SUBMISSIONS TO CHANGES IN THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT

It is proposed changes in both the National Insurance Act, chapters 8 and 9 (which deal with, among other things, extra sick child days and childcare benefits), as well as the Working Environment Act. The Lion Mothers have sent their input on this to the Labour and Social Affairs Committee in the Storting.

Read our input in full below.

Prop. 7 L – Amendments to the National Insurance Act (Chapters 8 and 9) and the Working Environment Act 

Care days

5.1 Care allowance – who is considered to be the sole caregiver and distribution of benefit days between the parents, National Insurance Act Section 9-6 and Working Environment Act Section 12-9, sixth paragraph 

The proposal that care allowance days can be distributed between parents by agreement, regardless of the agreed visitation in the visitation agreement, and that parents will no longer have to send a written declaration to the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration about the distribution of visitation, will provide more flexibility and less bureaucracy for families in already demanding weekdays, and is therefore something we consider positive. This has been a registered need from our members on several occasions. 

The Lion Mothers would also like to note the need for parents who are solely responsible for the daily care, where the other parent does not have parental responsibility for practical, medical reasons, to also be able to allocate care allowance days to the other parent when needed. This is because some children have very extensive, serious medical diagnoses that have required such solutions for parents who have separated, simply to ensure the child's medical safety.

The lionesses otherwise support the ministry's assessments.

5.2 Graduated care benefits, National Insurance Act Section 9-6

Many parents do not need to take out entire care days to accompany their children for routine check-ups, blood tests, etc. at hospitals and the like. The lion mothers therefore support NITO's consultation input that “The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion should have gone further in its proposal and established an obligation for employers to offer flexible solutions as long as it does not cause significant inconvenience to the employer. This could have great welfare implications for employees who need flexibility, and in addition ensure increased productivity in businesses by ensuring that care benefits are withdrawn more efficiently.”

There is a need for more flexible use of care days.

The lionesses otherwise support the ministry's assessments.

5.3 Care allowance for chronically or long-term ill or disabled children, National Insurance Act §§ 9-5, 9-6, 9-8 and 9-9

The lion mothers have experience of parents being denied extended entitlement to care allowance despite the fact that they, for example, have children with frequent hospital admissions and obvious illness, but an unclear disease picture. Both the concept of chronic and the regulation with named illnesses that give extended entitlement to care allowance have been a source of great frustration for both parents and doctors who follow the children. 

The Lion Mothers therefore wholeheartedly support the Ministry's proposal and assessment that even long-term illness can give the right to extra days of care allowance, as well as to repeal the regulation of 25 March 1997 No. 263 on which illnesses and disabilities shall give the right to extended care allowance pursuant to the National Insurance Act, Section 9-6, second paragraph, and replace this with a clearer regulation in the National Insurance Act, Section 9-6, second and fourth paragraphs. This is also in line with input that the Lion Mothers have given to the Storting on several previous occasions. 

The Lion Mothers would like to clarify that even though we support the Ministry's assessments, a small but very important group is still excluded from the scheme. And with major consequences for those affected. Care allowance is currently a welfare scheme until the children are 18 years old. For many of our member families, the child lives at home beyond the age of 18, just like most other young people. The young person's need for follow-up, hospitalizations and illness is still valid on the day he or she becomes an adult. These are often young people with major functional variations and/or long-term illness, where the young people cannot under any circumstances take care of themselves in the event of illness, follow-up or hospitalization. The consequences for parents are therefore large and serious when they lose the right to care allowance, and their salary is deducted for each day of absence. The possibilities to take leave, then without pay, are also downgraded to 10 days from the age of 18. In the worst case, parents are forced to choose between their own income and having their children live at home beyond the age of 18. These are conditions that are both unethical and not economically viable. The Lion Mothers urge the Health and Care Committee to put this group on the agenda by proposing an expansion of the care allowance scheme beyond the age of 18 when children live at home. 

Caring allowance 

5.5 Care benefits in the final phase of life, National Insurance Act §§ 9-13 and 9-16

The lion mothers support the description that “care at home in the final phase of an adult’s life may require the continuous presence of both relatives and health personnel. In many cases, there may be a need for several caregivers to be present in the home at the same time”. This may particularly apply to adult ASK users, who are completely dependent on the caregiver knowing them very well, and being able to communicate with each other using the alternative form of communication that is supportive. For parents and adult siblings who are about to say goodbye to a sibling who may have been ill their entire life, it is crucial to have peace around the terminal phase. In care relationships where relatives carry out a large part of the care, including parts of the health tasks, it may be absolutely necessary for two relatives who share the care allowance days to overlap and be able to give each other updates on the care needs and condition, which means that they must be able to spend part of the time together. If the 60-day quota is divided by two, and in special cases it turns out that 30 days is insufficient, the Lion Mothers want it to be possible to apply for an extension in exceptional cases, so that relatives do not have to leave the person in need of care in what will then be the very last days of life. Such an exceptional arrangement could prevent some relatives from receiving sick pay instead, or having to resort to unpaid welfare leave from their employer.

5.6 Training allowance, National Insurance Act Section 9-14

The lionesses support the ministry's assessments.

Other contributions to the care allowance scheme:

The lionesses will also take the opportunity to point out our letter to the members of the Labor and Social Affairs Committee dated 14.07.22, and our input to the committee in connection with the 2023 state budget – both current changes needed in the care allowance scheme. 

The letter/input will be sent again as an attachment to this input. 

With best regards
The lion mothers