In the past, Palestinian holders of Israeli stay permits issued as part of the family unification procedure have had great difficulty finding work as their permits bore the inscription “this permit does not constitute a permit to work in Israel”. To get an Israeli work permit, they had to undergo the complicated process of obtaining an Israeli stay permit – though they were living in Israel lawfully – and their potential employers had to file applications to employ them.
In January 2013, thanks to a
petition filed by HaMoked (HCJ 6615/11 Salhab et al. v. Minister of Interior et al.), Israel changed the wording on the permits issued to Palestinians whose family unification applications have been approved. The front of the permit now bears the inscription: “this permit allows the holder to work in Israel” and holders may work and make a living in Israel without further process. In the same petition, the state also undertook to institute and publish procedures and guidelines for the implementation of the arrangement that had been reached, with coordination between the various authorities. However, a year after the arrangement went into effect, there were still no procedures.
On January 20, 2014,
HaMoked contacted the State Attorney’s Office, asking for a copy of the procedures and guidelines promised in the Salhab case. HaMoked noted that many employers and worker organizations had been complaining to it that it was impossible to issue pay stubs to Palestinian holders of family unification permits because payroll systems did not accommodate the new arrangement. HaMoked also stated that employers were not clear on how to deduct taxes and National Insurance Institute payments from Palestinian workers’ salaries, now that this was no longer done through the Ministry of Interior’s payment division. HaMoked stressed that in the absence of clear instructions for employers, instead of making it easier to employ Palestinians undergoing family unification and helping integrate them into the Israeli job market, potential employers were hesitant to hire them because they did not know how to handle their payments.
Following HaMoked’s communication,
the Ministry of Interior published a procedure entitled “Employment of Palestinians Living in Israel under Family Unification”. However, a quick look at the procedure revealed that it was phrased in general terms and provided no specific explanations on what employers should do when it came to employing people in this situation.
HaMoked wrote to the State Attorney’s Office stating its intention to seek the intervention of the High Court of Justice should the authorities fail to issue a uniform, clear procedure on this issue guiding the work of the tax authorities, the National Insurance Institute and the Ministry of Interior. HaMoked also demanded that the tax authority issue clear directives to employers and payroll system staff to the effect that employers do not have to pay the foreign worker tax for Palestinian employees living in Israel under the family unification procedure.
In this context, HaMoked explained that payroll systems define Palestinians living in Israel under family unification as “migrant workers”, and therefore, their employers are automatically required to pay a “foreign worker tax”, worth 20% of the employee’s wages. The tax is collected despite the fact that these are not individuals who arrived in Israel solely for the purpose of work and for a short time only, but rather people who have chosen to make a life in Israel, alongside their spouses and children, and maintain a consistent center-of-life in the country. HaMoked noted that an error has created a situation where employing Palestinians undergoing family unification is an expensive and unattractive proposition, fatally injuring their chances of finding work and draining the arrangement reached in the Salhab case of any meaning.
When no response arrived,
HaMoked contacted the Israel Tax Authority directly, demanding payroll systems be updated to allow for an exemption from the foreign worker tax according to the employee’s permits.
