Conditions of eligibility


Three conditions determine your eligibility for unemployment benefit:
1. You are at least 20 years of age but you have not yet reached the maximum age for receiving unemployment benefits.
2. You completed a qualifying period period before your unemployment.
3. You are unemployed.

The first condition: You are at least 20 years of age but you have not yet reached the maximum age for receiving unemployment benefit.

The maximum age for receiving unemployment benefit according to date of birth:

Date of birth

maximum age for receiving unemployment benefit

From

To

 

June 1939

65

July 1939

August 1939

65 and 4 months

September 1939

April 1940

65 and 8 months

May 1940

December 1940

66

January 1941

August 1941

66 and 4 months

September 1941

April 1942

66 and 8 months

April 1942

 

67

The following are eligible for unemployment benefit, even if they have not yet reached the age of 20:

        •  A soldier discharged from compulsory service, except for someone discharged due to “unfitness.”
        •  A person who completed his or her volunteer national service of at least 24 months, or a young woman who served for at least six months and who got married within 30 days of the day in which she terminated her service – up to 180 days.  
        • A person aged 18-20 who was exempted by the IDF from compulsory service or postponed his service for the following reasons: health, family, education, security settlement or the needs of the national economy.
        • A person aged 18-20 who is the sole support of his family (parents, siblings, spouse) or who has a child for whom he is the main source of support.
        • A person aged 15-18 is eligible, under certain circumstances, for an unemployment grant.

The second condition: You completed a qualifying period before your unemployment.

The unemployment period begins from the day on which you first register at the Employment Service Bureau.

The qualifying period required for entitlement to unemployment benefit:

        • For a worker who received a monthly salary - you worked 360 days for which unemployment insurance contributions were paid, out of the 540 days that proceeded the start of the period of unemployment.
          With regard to the qualifying period, a full work month will be calculated as 30 days
        • For a worker who received a daily salary - you worked for 300 days for which unemployment insurance contributions were paid, out of the 540 days that proceeded the start of the period of unemployment.
          In a month in which a daily worker worked 18 days or more, for the purpose of calculating the qualifying period, he will be deemed to have worked 25 days that month.
        • A person who worked for monthly wages and for daily wages alternately will be considered as one who works for daily wages, and will be required to complete 300 work days. A full work month in which he worked as a monthly worker is considered as 25 work days.
        • Shift work - A shift that begins before midnight and finishes after midnight is considered as two work days, on condition that the following shift does not begin on the same calendar day.

The qualifying period can only be acquired from the age of 18. Periods of employment that preceded the age of 18 will not be taken into account.

The days counted for the qualifying period will include:

        • Work days
        • Vacation days and holidays for which salary was paid (vacation days redeemed due to severance of employee-employer relationship are not taken into account in the qualifying period)
        • Days of mourning
        • Days of compulsory service - up to 180 days
        • Days of reserve duty service
        • Sick days for which the worker was entitled to sick pay
        • Days for which an allowance for a work injury was paid
        • Days for which a maternity allowance was paid
        • Days for which a risk pregnancy benefit was paid
        • The first two months of unpaid leave for which the employer is obligated to pay insurance contributions for the worker.

In the count of the 540 days, the following periods will not be counted:

        • Days of vocational training - according to a referral or authorization of the Employment Service - up to 360 days.
        • Sick days or accident days, for which sick pay was not paid - up to 180 days.
        • Maternity leave, under Article 6 of the Women’s Work Law, for which maternity allowance was not paid.
        • A period of bed rest due to risk pregnancy, for which a risk pregnancy benefit was not paid
        • A non-paid vacation after giving birth, under Article 7 of the Women’s Work Law.
        • Days of absence from work for reasons not dependent on the worker - up to 30 days.

The third condition: You are unemployed.
You registered at the Employment Service Bureau as unemployed, and you report to the Bureau in order to obtain work in accordance with the Employment Service Regulations and suitable work has not been found for you.

  • A person who terminated his employment of his own volition, without a justified reason - will begin to receive unemployment benefits only after 90 days from the date of termination of the employment.
    A person who terminated his employment for a justified reason, such as the state of his health, the health of his spouse or children, or a worsening of his employment conditions, must submit the appropriate documents to prove his claims.
    Resigning from a job due to a change in place of residence or the transfer of the workplace will be considered justified resignation provided that the distance between the new residence and the workplace exceeds 60 KM or 40 KM (for the mother of a child below the age of 7 years).
  • A person to whom the Employment Service Bureau offered suitable work, which he refused, or a person to whom the Bureau offered training, advanced training or professional retraining, which he refused - will begin to receive unemployment benefits only 90 days after the date of the refusal, each time that he refuses as stated, and 30 days will be deducted from the number of days due to him. 

The rules for reporting to the Bureau according to the Employment Service Regulations:

        •   You must come yourself to the Employment Service Bureau, on the customary days and hours in the section in which you have been placed.
        • If you do not report on one of the days appointed for you, the days between the first time you report and the second time you report will be considered days on which you worked and you will not be paid unemployment benefits for them.
        • If you report to the Employment Service Bureau on a day other than the day appointed for you to report, only the day on which you report will be considered a day of unemployment.

If you meet the first two conditions of eligibility, you are likely to be considered "unemployed, "even if you do not report to the Employment Service, provided that you meet one of the following conditions:

  1. You are undergoing vocational training to which you were referred by the Employment Service Bureau, provided that you began studying within 12 consecutive months from the date you registered at the Bureau as unemployed
  2. The Employment Service Bureau referred you to a job in which the salary is lower than the unemployment benefit and you are working in that job.

Please note:

It is important to contact the Employment Service for the first time immediately after termination of employment. If you delay, you are liable to lose your eligibility.

Even someone who will only begin to receive the unemployment benefit 90 days from termination of employment (because he left his job of his own volition without justification) must report to the Employment Service immediately after termination of the employment so as not to lose his eligibility.