Guide to work-related accidents in Israel

Work accident insurance in Israel is designed to compensate the insured for loss of income during the period following the accident.

It is also designed to help them re-enter the job market through professional reintegration.

These grants are awarded by the Bitouah Leoumiwhich is the national insurance fund in Israel.

Who is insured?

• An employee,
• a self-employed person who is registered with the National Insurance Fund at the time of the accident,
• a person undergoing vocational rehabilitation,
• a person undergoing vocational training,
• a candidate under the Apprenticeship Act or the Employment Services Act (during the examination only),
• a foreign resident employed in Israel by an Israeli employer,
• and any person whose salary is fixed by law (MP, etc.).

Who is entitled to workers' compensation benefits?

An insured who has suffered a "work-related injury" (accident at work or occupational disease) and the dependents of the insured who died as a result of an accident at work (widow(er), orphans, parents and other family members).
Accident at work - an accident during or following work, including an accident on the way to or from work, and an accident in circumstances specified by law.
Occupational illness - an illness contracted by the insured in the course of his or her work, and which appears on the list of occupational illnesses laid down by law.

To know more..: A self-employed person who has not paid his monthly contributions to bituah leumi on time will be denied the right to an allowance or will receive a reduced allowance (depending on the amount of arrears and interest on payment).

Workmen's compensation

Medical care

Recovery, convalescence and medical rehabilitation through the health insurance fund.

Accident allowance

Payment in the event of absence from work, for a period not exceeding 91 days from the day following the accident.
The accident allowance is paid to any person who has suffered an accident at work or an occupational disease, and who knows that he or she is no longer able to work in his or her trade or in another suitable job, that he or she has not in fact been working, and that he or she requires medical treatment.

• A self-employed worker will not receive accident benefit for the first 12 days of entitlement.
• A salaried employee who suffers an accident on one day will not receive accident benefit, but his or her salary will be paid by the employer.
  For the two days following the accident, the accident allowance is paid only if the person is unable to return to work for 12 days or more.

Payment amount per day

75% of salary (for which contributions were paid) during the 3 months prior to the accident, divided by 90. Up to the maximum accident benefit per day :

in January 2019 - 1,097.88 shekels.

Application for accident benefit and notification of the accident at the workplace

Within 12 months of the date of the accident, you must submit form BL/211 to the bituah leumi branch nearest to your home. The form must be accompanied by an initial medical certificate of the accident, issued by the health insurance fund or hospital.
The application form can be downloaded from the Bitouah Leoumi website and then :

• fill in the application form on the Bitouah Leoumi website and send it online with all the documents,
• send it by post,
• send it by fax.

Industrial accident disability pension in Israel

Industrial accident disability allowance

For disabled people injured at work with a temporary disability rate of at least 9% or people with a permanent disability rate of at least 20%, the allowance is paid according to the medical disability rate in relation to the salary for the three months prior to the accident: in January 2019, the maximum monthly allowance was 32,839 shekels for an employee and a self-employed person.

People receiving incapacity benefit on a low wage will receive an income supplement.

Application for work accident disability allowance

You must submit a BL200 form as soon as possible to your nearest Caisse d'Assurance Nationale branch. You can download the application form from the Caisse d'Assurance Nationale website and send it directly online, by post or by fax.
An insured person who has applied for a disability allowance due to an accident at work will be summoned by a medical commission.
The commission will determine whether the disability is due to the industrial accident and, if so, will set the disability rate.

Workers' compensation benefits

For a disabled person who has suffered an accident at work and whose permanent disability rate is 9% or more, but less than 20%, a lump-sum allowance will be paid at the rate of a monthly allowance multiplied by 43.
If the application is filed more than 12 months late, the indemnity will be paid and deducted in proportion to the delay.
Tip: To check the amount of your allowance or compensation, consult the calculator on the Caisse d'Assurance Nationale website.

Special allowance

It is paid to a disabled person requiring assistance with daily activities, and to persons whose permanent disability rate is 75% or more; or a person whose permanent disability rate varies between 65% and 74%, experiencing difficulty walking, and requiring assistance with personal care and to cover specific expenses arising from the recognized disability.
The amount of the special allowance depends on the type of assistance required, according to the 4 levels of assistance.
The maximum special allowance in January 2019 is 8,210 shekels.
To obtain the allowance, you need to submit the BL/266 application form to the rehabilitation department, or download it from the website and send it online, by post or by fax.

The file approval process includes a review of the dependency assessment carried out by a nurse in the applicant's home, and a medical certificate from the Caisse d'Assurance Nationale.

Punctual arrangements allowance

It is paid to people with a disability rate of 75% or more, and to disabled people experiencing walking difficulties as a result of their recognized disability. It is also paid to people with a disability rate of between 65% and 74 %, to cover certain one-off arrangements resulting from disability:

• home adaptation
• acquisition of assistive accessories
• acquisition of a vehicle to solve the mobility problem.

