Unemployment

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.

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.

360 days for which insurance contributions were paid out of 540 days prior to determining date; For daily employee – 300 days as above out of 540; for minor – 100 days for which insurance contributions were paid, out of prior 360 days as above.

Under the law, you are covered by unemployment insurance if you meet the following three conditions:

  You are a resident of Israel, or a temporary resident - you have a visa or a temporary residency license;
 You are 18 years old and have not yet reached the maximum age for receiving unemployment benefit;

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

 
You are an employee and your employer is obligated to pay insurance contributions for you.

In order to receive unemployment benefit for the first time, you must submit a claim at the National Insurance Institute branch near your place of residence, on the Unemployment Benefit Claim Form.

After the unemployment benefit claim is approved, there is no need to submit another claim the following month. Each month, the Employment Service Bureau or the Training Center will submit confirmation to the National Insurance Institute of the number of unemployment days recorded in the previous month, according to the number of times you report to the Employment Service Bureau or participate in training, and the National Insurance Institute will pay you the unemployment benefit.

A. Certification for the period of employment and salary:

1.   Certification from the employer for the period of employment and salary or pay slips for the last 18 months of employment, noting the number of work days in each month separately. If important data is missing from the documents you submitted, you will be asked to provide both certification from your employer and pay slips. 

2.   Certification from the employer noting the reason for termination of the employment, and the date of the termination of the employment with the employer’s signature and stamp. If you quit your job for justifiable reasons, please provide the appropriate certifications.

B. Other certifications:

The claim must be submitted within 12 months from the date on which you first reported to the Employment Service Bureau.

If you submit a claim after this date, and you are found to be entitled to unemployment benefit, you will not be paid unemployment benefit for the period preceding the 12 months that preceded the date on which you submitted the claim.

The maximum period for payment of unemployment benefit depends on your age and the number of your dependents (Dependent husband, Dependent wife, children), and it is paid to you within 12 consecutive months from the date on which you registered as seeking employment at the Employment Service Bureau:

The child of an insured person (including foster and adopted child) up to age 18; if completing his studies at a post-elementary educational institution or if in a pre-military framework – up to age 20; if a volunteer in a year of service – up to age 21,unless enlists in the IDF immediately following his volunteer service – with no age limit; if serving in the IDF, except for the permanent army – up to age 22,,but for not longer than until the end of 36 months of service; a girl in the voluntary National Service and a person who postpones his military service due to studies – up to age 22.

A wife is considered to be dependent on the unemployed man if she meets all the following conditions: a. She has been the wife of the unemployed person for at least a year or has borne him a child; b. She is at least 45 years old or is caring for his child; c. Her income is not over 57% of the average wage.

A husband is considered to be dependent on the unemployed woman is he is at least 70 years old, or if he as at least 50 years old and his income is not over 57% of the average wage.

The daily rates of the unemployment benefit are calculated in percentages after comparing the average daily salary for the purpose of calculating unemployment benefit with the basic daily amount for calculating benefits: NIS 319 (as of 01.01.2010) .

Please note: If, after termination of your employment, you received payments from your employer for the past 75 work days, you can contact the National Insurance Institute to check your entitlement to the difference in unemployment benefits.

The rates of the unemployment benefit are calculated in percentages of your average daily salary, for calculating unemployment benefit, maximum unemployment benefits, cost-of-living increments, maternity leave, employment at low pay, vocational training, pension recipients, etc.

is your income subject to insurance contributions in the past 75 days that preceded the first of the month in which the period of unemployment began, divided by 75.

 Grant for unemployed person working at low wages
An unemployed person who began working on or after August 1, 2009 and who works for at least 25 days at  a scope of half-time (50%) work or more, and at wages lower than the amount of unemployment benefit to which he would have otherwise been entitled – will be entitled to a grant for every month of work, at the rate of the difference between the unemployment benefit that he would have been entitled to (had he not been working at low-wage work) and half his wages at the low-wage work.

The grant is paid for 4 months (100 days) at the most, and in any case for not longer than the maximum period for payment of unemployment benefit in each specific case.

You may submit a claim at the National Insurance Institute branch near your place of residence, on the form Grant for unemployed person working at low wages 

 Maintaining right to unemployment benefit for unemployed person who opens a new business
An unemployed person who was previously employed, who accumulated a work period entitling him to unemployment benefit and who opens a business on or after August 1, 2009 – remains entitled to unemployment benefit if his business closes within 24 months.

A person who is registered at the labor exchange as lacking work,who is ready and able to work at any suitable work ,to whom the labor exchange has not offered such work.

If an unemployed person  has income from work (employee) or from occupation (self-employed) or from work pension during the period of his unemployment – this income will be deducted from his unemployment benefit.

A person who is registered at the labor exchange as lacking work,who is ready and able to work at any suitable work ,to whom the labor exchange has not offered such work.

A repeat claim for unemployment benefit can be submitted only after 12 months have elapsed from the start of the previous entitlement.

A worker who goes on an unpaid vacation, not voluntarily, may be entitled to unemployment benefit under the conditions and at the rates indicated in this chapter.

The worker may be entitled to the unemployment benefit only after he uses up the balance of his vacation days at work.

Law and accounting interns who completed their internship and who registered for an ordination test that will take place on June 2, 2010 or thereafter, will not be entitled to unemployment benefit for a period of 2 months preceding the date of the test.

Income tax and national and health insurance contributions are deducted from the unemployment benefit payment.

Restrictions on entitlement to unemployment benefit:
An unemployed person who is receiving one of the following payments will not be entitled to employment benefit at the same time:

If you are between the ages of 15 and 18, you are not covered for unemployment insurance because of your age, but you are eligible for an unemployment grant if you contribute 20% or more to the support of your parents, or if you have no parents.

Working abroad can serve as a qualifying period for unemployment benefit only for someone who worked abroad for an Israeli employer under a contract entered into in Israel.

Nevertheless, someone who worked in Austria, Holland or Sweden (countries with which the State of Israel has signed an unemployment treaty) can, under certain circumstances, add the qualifying period for unemployment benefit that was accumulated in a country with which there is a treaty, to the qualifying period for unemployment benefit that was accumulated in Israel.

Payment of unemployment benefit to someone who stayed abroad - Only short absences of a few days which do not prevent you from reporting routinely to the Employment Services Bureau will not affect entitlement to unemployment benefit.

If you are not satisfied with a decision made by the National Insurance Institute, you are entitled to appeal the decision to the Labor Court.