2 New Regulations Applicable to Foreign Caregivers in Israel | iSavta
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2 New Regulations Applicable to Foreign Caregivers in Israel

few months ago the Israeli Parliament passed two new regulation that will apply on migrant caregivers. The purpose of these new regulations, according to the Israeli authorities, is to stop caregivers from leaving employers in remote areas, and to make sure that caregivers will not change too many employers without a "good" reason.

  • The new regulation on Geographical areas will be valid from July 17th, 2014
  • The new regulation on Number of employers will be valid from August 16th, 2014

Below you will find the full details of both regulations:

Geographic restrictions for the employment of migrant caregivers (summary)

Israel will be divided to 3 geographical areas:

Tel Aviv: The Tel Aviv district

Center: The center (not including Tel Aviv Area), Haifa and Jerusalem districts

Periphery: The Northern and Southern districts (not including Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem), as well as the Occupied Territories

1. When a migrant caregiver enters Israel for the first time, the area(s) in which s/he is allowed to work will be set in his visa.

2. The area(s) set according to the regulation will be the place of residence of the employer who invited the caregiver and:

  • If the employer lives in Tel Aviv, the caregiver is allowed to work in Tel Aviv, the Center and the Periphery.
  • If the employer lives in the Center, the caregiver is allowed to work in Center and the Periphery.
  • If the employer lives in the Periphery, the caregiver is allowed to work in the Periphery only.

3. Receiving a working visa:

  • A working visa will be given only after the person who gives the visa verifies that the caregiver was notified, before entering Israel, in a language that s/he understands, about the place of residence of the employer, and about the mobility restrictions according to these regulations.
  • A working visa will not be renewed unless the person who gives the visa verifies that the worker was notified, in a language that s/he understands, about these regulations. 

4. If a worker is found working in another area (that is not in his/her visa), the Minister of Interior may cancel or not renew the visa, after giving the caregiver the opportunity to explain his/her case.

5. These rules will not apply on caregivers who work for an employer who lives in an area according to the visa, but moved to another area temporarily. 

6. In case the employer moves to another area while the caregiver is working legally, and the employer wants to continue employing the caregiver, the caregiver is allowed to continue working in the new area, only after the employer and the caregiver inform the authorities. In that case, the new area will be set in the caregiver's visa. 

7. In special cases, if a caregiver or an employer asks that a caregiver work outside the area(s) set in the visa, the Interior Ministry may allow this. This is only if the request is because of the wellbeing of the worker or the employer. 8. The Interior Ministry will not allow changing the area in case worker was working outside the area(s) in his visa before receiving an approval from The Interior Ministry.

  •  For caregivers who are already working in Israel:If the caregiver is working legally, the area where his employer lives will be set as the working area in his/her visa
  • If the worker is not working legally, the area where his last employer lived will be set as the working area in his/her visa

Number of employers and changing employers

Termination of work: any termination of a caregiver's employment which IS NOT one of the following:

  • The employer's death
  • Dismissal
  • The employer is moving to a nursing home or hospital.

1. If a caregiver terminated his/her work (for any reason which is not specified above), for three employers in two years, there is a suspicion that s/he misuses his/her visa, an official of the Ministry of Interior may investigate the suspicion. The Interior Ministry will inform the worker about the possible implications as described in the regulation, and will let the caregiver state his\her case.

2. Special cases to be considered in the decision of the Interior Ministry:

  • In order to make a decision in case there are special circumstances of the caregiver or the employer, that lead to termination of work, the Interior Ministry can ask for information from the caregiver, employer and the relevant agency. All this is in while protecting the caregiver's freedom, so s/he is not forced to work for a specific employer.
  • If the caregiver resigns from his work because of a worsening of the employment conditions, or other issues of the working relations where the caregiver cannot be asked to continue working (for example – abuse of the caregiver), this will not be considered as "misuse" of the visa.

3. If the investigation of the Interior Ministry finds that the worker misused his/her visa, the Minister may cancel or not renew the visa, after the caregiver was given the chance to explain his/her case.

4. Receiving a working visa:

  • A working visa will be given only after the person who gives the visa verifies that the caregiver was notified, before entering Israel, in a language that s/he understands, about these rules and the number of employer they can change.
  • A working visa will not be renewed unless the person who gives the visa verifies that the worker was notified, in a language that s/he understands, about these regulations. 

5. Any termination of work that happened before these regulations go into effect will not be counted according to regulation.

Source: Kav Laoved - Migrant Caregivers  (for more inquiries, please visit the official Facebook page of Kav LaOved by clicking the link)

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