Nursing care – everything you need to know

Chapters of the article

• Conditions for receiving sickness benefit (CSR)
• When does the age of the person being treated not play a role?
• Duration and amount of the allowance
• How is the payment of sickness benefit organised?
• Attendance allowance and outings
• Carers can take turns in caring
• How can I get nursing benefits?
• How do I fill in the application form for Attendance Allowance?

Conditions for drawing the sickness benefit (Sickness benefit)

If you have a sick family member and would like to receive sick pay as part of your care at home , you should first of all be a classic employee with a contract of employment. You are not entitled to receive sick pay if you are employed under a contract of employment or a contract for the performance of work, or if you are self-employed (even if you pay sickness insurance). And you ‘re not entitled to sick pay even if you’re on sick leave yourself in the first 14 days. The provision of sick pay is purely related to home care. It would stop if the patient’s condition necessitated a hospital stay.

nursing allowance is a sickness insurance benefit paid by the local Social Security Administration.

It is most often provided to you if you are caring for a child under the age of 10 who has fallen ill or had an accident. But what about the so-called paragraph for a child over 10? If your older child (or older people in general) is ill or injured, you are entitled to a nursing allowance if the treating doctor thinks it is necessary. So, for example, if he or she has high fevers and does not get better on his or her own after the accident, the doctor must give you the allowance. In practice, we know that even for much less serious problems, doctors have no problem awarding nursing benefits for older children. However, there will undoubtedly be a difference if the child with the cold is eleven years old or, for example, seventeen.

When does the age of the person being treated not play a role?

In addition, the law allows for the treatment of a sick family member with whom you live in the household if their condition is so serious that they require the care of someone else. For example, you may be able to get nursing care for your parents or spouse. In the case of a spouse, the same place of residence as the person being treated is a condition of entitlement.

Duration and amount of the allowance

You will receive the nursing allowance for the first nine calendar days, provided that the need for treatment continues. This can be up to 16 days for employees who are single parents caring for a child under the age of 16 who has not completed compulsory schooling. This includes weekdays as well as weekends.

The amount of the care allowance is based on your wages and is determined as 60% of the daily assessment base per calendar day. In simple terms, this is the average daily earnings for the reference period – usually the 12 calendar months preceding the month in which the entitlement to sick pay arose. Simply add up the income for that period and divide it by the number of calendar days. This gives the daily assessment base. Three so-called reduction thresholds can still be applied to this amount, which will reduce it to form the so-called reduced daily assessment base.

The easiest way to find out the approximate amount of sick pay is to use one of the online sick pay calculators.

How is my sick pay paid?

The district social security administration (OSSZ) is responsible for paying sick pay. The deadline for payment of personal allowance is no later than the month after all supporting documents have been received. As a rule, however, this is slightly earlier than the earliest date and you may receive the money in the middle of the month. The nursing allowance is paid from the first day of treatment, up to a maximum of 9 calendar days. The money is paid (at the beneficiary’s discretion) either into a bank account or in cash through the post.

Attendance allowance and walking allowance

In the case of traditional sick leave, your doctor may also write you a ‘walking allowance’ so that you can support yourself and buy your own medicines and food. In the case of nursing a family member, you are expected to be nursed by a healthy member who has no restrictions on movement outside the home. Prescribing walks is therefore not relevant here, nor is whether or not you leave the sick person. If you were to leave your young child with high fevers unattended all day, while this might be of concern to social workers or even law enforcement, it would not affect the receipt of the nursing allowance.

Caregivers can rotate care

If you are unable to work for more than a few days and are away from the workplace for more than a few days, you can take turns caring for the other parent or another person covered by the legal conditions. In fact, two persons can be provided with care during the course of a single case of care needs.

The parent who cared for the household member (took over the care) second in line will claim the care allowance by means of the Application for Care Allowance of the Person Who Took Over the Care form, which is also available from any Social Security Office.

How can I get the nursing allowance?

If you are interested in receiving nursing care, a doctor must always decide on the need for care. If you see a doctor and he or she finds that the health of your household member is really serious, then he or she will give you a decision about the need for care.

How do I fill in the application form?

There are two parts to the form. The first part of the form is largely completed by a doctor. It is up to you to fill in Part B of the application for nursing care, where you give your name, address and nationality number, whether or not you live with your partner and whether or not you are caring for a child under 16. And then fill in information about the child. There are no tricky details on the form. You then take it to your employer without delay (if your situation allows, it can be delivered in person or put in an envelope and sent). Your employer will attach the relevant attachments and send it to the District Social Security Office.

The second part of the form is called the decision to end the need for treatment (care). Keep this for the time being and at the final health check, the doctor will mark the date the sick household member’s need for care ended on it. It is then up to you to complete the other side of the form and give it back to your employer. After completing Part C, the latter will deliver it to the relevant Social Security Office.

The doctor can also give you a certificate of continuing need for treatment if the treatment lasts for a longer period of time. The attending doctor will also issue this form if there is a change of carers on the day before the day from which the other person took over. You should also send this form to your employer if appropriate.