Rehab Center Manager Fired Via Phone Awarded $20,000 in Back Pay
A former therapeutic manager at a rehabilitation center, Albina Kontz Bar, has been awarded approximately NIS 70,000 (around $20,000 USD) by the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court after being dismissed via a phone call and not receiving her full salary for months. Kontz Bar worked at the addiction treatment center for over two years, from October 2017, but her official employer changed three times during that period: first an association, then a company, and finally a rehabilitation institute. Each entity attempted to shirk responsibility for her full employment period and owed wages.
Kontz Bar's salary was initially paid by the "Tzed LaTzed" association, then by a company owned by one of the founders, and finally by "Rehabilitation Institute," owned by Emil Obspian, who was described as the driving force behind the center. However, between June and July 2019, she received almost no salary. After five months without pay, she demanded her money in December 2019. According to her testimony, Obspian became angry and told her not to come to work anymore. A formal termination letter arrived months later, which she claims falsely stated a hearing had been held prior to her dismissal.
The defendants argued she resigned voluntarily and the termination letter was only issued so she could receive unemployment benefits. However, the court found this inconsistent, questioning why a hearing would be scheduled if she wasn't being fired. The court ruled that the three entities should be considered a single employer for the purpose of her rights, citing Section 30 of the Salary Protection Law, which holds new employers responsible for debts incurred by their predecessors when a business changes hands. The court accepted Kontz Bar's claim that the nature of her work and the center's management remained unchanged despite the corporate shifts.
The court ordered the three employing bodies jointly and severally to pay Kontz Bar approximately NIS 44,000 for back wages, delayed salary compensation, pension discrepancies, vacation pay, convalescence pay, and failure to provide notice of employment terms. The final employer was additionally ordered to pay about NIS 28,000 for severance pay, compensation for dismissal without a hearing, and remaining notice period wages. Court costs of NIS 15,000 were also awarded, bringing the total to nearly NIS 72,000.
