Women are not quitting jobs because of 500+ program – Rafalska

Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy, Elżbieta Rafalska, said that according to ministry's data, some 24-30,000 women have left their jobs because they started receiving money from the Family 500+ program. Which, as Rafalska claimed is an “insignificant number” taking into the account that some 2.8 million families benefit from the scheme. In the first year of the program (which started in April), some PLN 17 billion was paid out to 3.8 million children living in 2.8 million families. The Family 500+ program was launched in April last year. Under the program, the government pays out PLN 500 per month for every child in a family whose per capita income is lower than PLN 800 per month and for every second and subsequent child, regardless of family income.