President Karol Nawrocki approved legislation streamlining applications for the care benefit, allowing electronic submissions by employers and through ZUS systems.
Current System Barriers
Currently, applications for the care benefit are initiated with a written request or a document with a qualified or trusted electronic signature, or a personal signature, utilizing ZUS’s teleinformatic system for data integrity.
Employers are required to submit supporting documentation separately, and those with over 20 insured individuals cannot accept electronic applications with handwritten signatures.
Existing regulations do not permit submitting scanned applications, as they are not considered original documents.
New Rules: Electronic Submissions and Simplification
The signed amendment introduces a distinction based on who pays the benefit; if the employer does, employees can submit applications electronically, in addition to paper form.
If ZUS pays the benefit, applications can be submitted through the ZUS PUE profile or an electronic mailbox.
Legal Equivalence of Electronic Documents
Electronic applications and attachments will now have the same legal effect as handwritten signatures. The new rules standardize attachment formats and eliminate unnecessary documentation.
This will partially relieve employers of the need to archive paper documents.
Effective Date
The deregulatory law, prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy, will take effect three months after its official publication.