upward. The same adjustment is also being introduced for households consisting of vulnerable individuals. The goal is to eliminate illogical decreases in amounts for larger households and to amend the structure of the amendment to include a new section on social assistance.

Scope: Sections 7–29; pages 1–2.

The amendment modifies the relevant section of the Act on State Social Assistance so that, with regard to the standard rent, a larger household cannot have lower eligible housing costs than a household with fewer members in the same district. Accordingly, Sections 28 and 29 now introduce a rule stipulating that, in such situations, a larger household must be granted at least the amount set for the next smaller household; this also applies to households consisting of vulnerable persons. The text also builds on earlier changes, under which the calculation is based on districts rather than categories of municipalities, and for single parents, the age limit for a child is changed from 7 to 15 years. The proposal aims to establish a fairer system for housing assistance and to eliminate illogical disparities between households.