Dozens of workers contact Kav LaOved every month because they are forced to leave Israel following the death of their employers or because they have been dismissed from their jobs after having been in Israel for over 51 months (the maximum period for migrants’ legal work in Israel, except under special circumstances) and have not been paid their last month’s wages, severance pay or social benefits.

N. was a caregiver for an elderly couple for three and a half years. The wife died in January 2010. The period in which N. was allowed to remain in Israel had expired and the agency failed to make her severance pay available. N. carried on caring for the widower for three additional weeks until his death. 

N. contacted Kav LaOved after the elderly widower had died, one month after her visa had expired. His family did not want to pay her all that they owed her, knowing that she had to leave Israel immediately and would not be able to sue them. N. was obliged to forego over 10,000 shekels in compensation and was given no more than 4,000 shekels upon departure. It was only through the intervention of Kav LaOved that the agency agreed to pay N. her last month’s wages and the severance pay to which she was entitled. 

Migrant workers who stop working and who have been in Israel for over 51 months are allowed to remain for another 30 days to make arrangements prior to their final departure. These are often people who have worked for employers for several years. Many families are aware that the worker has to leave Israel within 30 days and fail to pay what the workers are owed. They usually explain the ‘delay’ by claiming not to know how much the agency is supposed to pay the worker. The agencies receive money from the National Insurance Institute for social disbursements and are in no hurry to make the payments available on time. 

Until just a few years ago, workers whose time in Israel had expired were obliged to leave Israel when immediately their employment terminated. The Interior Ministry, in response to an application by Adv. Yuval Livnat of Kav LaOved, has allowed them an additional thirty days. As mentioned, this period is insufficient for workers to obtain all that is due to them from employers and agencies. For example, workers whose employment ceases on the fifth of the month must be paid their wages and social benefits by the ninth of the following month. This period is greater than thirty days. 

This is only one of many complaints received by Kav LaOved about workers who have not been given their due compensation, wages or social benefits and is a common occurrence. This is why the period of thirty days determined by the Interior Ministry is insufficient and is to the detriment of workers who have devoted years of hard and dedicated work to their charges.

A common question is why migrant workers do not contact Kav LaOved, their agency or the family employing them as soon as they are dismissed, rather than waiting for several weeks. In most cases, the workers remain with the families of the deceased to help them during the Shiva (week of mourning) and are frequently asked to give the families time to make arrangements to pay them after the period of mourning. 

Kav LaOved is seeking to change the ‘Period of Organisation’ rule following dismissal from thirty days to ninety days, in order to allow workers to obtain all monies owing to them and time for recourse to the Labour Courts if necessary. This extension will make it far more difficult for agencies and families to avoid paying migrant workers their due.