My first visit to the National Insurance Institute (NII)

I had to fill in a form that I was unemployed and requesting unemployment benefit. I received the form from work (to show that I had been working enough time to qualify for unemployment), and filled in the rest. I put it in an envelope and took the bus to the NII. I was amazed that there was no queue and then the guard told me that the office was closed to visitors on Wednesdays (also Monday for readers who need it). But he told me what to write on the front of the envelope and I posted it in a box.

Miraculously, a few days later I received a letter stating that the form had been received. A very nice lady even phoned me up and told me that I had forgotten to fill in that I had already registered with the unemployment office. I told her that indeed I had and she dictated to me (in Hebrew) the contents of the fax she needed. Shaul checked my spelling and off it went.

Now let’s see if I get any unemployment benefit for October. They deduct the first 5 days that I am unemployed, so I don’t expect to receive too much. The maximum one can receive is the average wage – just under NIS 8,000 at the moment.

One of the ‘positive’ aspects is that if the business fails within 24 months of first registering as unemployed, I can claim whatever benefit I still have left – maximum is 175 days and I used up 16 in October (21 minus 5), so that leaves me with 159 days, or around seven months. Let’s hope I don’t need it.