ATTENTION – THIS IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSLATION from Polish
Pursuant to Article 64, Section 7 of the Social Welfare Act, a gross breach of maintenance obligation by a person assigned to a social welfare home towards a person paying for their stay may constitute grounds for full or partial exemption from this obligation for the person paying for the family member's stay in a social welfare home.
In light of this provision, the question arises – what behavior can be considered a gross breach of maintenance obligation? The Provincial Administrative Court in Łódź addressed this issue in its judgment of September 10, 2025 (II SA/Łd 204/25). As indicated in the justification of the judgment, persistently engaging in socially reprehensible behavior towards the person obligated to pay maintenance should be considered a gross breach of family obligations, including maintenance. Examples of such behavior include: initiating arguments, using physical violence, hurling insults, or a lack of any concern for the fate of a family member – including a complete lack of support and assistance in situations requiring it. The court issued this ruling in a case involving S.F.'s children, who were required to pay for their father's stay in a social welfare home. Since separating from the children's mother, S.F. had completely disregarded them – he had not maintained contact, not even visiting them during holidays. The father lost his job due to alcohol problems, which prevented the bailiff from effectively enforcing the child support payments.
The Provincial Administrative Court noted that it would be unacceptable for the children to have to bear the costs of their father's stay in a social welfare home while he was flagrantly violating his basic parental obligations. Consequently, the court overturned the Local Government Appeal Board's negative decision to amend the decision regarding the payment for the stay in a social welfare home.
It is important to remember that the person obligated to pay fees for a family member's stay in a social welfare home must demonstrate, based on the documents attached to the application, this flagrant violation of the child support obligation by the social welfare home resident. Furthermore, a family background survey is also conducted in such cases.