Parliament unanimously approved today, in a final global vote, the first amendment to the informal caregiver statute, extending it to people with no family ties to the person being cared for but who live in their home.
With the amendment approved today, embodied in a bill that came from the PSD’s initiative, all people who, despite not having family ties with the person being cared for, live in the person’s home and provide them with regular, but not permanent, care are now considered to be non-mainstream informal carers.
Another change introduced concerns parents with shared custody, who can now both be considered as non-main informal carers.
On the other hand, informal caregivers who receive unemployment benefits are now treated the same as informal caregivers who have a paid professional activity.
The informal caregiver statute was approved in 2019, regulating the rights and duties of the caregiver and the person being cared for and establishing the respective support measures.
The legislation provides for a main informal caregiver and a non-main informal caregiver.
The main informal caregiver includes the spouse or de facto partner, relative or family member up to the 4th degree of the straight line or collateral line of the person being cared for, who accompanies and cares for that person on a permanent basis, who lives with them in a shared household and who does not receive any remuneration for their professional activity or for the care they provide to the person being cared for.
The non-main informal caregiver, with the change to the wording of the law, now includes spouses or unmarried partners, relatives up to the 4th degree of the straight line or collateral line of the person being cared for, or anyone who does not have family ties and lives in communal housing with the person being cared for, who accompanies and cares for them on a regular but not permanent basis, whether or not they receive remuneration for their professional activity or for the care they provide to the person being cared for.
“Parents with shared custody of the person being cared for may both be considered non-main informal carers under the terms of the previous paragraph,” defines the new wording of the statute.
Only those who have been granted the status of main informal caregiver can apply for the support allowance, although other aid measures are provided for, such as caregiver respite, a specific intervention plan, self-help groups or psychosocial support.
