Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population has proposed requiring at least six months of social insurance record for parents to receive the child-care benefit for children under three. The proposal was presented to the Milli Majlis committee for discussion.
New rules on the child-care benefit were discussed at a meeting of the Milli Majlis Committee on Labour and Social Policy. Presenting the draft amendments to the Labour Code, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population Zaur Aliyev said parents caring for a child under three would need a minimum of six months of social insurance record to qualify for the payment.
Zaur Aliyev explained that the requirement applies only to the payment of the benefit and does not affect the right to take child-care leave. In other words, an employee will still be able to take the leave regardless of their insurance record.
The deputy minister added that related provisions in other legislative acts would be brought in line with the same logic.
Why the insurance record requirement is being introduced
According to Zaur Aliyev, the absence of a minimum insurance record requirement currently raises the risk of abuse in the system, which in turn delays steps to increase the size of the benefit. He stressed that the six-month record requirement would play a major role in strengthening the financial sustainability of the system.
He said the new rule would bring a unified approach to social insurance payments and prevent cases where formal employment relationships are set up solely to claim the benefit. The deputy minister said the step would create a healthier basis for raising the payment amount in the future.
