G is a caregiver from Moldova who came to Kav LaOved’s office in July 2012. She has worked for almost five years for an old woman who is sick with both Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. G took care of both the old woman and her husband. She lived with the couple in a one bedroom apartment and slept with the wife in the living room on the sofa while the husband slept in the bedroom. It was her first job in Israel, and she didn’t have any family and/or friends in the country. When she started working, the employers’ son took her to the bank to open an account, and made her sign a document authorizing him to act on her behalf in the account. During her entire employment period the agency paid her around 5,000 NIS per month. The son used to withdraw the total amount, and pay her 3,800 NIS only. In July 2012 the old woman died. A week later the son woke G up in the middle of the night, accusing her of stealing 20,000 NIS and threatening to call the police. G was then taken for investigation and denied the case entirely. Later the case was closed due to lack of evidence.
A week after she first came to the Kav LaOved office, G found out that the son took another 5,500 NIS from her bank account and left her with 18 NIS only. G was entitled to the following payments which she did not receive: separation pay, notice pay, pension, recuperation, annual leave, and overtime. We contacted the son and informed him of her rights. At the same time we contacted the National Insurance Institute (NII) and asked for their part in the compensation payments. The family’s lawyer responded and stated that they were not willing to pay the full amount but offered half of the payment. After a long negotiation process, the lawyer asked that we reply with a compromise of some sort. In late August, the NII replied that they will pay their part within one month. The family was left with a balance of some 50,000 NIS to pay and we updated the lawyer. In response, the lawyer offered 15,000 NIS. G was ready to settle for 20,000 NIS. We offered the family through their lawyer to meet in our office for a mediation session and the family accepted our offer. In late October the mediation took place. An agreement was signed and G was paid 25,000 NIS. Both G and the family were pleased with the result.
