Do Ukrainian refugees receive more in social benefits from the state than Czech citizens? No, that's not true: the video uses incorrect and outdated data to prove that Ukrainians get more from the state than locals.
The claim originated in a video (archived here) where it was published by TikTok on July 28, 2023, with hashtags in Czech translated by Lead Stories staff as "do you get that? We Czechs and Slovaks work and they will eat for our money." It opened:
[Ukrainians will de facto get once as much as Czech citizens. Isn't there something really wrong?]
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Jul 31 09:40:56 2023 UTC)
The data used in the claim above is incorrect, according to the Czech Labor Ministry website. The labor ministry updated the living and subsistence wage levels as of January 2023, here. The living wage for an individual is set at 4,860 czk a month, 2,480 czk for a child under 6 years old, 3,050 czk for a child under 15 years and 3,490 czk for over 15 years old. A household, consisting of an adult and a five-year-old child, would get 6,950 czk a month.
Czech citizens can apply for 27 different social benefits, including one-time benefits, Czech Labor Ministry spokesman Jakub Augusta told Lead Stories. Some of the social benefits include a housing allowance, childcare allowance, childbirth allowance, unemployment allowance, parental, burial allowance or other, as stated by law. For example, a housing allowance can be claimed for years, depending on the circumstances. Below is an example of what a Czech and a Ukrainian family can claim in benefits, sent to Lead Stories by the Labor Ministry.
(Source: Sent to Lead Stories from the Czech Ministry of Labor on August 1, 2023)
The Czech government also updated the conditions of stay and allowances available for Ukrainian refugees, that are under the temporary protection status, as of July 1, 2023. As of that date, the refugees are able to claim the same amount as the Czech living wage for the first 150 days of their stay, and the state will also pay for their emergency accommodation during that time. Ukrainians can also receive a housing allowance from the Czech Republic. Before the changes in July, the humanitarian fee per refugee was 5,000 czk a month.
