Though the coronavirus has yet to reach Israel (as of this writing), the labor market is already preparing for it. To be more precise, the Israeli Ministry of Health is instructing the labor market on how to prepare for it.
The Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Health published a directive on February 4, which states that an employee, volunteer, or service provider who is required to be quarantined under the home quarantine directive shall not be required to arrive at the workplace and shall not be granted entry even if he or she were to request this.
The quarantined employee, volunteer, or service provider must give notice to the employer that he or she must enter quarantine and on the duration of the quarantine. According to the Israeli Ministry of Health’s instructions, a comprehensive certificate of illness is provided to every employee who is absent from work due to quarantine and an employee’s declaration is sufficient in this respect. (The employee need not provide the employer with related sick leave documentation.)
According to the order, it is prohibited to terminate a quarantined employee for his or her absence from work. Relatedly, it is also prohibited, as a routine matter, to terminate a sick employee during his or her illness.
This directive shall remain in effect so long as the home quarantine directive (published by the Ministry of Health on February 2 and stipulating when and under which conditions one must enter quarantine) remains in effect as well.
