Apply for parental allowance online and other changes in Czechia from Aug. 1

The month of August brings some changes to how those who are eligible for social benefits in Czechia can collect support.

On Aug. 1, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MPSV) is launching an online form for applying for parental allowance. Changes to the amount of the monthly contribution can now also be made online. The parental allowance amounts to CZK 300,000 and parents can determine how much they will receive each month.

Last year, the labor offices paid over CZK 35.4 billion to parents of young children.

The Ministry of Labors says the new tools are intended to support parents of children under four years of age. "The amount of the parental allowance can be changed every three months, or the amount can be changed from one parent to another," said Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka.

The ministry says it'll gradually digitalize the process of applying for other social benefits as well. At the beginning of July, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications launched a form for applications for housing allowance. 

In an effort to offer the same ease of service customers are used to at banks and other institutions, the ministry is launching a user-friendly new client portal later this month, said Jurečka in a press release.

"From Aug. 13, we will launch a newly built client portal in pilot mode, to which new batches [of e-forms] will gradually be added," said Jurečka. 

Another important date to mark on your calendar: From Aug. 15, families with a gross income of CZK 1 million can apply electronically for the CZK 5,000 contribution aimed at lessening the impact of price increases on families. About 1.6 million children living in 1.1 million households are entitled to the one-off allowance.

Last week, the ministry began paying the first one-off allowances through the labor offices. For now, these are being sent automatically to those who were entitled to child benefits for June this year.

Earlier this year the Czech government launched a website that brings together information about financial aid available to families with children, seniors, and other groups to help them cope with the recently rising prices.

The Umbrella Against High Costs website (Deštník proti drahotě), is designed to make people aware of the government's inflation measures and to tell applicants how to apply for benefits.

In recent years, Czech institutions have begun to digitize administrative processes. Last year a new banking identification system was launched that lets taxpayers file online and access over 130 services such as getting an extract from the criminal registry or checking on the status of a driver’s license and vehicle registration.

Drivers in Czechia should soon be able to apply for licenses online as well, while the Czech National Bank recently announced that it would it'll soon be possible to transfer funds from one bank account to another via the recipient's mobile phone, with no account number required.

The Czech Republic recently improved its standing in terms of the quality of the digital environment in the DQL global ranking for digital infrastructure, moving up four places to no. 19. last year. In addition in the final ranking, the Czech Republic was ranked as the second-best country in Central and Eastern Europe.