Filipinos are one of the largest Asian communities in Israel, and the great majority work in the caregiving (siud) sector — looking after elderly people and people with disabilities, usually living in the employer’s home. It is demanding work, often isolating, and good plain-language information about your rights is hard to find. This guide pulls together the framework from Israel’s official bodies and the worker-rights NGOs so you know what the law says and where to get help.
Important — please read. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Rules and figures change, sometimes every year. Always confirm current details with the authoritative bodies: the Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA), Kav LaOved – Worker’s Hotline, and the Philippine Embassy / Migrant Workers Office in Tel Aviv. If your rights are being violated, get advice from one of them before signing anything or leaving a job.
Who this is for, and the legal basics#
This guide is for foreign nationals working as caregivers in Israel — including the many Filipinos who arrived through a licensed recruitment agency. Caregivers in Israel work under a B/1 work visa for the caregiving sector. Your visa ties you to working only in caregiving and only for a registered, licensed employer; you may not legally take other work, even on rest days or holidays.
Crucially, the core rights of Israeli labour law apply to every worker in Israel — Israeli or foreign, documented or not. Minimum wage, a weekly rest day, sick pay, holidays, severance and notice periods are not optional extras; they are the legal floor.
Your rights#
Working hours and rest. You are entitled to a weekly rest day of at least 25 continuous hours, which should include the day of rest of your religion. If your employer asks you to work on your rest day, it must be by agreement and paid at a premium rate, plus you should get a replacement rest day. There is no separate legal entitlement to a fixed number of hours of free time every day, but living-in does not mean being on call every waking hour — reasonable breaks are part of humane and lawful employment.
Sick leave. When you are ill and bring a doctor’s note, you are entitled to sick pay: nothing for the first day, 50% of daily pay for the second and third days, and 100% from the fourth day onward.
Holidays and vacation. After three months of work you are entitled to paid holidays — you may choose holidays according to your own religion. You also accrue paid annual vacation, and after one full year you are entitled to recuperation pay (dmei havraa), an annual fixed-rate payment.
Living conditions. Your employer must provide you with reasonable, dignified accommodation with appropriate privacy. Your employer may not take or hold your passport — your documents are yours, and withholding them is illegal.
Changing employers. You have the right to change employers within the caregiving sector — you are not trapped with one family. There is a required process: you must give prior written notice both to the employer (or their representative) and to the licensed placement agency you are registered with, and the notice period depends on how long you have worked there. Special PIBA rules apply if you change employers several times. Always speak to Kav LaOved or your placement agency before resigning so you don’t accidentally fall out of status.
What an employer may not do. An employer may not pay below minimum wage, withhold your passport, force you to work your rest day, deduct more than the legal limits from your pay, or dismiss you without proper written notice.
Salary norms#
Minimum wage applies to live-in caregivers. Your base salary must be at least the Israeli statutory minimum wage for a full-time post — the same floor that applies to Israeli workers. The figure is updated periodically (it rose again in 2026), so check the current minimum wage with PIBA or Kav LaOved rather than relying on an old number. Wages must be paid by the 9th of the following month.
Deductions — what’s allowed. Israeli regulations let an employer deduct limited, capped amounts for things like medical insurance and, for some workers, housing and related expenses — but the maximum amounts are fixed in regulations and updated by the Ministry of Labour (the limits were last revised in 2025). Two key points for caregivers:
- Total deductions are capped and may not swallow your wage — your take-home pay must still reflect the legal minimum.
- For a live-in caregiver, the housing situation is different from other migrant workers: you live in the home as part of the job. Do not assume the standard regional housing-deduction figures automatically apply to you — if your payslip shows housing or food deductions, ask Kav LaOved to check whether they are lawful in your case.
“Pocket money.” In practice many caregivers receive a small weekly cash advance for day-to-day needs. This is an advance against your salary, not an addition to it and not a substitute for it — your full wage must still be paid and properly documented on a payslip.
Severance, pension and the deposit fund (pikadon). After a year of work you are generally entitled to severance pay if you are dismissed or the job ends through no fault of yours. Every worker is also entitled to a pension. For foreign caregivers, employers are required to make a monthly deposit into a dedicated government deposit fund (pikadon) covering pension and severance components — this money is on top of your salary and must not be deducted from it. You can normally withdraw the accumulated pikadon (with interest, minus bank fees and tax) only when you leave Israel permanently, by filing a request shortly before departure. You can check your pikadon balance and visa status through PIBA’s online system.
Keep every payslip. They are your evidence that wages, deductions and deposits were handled correctly.
If your rights are violated: dispute resolution and help#
If something is wrong — unpaid wages, illegal deductions, no rest day, a withheld passport, abuse — you do not have to handle it alone, and you do not have to keep silent to keep your visa.
1. Keep documentation. Save payslips, your contract, your passport copy, and write down your daily hours, your rest days, and any incidents with dates. Photograph documents. This record is what makes a complaint succeed.
2. Kav LaOved (Worker’s Hotline). This NGO gives free advice and legal aid to workers regardless of status, and runs a dedicated migrant-caregivers programme. They can calculate what you are owed at the end of a job and help you act on it. Contact details and reception hours are on the Kav LaOved website.
3. PIBA complaint channels. The Population and Immigration Authority regulates the caregiving sector and licenses the placement agencies. Problems with an agency, your visa, or your employer’s registration can be raised through PIBA.
4. The Philippine Embassy and the Migrant Workers Office (MWO). The Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv and its co-located Migrant Workers Office (MWO, formerly POLO) assist Filipino workers with labour disputes, contract problems, repatriation, OWWA welfare benefits, and counselling. They can also help when a case crosses between Israeli and Philippine systems. The Embassy is on Rehov Bnei Dan 18, Tel Aviv-Yafo; current phone numbers and emergency hotlines are on the Embassy website — check there for the latest contact details.
5. Free legal help. Beyond Kav LaOved, other NGOs and legal-aid clinics assist migrant workers. Ask Kav LaOved or the MWO for a referral if your case needs a lawyer.
For groceries, remittance, churches and community organisations that support the wider Filipino community here, see our companion guide to Filipino food, shops and community in Israel. The Federation of Filipino Communities in Israel is the umbrella body for Filipino associations and can point you to local groups, and licensed remittance services such as Rewire are listed in our directory.
The Filipino caregiving community in Israel has also carried real loss — including caregivers killed in missile strikes during the 2025 conflict. Knowing your rights, keeping your documents in order, and staying connected to the community and to the bodies that exist to protect you are practical forms of safety.
Reminder: rules and figures in this guide change. Before acting on anything here, confirm the current position with PIBA, Kav LaOved, or the Philippine Embassy / MWO in Tel Aviv. This is general information, not legal advice.
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