Caregivers are the persons who accompany the persons with a disability daily to tend to their daily tasks. Persons with disabilities who have special medical conditions may need the support of another person to run daily errands. Therefore, the Iraqi government provided the caregiver salary for the full-time appointee, according to the Disabled Welfare Law No. 38 of 2013.
What type of disabilities can ask Caregiver’s Salary?
The caregiver salary will be provided to the persons who are taking care of their family member (from the first degree: parent, children or spouses or second degree: grandparents, grandchildren, or siblings) that would have one of the following conditions:
- Quadriplegia (paralysis from the neck down, including the trunk, legs, and arms) 1.
- Hemiplegia (a condition, caused by a brain injury, that results in a varying degree of weakness, stiffness (spasticity), and lack of control in one side of the body) 2.
- Amputation of the upper or lower limbs or both.
- Congenital cerebral atrophy (the loss of brain cells) 3.
- The fully or partially blinded person.
- genetic blood diseases.
- Mental retardation (a cognitive ability that is markedly below-average level and a decreased ability to adapt to one's environment) 4.
- Complete renal failure (a condition in which one or both of the kidneys can no longer work on their own) 5.
- Incurable diseases (that means that the person is with conditions that cannot be treated with medical solutions and medicines are provided only to decrease the pain or other symptoms, or there is no treatment at all). For more information about incurable diseases click here.
What are the conditions that must be met if I want to apply for a Caregiver?
- The age of the caregiver should be between 18-and 55 years.
- The caregiver must be healthy or not suffering from diseases (able to take care of another person).
- The caregiver must not have a job or other source providing them with a fixed salary.
- The caregiver must be a relative of a Person With Disability from the first or second degree (first degree: father, mother, wife, husband, son, daughter; Or second degree: brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, grandchildren).
- The degree of disability should be 75% or above, and this is determined through a medical report prepared by the medical committees appointed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry of Health (by bringing doctors from the Ministry of Health) and the committee is headed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
* Applications for the role of Caregiver are accepted by both men, and women.
What are my rights if I wanted to be a caregiver for a Person With Disability?
- If you are a governmental employee and receive a salary from the Iraqi government, you will be granted leave with a full salary (including the fixed allowances and the rest of the benefits) like any other employee, but you must renew this leave annually.
- If you are not a governmental employee, you will be given a monthly salary equivalent to the minimum salary in the employee salary scale (which is about 150 thousand Iraqi dinars - 250 thousand Iraqi dinars).
- The salary will be suspended if the governmental employee takes study leave to pursue an education degree inside or outside Iraq, or if they return to their governmental job.
What documents do I have to present if I want to apply for the role of a Caregiver?
- Civil status identity of the Person With Disability.
- Residence card of the Caregiver.
- The ration card (PDS card) of the Caregiver.
- A copy of the Person With Disability’s medical report.
- Four photos of the Caregiver.
- Four photos of the Person With Disability.
What are the steps I need to follow to apply for the caregiver salary?
- You need to fill out the electronic form, where you will be given a registration number (please keep it with you). You can find the electronic form on the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs here as soon as it is announced.
- After the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announces the names of the people who are eligible to receive the salary on their website, you need to visit the Social Welfare Department - the Disability Authority Branch, in your governorate of residence. These names are announced on the Ministry's website, usually published in lists during a certain period, which may be a month (for example, the first list is published during the first week of the month and the second list in the second week).
- If you find your names on those lists, you must visit one of the Disability Authority Branch of the Social Welfare Department in your governorate (taking with you the above-mentioned documents) and go to one of the specialized employee sections, where you will need to:
- Provide the registration number (which was provided to you when filling out the electronic form).
- Fill out the forms that the employees in the department will provide you with.
- Provide them with your documents and the documents for the Person With Disability.
- The employee will then send a letter to the Retirement Department or the Mayor's Office to confirm that you do not receive any salary from the Iraqi government. In other words, to ensure that you are not an employee in one of the government departments (this support document may affect whether or not you are eligible to receive the caregiver salary).
- The file will then be checked by the Retirement Department (this process takes at least 2 months).
- After the required approvals are issued, you must be referred to the Retirement Department to receive the salary letter (which is the letter in which the decision states the entitlement to receive the salary and its amount); then you must take it to the Retirement Department to obtain a Master Card or Q Card (on which the salary will be transferred).
- The salary will be paid starting from the date of the approval decision issued and entitlement to be included in the Caregiver’s salary.
* If you receive a Master Card, there will be a cumulative salary, which is the amount that you are entitled to receive since the date of the approval of the caregiver salary was issued.
How long does the application process take for a Caregiver's salary?
These procedures may take up to nine months.
Are there legal fees that I must pay?
There are no legal fees. The registration is free of charge, except for the cost of photocopies for the documents required which will be covered by the applicant.
How do I apply for the caregiver leave if I am a government employee and I want to apply for the Caregiver's salary?
Government employees wishing to apply for a Caregiver are eligible to apply for caregiver status, but must fulfill the following steps:
- Submit a leave request to the minister of your working department, stating the reason for your leave and the relationship of the person in need of your care.
- Attach the medical report of the Person With Disability who needs your care. The medical report must contain the type of disability and its degree or the percentage of disability which should be 75% or more. Additionally, attach the documents that prove the relationship between you and the Person With Disability.
- After your request is approved and issued by the relevant Department, you must visit the Human Resources Department of your working Department.
- The Human Resources employee will complete the rest of the procedure by sending a copy of the approved leave to the Accounts Department, the Archives Department, and the Finance Department.
- You will receive the leave letter which will indicate the start date of the leave and the duration of the leave.
* Note: After the leave period expires, you must return to your official working hours or renew the leave by repeating the above-mentioned process.
How much is the caregiver's salary?
The salary of the caregiver at present is 170 thousand Iraqi dinars, which represents the tenth grade of the salary scale according to the Law for the Care of People with Disabilities (No. 38 of 2013, Article 19).
The Council of Ministries has proposed an amendment to the above law to increase the caregiver salary up to the eighth degree (for certain cases only that will be announced after the activation of the amendment). If approved, the caregiver’s salary will be 250 thousand dinars per month.
Can I apply now for the Caregiver?
The Ministry is no longer receiving applications for the year 2023, However, it will be open soon for 2024 applicants, The details for this process may be found on the Ministry’s website Labor and Social Affairs.
If you have any further questions or need more information you couldn't find in the article, you can directly contact the Simaet Bhatha team from Sunday to Thursday, 9:00am to 4:00pm, through the following platforms:
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