iSavta | 02.09.2021

When you first get your job as a Caregiver, you are expected to take care of one elderly who's not physically and/or mentally capable of helping himself. But as you start working for him, you realized that his spouse is someone who also needs care. 

If you are in this situation, The Commissioner For Foreign Workers' Labor Rights list down the things you need to know when you are caring for two individuals living under the same roof:

1. Beginning 01.01.2021, the Israeli Social Security Authority ("Bituah Leumi") is the body that decides whether long-term nursing care benefits can be provided to two patients living in the same home, who wish to hire only one foreign caregiver to care for both of them.

2. As per Bituach Leumi procedures, families may employ one foreign worker to care for two patients who each receive care benefits from Bituach Leumi, only if they can prove beyond any reasonable doubt that caring for both patients will not place an unreasonable burden on the caregiver.

3. Bituach Leumi representatives may visit the patients' homes to assess the amount of caregiving needed and whether one caregiver can reasonably give such caregiving to two patients. The following issues will be examined during the home visit:

- Can the foreign caregiver handle the burden of care.
- Does hiring one caregiver only negatively affect the quality of care of both patients.

4. Usually, the caregiving burden will be reviewed by the Bituach Leumi every two years (unless a shorter period is decided upon). Nonetheless, if the condition of one of the patients has worsened, the caregiving burden will be reviewed even if two years have not passed. In cases in which a new foreign caregiver is hired, the caregiving burden of the new caregiver will be assessed.

5. If hiring one caregiver for two patients is authorized by the Bituach Leumi, the caregiver will care only for two family members who are defined as Long-term care patients and may not be asked to care for other family members who live with the patients or who visit frequently.

6. The parties must agree on a salary that reflects the scope of the caregiver's work and does not fall below the minimum wage (5,300 NIS).

7. If a caregiver feels that the burden of caring for two patients is too great and that therefore he cannot give effective care to both persons, he can contact the nursing company (Chevrat Siud), which will forward the complaint to "Bituah Leumi".