Unemployment

It is important to report to the Employment Service bureau for the first time immediately after termination of  work.

If you do not report to the Employment Service bureau immediately after you stop working,  you are liable to lose your entitlement to unemployment benefit. 

Furthermore, the unemployment benefit will be paid to you only for the period that is after the first time that you reported to the Employment Service bureau.

Even someone who began to receiving the unemployment benefit only 90 days from termination of  work (because he left his job of his own volition, without justification) must report to the Employment Service immediately after termination of the work so as not to lose his entitlement to unemployment benefit

This site describes the four conditions that you have to meet in order to be entitled to the pension.

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

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.

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 son or daughter of an insured person (including foster child, adopted child and grandchild supported entirely by the insured person, except for a married child) who meets one of the following conditions: *up to age 18; *if completing his studies at a post-elementary educational institution or studying in a framework to complete matriculation exams, or having a learning disability and studying in a framework recognized by the NII– up to age 20; *if in a pre-army IDF framework – up to age 20;* if a volunteer in a framework of public service for up to 12 months and his army service is deferred due to this volunteering – up to age 21; *if serving compulsory service in the IDF – up to age 24; *if serving in the voluntary National Service – up to age 24;*if studying in an "atuda" framework and deferring army service due to studies – up to age 24.

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.

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.

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

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 convention) can, under certain circumstances, add the qualifying period for unemployment benefit that was accumulated in a country with which there is a convention, 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.

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 on condition that he has been on unpaid leave for at least 30 days. If he still has vacation days left, he will not receive payment for the first unemployment days, the same number of days as the number of vacation days that he had left before starting his unpaid leave.

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.

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.

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

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 335 (as of 01.01.2012) .

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.

The income (subject to insurance contributions) of the unemployed person in the past 75 days that preceded the first of the month in which the period of unemployment began, divided by 75. For a monthly employee – 25 work days are taken into account as a full month. For a daily employee – only the work days for which he received a salary are taken into account.