Baku:Azerbaijan is set to introduce new eligibility requirements for receiving childcare allowances, specifically mandating a minimum of six months of social insurance coverage.

According to Azeri-Press news agency, this change is part of a proposed amendment to the Law "On Social Insurance." The amendment aims to mitigate the risk of abuse within the current system, where there is no minimum social insurance coverage requirement. This lack of requirement has allowed individuals to potentially exploit the system by obtaining childcare leave without genuine employment integration, often through formal job arrangements made for the sole purpose of obtaining state-funded benefits.

The proposed six-month insurance coverage requirement is intended to align childcare allowance qualifications with other social insurance payments and prevent abuses. Currently, the childcare allowance is 44 manats until a child reaches one and a half years and 28 manats from one and a half to three years. Despite being last increased in 2018, these amounts are considered low relative to macroeconomic indicators, necessitating further measures to increase the allowance's adequacy.

The introduction of the minimum coverage requirement aims to improve legal regulations, establish consistency in the social insurance system, and allow for potential future increases in the allowance amount.