Hiring cleaners and housekeepers in private homes – don’t claim you didn’t know
Hiring housecleaners in private homes and buildings (primarily by tenant committees) is very common in Israel. However, many are unaware of the risks they are exposed to by hiring these workers illegally. Shirking the obligation to ensure workers’ rights may lead to various legal complications, and to charges of tens and even hundreds of thousands of shekels. In this article, an attorney from our office who specializes in labor law will explain what you need to know about this complex legal issue.
Our law offices in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, specialize in labor law. The attorneys in our office provide comprehensive legal services to employers and workers. The office provides its clients with legal counselling and representation in legal disputes over issues such as: workers’ rights, employers’ obligations, employment contracts, severance pay, etc.
Legal ambiguity in hiring housecleaners in Israel – is it an employee/employer relationship?
In Israel, the illegal hiring of cleaning workers is a widespread phenomenon. It is estimated that more than half a million cleaning workers are employed in the country, but only some of them have full social benefits and are legally reported to National Insurance as employees. In many cases, asylum seekers, illegal residents, and foreign workers (sometimes without work permits) are hired as housecleaners. Some people erroneously believe that hiring a regular housekeeper to clean their home or residential building can be done without establishing official employer/employee relations. But many discover retroactively that they were acting illegally, and are obligated to pay compensation as a result.
The law is indeed ambiguous on the issue of hiring housecleaners privately. It is not always clear when there are employer/employee relations that require the employer to ensure the worker’s rights. But it is important to know that even in cases of sporadic employment, an employer/employee relationship may be recognized retroactively. The goal of this article is to clarify these issues for you and to encourage you to look into the legal situation ahead of time, thus avoiding lawsuits, disputes, and significant charges.
Methods of hiring and determining employer/employee relations
There are three main ways that cleaning workers are hired in Israel. The first is through a cleaning company. In this case, the cleaning workers are employed as contractors via the company they work for. Second, a cleaning worker can be hired directly and paid an official salary, whether through the building’s tenant committee or through a private home’s budget. The third way, and the most problematic in our context, is to hire housecleaners as independent service providers (freelancers).
When a housecleaner is hired as a freelancer, they are not always registered with the tax authorities and National Insurance, even though this is required. However, the need to ensure the worker’s rights does not depend on whether the worker has fulfilled their obligations to the authorities. Rather, the question of the housecleaner’s rights hinges on the question of whether there is an employer/employee relationship between the housecleaner and the person ordering the work. In cases where the workers file claims in Labor Court in order to obtain their rights, the question of relationship is evaluated retroactively.
The Labor Court has developed various criteria for recognizing such employer/employee relations. These include checking whether the relationship was personal — that is, whether the act of hiring was effected without the help of any other workers except the housecleaner. In addition, the one ordering the work is evaluated for their ability to supervise the work. Likewise, the court checks to see whether the one ordering the work supplied the work tools (cleaning supplies and implements), as well as whether they arranged the work days and hours (and whether these were regular). It is important to note that these evaluations are intended only to classify the employer/employee relations; that is, they are not unequivocal, and each case is examined on its individual merits.
What rights need to be ensured when hiring cleaners and housekeepers in private homes and buildings?
If indeed there is an employer/employee relationship, the employer must hold a hearing before dismissing the employee. If the worker is fired, they must be paid severance pay according to the law. These two are just some of the rights that the employer must grant to a cleaning worker if there is an employer/employee relationship. Even if such a relationship does not officially exist, some of these rights may still apply. It is important for employers to be familiar with the law and act according to it. We would like to encourage you to evaluate your own legal situation, and make use of legal counselling as needed to prevent future lawsuits, legal disputes, and compensation owed.
Contact an attorney specializing in labor law
For any question or detailed issue regarding the complex topic of hiring housecleaners in private homes and buildings, you can turn to the attorneys in our law offices . An attorney from our office who specializes in labor law will be happy to provide you with a comprehensive legal solution on this issue or a range of other issues related to labor law. Our office specializes in counselling and representation in matters such as employment contracts, severance pay, workers’ benefits, etc.
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