חוק התכנית לסיוע כלכלי (נגיף הקורונה החדש) (הוראת שעה) (תיקון מס' 3), התשפ"א-2020Law on the Economic Assistance Program (new Coronavirus) (temporary provision) (Amendment No. 3), 2020 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

First, the Law establishes an arrangement for payment for isolation days of salaried employees. Under this arrangement, an employee who is in isolation due to an isolation obligation of their own or their child's is entitled, from their employer, to payment equivalent to sick pay, to be called "isolation pay," for the work days during which they were in isolation, except for one day for which the employee is not entitled to isolation pay, but for which they may charge a vacation day instead. If a more favorable arrangement for sick pay or isolation pay from the first day applies to the employee, they will receive isolation pay for that one day as well; however, a private employer not funded by the state may notify the employee that it is not applying a more favorable sick-pay arrangement with respect to isolation pay. For the work days during which the employee is in isolation, the employer may deduct up to 4 days from the employee's accrued sick leave, and if the employee does not have a sufficient balance of sick days, their future sick leave period will be charged accordingly; an arrangement was also established for final settlement of accounts in the event that the employment relationship ended before the employee had accrued sufficient sick days to offset the days charged. The employee's entitlement to isolation pay is conditional on reporting the isolation days to the Ministry of Health and providing a copy of the report to the employer. During the isolation period, the employee will be protected from dismissal, pension fund contributions for them will continue, and seniority accrual will continue. Excluded from entitlement to isolation pay is an employee required to isolate due to returning from abroad, unless they traveled abroad on their employer's behalf, in which case they will be entitled to isolation pay for all work days (including the one day). It was further determined that an employee in isolation who performs work from home will be entitled, for the hours they worked, to wages and not to isolation pay, and no sick days will be deducted for those hours. The isolation pay arrangement does not apply while the employee is ill with COVID-19, but if the illness followed the isolation period, isolation days that were offset against sick days will be counted for purposes of calculating sick pay. In a case where a collective agreement or personal contract applies regarding isolation days in addition to the provisions of the Law, the more favorable arrangement between them will apply. Second, the Law establishes an arrangement for reimbursing an employer for isolation pay paid to an employee under this Law. The National Insurance Institute will reimburse employers for the cost of isolation pay paid to employees at the following rates: 100% of the cost borne for one work day for which isolation pay was paid; and 50% of the cost borne for isolation pay paid for the remaining work days, or 75% of the cost for the remaining days for an employer employing twenty employees or fewer. An employer whose employee was in isolation due to travel abroad on the employer's behalf, and an employer who paid isolation pay for one day under a more favorable sick-pay or isolation arrangement, will not receive reimbursement for that one day. A method was established for submitting an online request for reimbursement, which may be submitted starting 1 February 2021, and the State Treasury will reimburse the National Insurance Institute for payments made to employers. For control purposes, the Law establishes an arrangement for the transfer of information between the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Health, verifying that the employee for whom reimbursement was requested did indeed report isolation, and provisions were established regarding authorized access to the information and its permitted use, retention, security and deletion. A duty of confidentiality was also established for anyone exposed to the information, and jurisdiction was granted to a regional labor court for claims by employees and employers regarding isolation pay. The isolation pay arrangement was established in the Law as a temporary provision from 29 October 2020 until 31 March 2021, with the possibility of extending its validity in six-month periods. Regarding the period between 1 October 2020 and the effective date, it was determined that retroactive reimbursement would be paid, subject to the provisions of the arrangement, to an employer who paid an employee sick pay due to their being in isolation. In addition, a transitional provision was established stating that during the period between the effective date and the date of publication of the Law, isolation pay would also be paid to an employee who did not report the isolation, or who reported only that their child was in isolation. Third, the Law requires employers and payers of early pensions to submit to the National Insurance Institute a monthly online report on the wages they paid and the insurance contributions they are required to pay, as well as individual data for each employee or early pension recipient for whom they make payments. In addition, the Institute may require an online report from an employer to clarify a specific employee claim, provided that the Institute informs the employee of the request to the employer and the employee does not object, as well as information for calculating an employee's insurance contributions, provided there is a legal obligation on the employer or employee to provide it, or a legal authority for the Institute to request it. This arrangement will apply from 1 April 2021, and information may be required under it from an employer with more than 180 employees already from April 2021, while from an employer with 180 employees or fewer, only from October 2021. Fourth, the Law increases, as a temporary provision until the end of 2020, by approximately 10 million NIS in total, the amounts in the funds operated by the National Insurance Institute in the fields of unemployment and children at risk. The additional funds for the funds' activity will be paid from the State Treasury.

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