Propositions of benefits for persons providing care for family members employed in agriculture in Germany – significance, legal basis, and further development

Abstrakt

The share of elderly people in the European population is constantly increasing, which also increases the number of people in constant need of care. In order to meet this challenge, Germany has decided to take action in the field of social security law. For decades – as compulsory social insurance – there has been a separate social care insurance system, which includes, among other things, regulations for the benefit of family members providing care. Even though small in quantitative terms, an increasingly significant part of these statutory provisions is aimed at reducing the psychological, physical, and economic loads on care providers. One of such provisions results from social insurance in terms of the Social Security Institution for Agriculture, Forestry, and Horticulture (German: Sozialversicherung für Landwirtschaft, Forsten und Gartenbau, SVLFG), which offers insured persons solutions that take into account their specific needs. In recent years, the offered solutions have been subject to evaluation and development, and recently – due to the coronavirus pandemic – also modification. This was justified by the fact that in the ecological sector (agriculture, forestry, horticulture, as well as areas related to those sectors of the economy where there is an obligation for agricultural social insurance), home care is much more common than in other sectors. Avoiding physical and mental overloads can also be described as a postulate aimed at undertaking extensive preventive measures in the area of agricultural social insurance. Even though the offered solutions serve an exemplary role and are highly appreciated, they are used by a relatively small number of authorised persons. So far, there is no more detailed information concerning the highly unsatisfactory number of people taking advantage of these solutions. Therefore, there is a need for examining the reasons for the existing situation in a deeper manner.
The article aims to present a special offer of the entity responsible for agricultural social insurance in Germany, aimed at relieving the members of families providing care and including them in health care in the full scope of social care insurance. In order to present the possibilities for further development, legal regulations and practical issues will be presented and evaluated, as well as the obtained results and the existing limitations.
The subject of the discussion will be presented in the form of a descriptive presentation, mainly from a legal and empirical perspective and by comparing it with reference systems present in Germany, taking into account research results obtained in Germany and abroad.