Employers who have paid sick leave to their employees in quarantine during the period until 31.7.21, will be able to receive a quarantine benefit from the National Insurance Institute for the quarantine days of the employees.
Please note that even employees defined as "holder of controlling interest" will be entitled to quarantine benefits as salaried workers.
Which employer is entitled to the payment?
You will be entitled to the payment if you meet these 2 conditions:
- You have paid the employee a sick leave salary due to the quarantine.
- Your deductions file is activated, and you have declared the employee's employment.
In the following cases, you will NOT be entitled to the payment until the declarations have been corrected: your employer file was not activated during the quarantine periods, you have declared that you have no employees under employment during the month of the quarantine period, the number of employees indicated in the application is greater than the total number of employees that you declared in the monthly declaration form (102, all contracts + foreign residents).
Employers ineligible for payment of a quarantine benefit
The employers listed below are NOT eligible to receive payment for their employees' quarantine days:
- Government ministries
- Body whose budget is financed from the State budget (as defined in Section 21 of the Budgetary Bases Law, excluding a public corporation)
- Health maintenance organizations and health companies
- Government-subsidized organizations – when at least 25% of their budget is covered by the government budget.
- Schools and higher education institutions with a license, which have received government participation for at least 40% of their 2019 budget.
Dear employer, to check if you are entitled to submit a claim for quarantine benefit, click here
For which employees can a payment be received?
The employees who are in quarantine and for whom payment can be obtained, are the following:
- An Israeli employee working in Israel – including a household employee, members of a kibbutz and a controlling shareholder employee.
- A foreign worker or a resident of the Territories who is working in Israel with a permit (for more information on foreign workers and residents of the Territories, click here).
A payment will be made for an employee who is absent from work due to a quarantine duty, and as long as the quarantine has been reported to the Ministry of Health.
Payment will also be granted in the following cases:
- The worker spent quarantine for himself or herself for the following reasons:
- Exposure to an infected person
- Taking care of his or her child under 12 who has Corona or taking care of a helpless Covid patient. Eligibility for quarantine benefit is only granted for quarantine days occurred between 30.12.21 and 22.5.22.
- Any other situation where a physician established that the worker is required to enter quarantine for himself or herself.
Please note - the report to the Ministry of Health pertains to the worker himself or herself. - The employee is in quarantine as a result of his child's quarantine duty – eligibility is granted if the child is under 16 or over 16 but requires personal assistance due to a disability. This also applies to a foster family caring for a child.
- The employee returned to Israel from a red foreign country where he or she worked on assignment for the employer.
In the following cases, you will not receive any payment for the employee's quarantine duty period:
- The employee continued to work for you against remuneration during the quarantine period – as the employee deserves a salary.
Please note that if the employee worked part-time during the quarantine, a partial quarantine benefit may be granted. - The employee was quarantined upon return from a private trip abroad.
- An employee who was in quarantine and, during his or her confinement, was identified as a virus carrier – will be entitled to quarantine benefit on his or her behalf until the day preceding the transition to infected person status.
We receive this information from the Ministry of Health. - A worker staying in quarantine for being infected with coronavirus.
Declaration to the Ministry of Health
The employee must declare his/her quarantine to the Ministry of Health and provide you, the employer, with a copy of the declaration. You must keep this confirmation in case you are asked to present it.
Employers please note that payment will only be made for the quarantine days reported to the Ministry of Health, it is thus important to ensure that the employee notifies the Ministry of Health of the quarantine period in a timely manner. If the employee was late to notify his quarantine, payment will cover a maximum of 4 days preceding the date of declaration.
You can declare to the Ministry of Health that you are in quarantine, online using this form or by calling at *5400.
For which quarantine periods will you receive a benefit?
You can receive a benefit for your employees' quarantine periods occurring until 31.7.2022.
Maximum quarantine days indemnified for one period of quarantine:
- If quarantine started until 4.8.21 - up to 14 days of quarantine.
- If quarantine started from 5.8.21 onwards - up to 7 days of quarantine or until reception of second Covid-test result, when it was taken on the seventh day of quarantine, whichever occurs last.
Please note that those who took a second Covid-test as of the eighth day of quarantine, can receive a benefit for 7 quarantine days only.
Quarantine period extension for quarantine period of an employee staying in isolation for a long consecutive time for himself or for his children, due to overlapping and/or successive quarantine periods
The employer who submits a claim for his employee who stays in quarantine for a long consecutive period of more than 7 days for himself or for his children due to overlapping or successive isolation periods, must not the periods of quarantine in chronologic order in order to receive a payment for all periods as a single one.
For instance, when the start of quarantine was for himself/herself or for one of his children and, before the end of that isolation, he or she starts another isolation time for a second child, or due to successive quarantine periods for himself/herself or for children, when dealing with consecutive quarantines without interruption.
Employers, please note:
The employer submitting a claim by means of a form, will note each quarantine period in a separate line and in chronologic order, for all quarantine periods in relation with that employee.
The employer who submits a hand-written claim, will note the quarantine periods in one claim and in chronologic order.
It is important to remember that all quarantine periods must be approved by the Ministry of Health. Without the Ministry of Health approval, you will not be able to receive a benefit for your employee's quarantine duty period.