The amount of the allowance is set according to the amount of expenses authorized by the Fund, but will not exceed the maximum amount.
To obtain the grant, you need to submit the BL/282 application form to the rehabilitation department. You can also download it from the website and send it online, by post or by fax.

Income supplement allowance

A person receiving an industrial accident disability allowance or a dependent's allowance, whose income is low and who meets the income test, is entitled to an income supplement allowance.
The income supplement is paid from the month in which the application is submitted. And for the entire period for which he/she is entitled to it (if the supplement has been paid incorrectly, the National Insurance Fund is entitled to deduct it from the allowance it pays).
A separate application must be submitted to the department responsible for the minimum subsistence income.

A disabled person in need

• A disabled person for whom a temporary disability has been determined and who is unable to return to work in any job, and who has no income from work, can apply to be recognized as a "disabled person in need".
  The "disabled person in need" receives an allowance equivalent to 100% for the specified period.
  You'll need to submit the BL/279 application form, downloadable from the website, and send it online, by post or by fax.

Return to work for injured workers

The Bitouah Leoumi helps you in the following areas:

• diagnosis
• career guidance
• professional integration
• payment of rehabilitation benefits during studies (supplement to disability allowance for industrial accidents).
• cover study-related expenses such as transportation, tuition and teaching materials.

Conditions of entitlement to vocational rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation is granted to disabled people who have been awarded a permanent disability rating of at least 10%, and who, as a result of an accident at work, are no longer able to work in their profession or even in another job, knowing that they require and respond to a vocational rehabilitation program.

Application for professional reintegration

You must submit form BL/270 to the Vocational Rehabilitation Department of the National Insurance Agency nearest to your home. You must submit the application within one year of the date on which your permanent disability was determined.
The application form can be downloaded from the Bitouah Leoumi website and sent online, by post or by fax.

Pension for family members of a person who died as a result of a work-related accident in Israel

Paid to the widow(er) of a person who died as a result of an industrial accident.

Pension for dependants

A widow with one child is entitled to a dependent's pension, either if she has reached the age of 40, or if she is unable to support herself. Or a widower who is unable to support himself (whose gross income is less than 5,394 shekels a month).
The dependents' pension is calculated as a percentage of the full disability allowance (40%-100%) and according to the number of children of the deceased. The amount of the pension is determined on the basis of the deceased's income 3 months before the date on which he stopped working as a result of the injury.
People receiving a pension for dependants on a low income will receive an income supplement allowance.

Applying for a dependant's pension

The application must be submitted within 12 months of the death, using form BL/213. You can download the form from the Bitouah Leoumi website and send it online, by post or by fax.

Dependant's allowance

Lump-sum compensation equivalent to the sum of 36 monthly allowances. A person entitled to receive compensation is not entitled to receive an allowance.
Dependant's allowance in the case of a widow who is not yet 40 or has no children and is unable to support herself. Or a widower who is not yet 40, has no children and is unable to support himself (whose gross income is less than 5,394 shekels a month).

Wedding allowance

A married widow/widower will be paid an allowance equivalent to the sum of 36 monthly allowances. The allowance is paid in two instalments: one after marriage, and the other after two years of marriage (at the end of the dependents' pension entitlement).
The benefit will be paid automatically, without the need to submit a claim.

Professional reintegration of widows/widowers receiving a dependent's pension

Help with diagnosis and career guidance, payment of study-related expenses and payment of living allowances during studies. This is for a person who is recognized as the widow(er) of a person who died in an industrial accident, and who has no profession or cannot support him/herself by his/her profession. Or who requires professional reorientation following widowhood, and who meets the criteria for professional reintegration.
You must submit form BL/270 to the vocational rehabilitation department of the National Insurance Agency nearest to your home. You can download the application form from the website and send it by post or fax.

Orphans' pension

Paid to a child for whom most of his or her time is devoted to higher education or vocational training based on the parent's income test. The amount of the living allowance in January 2016 is 788 shekels per month.
Before the start of the school year, the National Insurance Fund sends the beneficiary an application form for a living allowance. This form must be completed and sent to the Bitouah Leoumi branch near your home.

Bar Mitzvah bonus

For an orphan aged 13 and an orphaness aged 12. The amount of the allowance in January 2019 - 5,838 shekels.
The indemnity will be paid automatically.

Compensation in the event of death

In the case of a deceased person receiving a disability allowance due to an industrial accident and reaching retirement age, or who had a disability rate of 50% or more, or a deceased person receiving a dependent's allowance - a lump-sum compensation will be paid to the spouse if the child does not have a spouse (as defined by law).
The amount of the allowance in the month of January 2019 - 8,757 shekels.
To the surviving members of a person receiving a disability allowance due to an industrial accident, under certain conditions, a lump-sum allowance at a rate of 60% of the deceased person's disability allowance multiplied by 36, in lieu of the above allowance.