Prague - The children of foreigners from EU countries are entitled to receive benefits from Czech authorities even if they do not have permanent residence in the Czech Republic provided that one of their parents works in the country.
Ombudsman Otakar Motejl said in his annual report he had heard complaints from people who said civil servants were reluctant to provide information on which EU member state's authorities should pay out social benefits to the relatives of someone who works abroad.
The EU law overrides the Czech rules. The Czech law on government welfare support says all people assessed within an application for benefits must have permanent residence in the Czech Republic.
Unwilling to pay
Motejl mentions a woman who wanted to know if her children from her first marriage, with permanent residence in Poland, are entitled to family benefits provided from the Czech social security system.
She addressed authorities in the Czech Republic and Poland. The Czechs said she would get the benefits in Poland, the Poles said she would get them in the Czech Republic. Motejl said Czech authorities should pay out the benefits.
"Employees, or their relatives who live in another member country, are entitled to family benefits fixed by the law as if they had permanent residence in the country in which the employee is working," Motejl said in the report, adding the EU regulation takes precedence over Czech laws.
"The decisive fact is that their relative works in the Czech Republic," said the ombudsman.
EU first
Motejl has also called on employment offices to take measures to provide relevant information to people in the future.
About 240,200 foreigners work in the Czech Republic at present. Labour Ministry statistics show the number of legal employees grew by 55,200 last year. About 150,000 people from EU countries are working in the Czech Republic legally.
On the other hand, the EU-15 countries employ 43,000 Czechs, or 0.4% of the Czech population. Germany, Great Britain, and Austria are the most popular countries with Czech workers.
Adapted and republished by the Prague Daily Monitor.
