Labor laws in israel

1. The department of industry and commerce – under its jurisdiction are several institutions that coordinate matter of work relations and their enforcement.
2. Labor court – this is the institution that passes judgment regarding employment matters, conflicts, employer employee relations, equal opportunity etc. The court is an independent institution and within its authority is to interpret the law, reconcile and dictate norms as regarding labor issues in Israel.
3. The work relations unit (under the Ministry of Economy) – the unit is responsible to provide the public with information concerning labor laws, collective agreement approvals and extension orders. Likewise, the unit acts as a mediator for conflicts.

Within 30 days of employment, the employer must deliver a written contract that fully specifies the entire employment conditions.

There is a standardized minimum wage In Israel which is set at 5300 NIS per month for a full time job – 186 monthly hours (28.4 NIS per hour).

The employee may not waver their right to minimum wage.

Specific to the construction sector, the law defines a full time job as only 176 hours per month.

The employer is obligated to pay his employee a monthly salary in the scope of the same working month and no later than the 9th of the following month.

In Israel, there is a work and rest hour law which regulates and limits the number of hours allowed per day and per week. It also provides instructions regarding a rest day and legal breaks.

A standard workday is between 8 and 9 hours according to the number of workdays per week (5 or 6 days respectively).

On Friday the workday is 7 hours long.

For an employee that works 5 days a week, a workday lasts 8 hours and 36 minutes.

For an employee that works 6 days a week, a workday lasts 8 hours.

The employer is obligated to keep a record for his employees, consisting of work hours and overtime.

An employee who works 5 days a week may work 3.4 extra hours per day (total of 12 hours per day), but no more than 15 extra hours per week.

An employee who works 6 days a week may work 4 extra hours per day (total of 12 hours per day), but no more than 15 extra hours per week.

For the first 2 extra hours of everyday, a payment of 125% is received, for any hours beyond that, a payment of 150% is received.

It is not allowed to deduct overtime hours in exchange for regular missed hours.

A shift which contains at least 2 hours between 10pm and 6am is considered a night shift. The implication of a night shift is that the counting of extra hours begins in the seventh hour.

Between two working days there must be a gap of at least 8 hours.

At least 36 consecutive hours of rest must be granted once a week. They can be granted on Friday, Saturday or Sunday according to the employee’s religion (Jewish employees have no choice and the rest day will always be Saturday).

It is prohibited to operate workshops, factories and stores on the day of rest (Saturday), and to employ Jewish workers on that day.

Employees who are compelled to work on their rest day or on public holidays are entitled to 150% pay for every hour of that day. For extra hours the payment will be 175% (first two extra hours) or 200% (third extra hour onwards).

A manual laborer is entitled to a 45 minute break in a workday that exceeds 6 hours. At least 30 of those minutes need to be consecutive. During the legal break the employee is entitled to leave the work premises.

Breaktime is not calculated as part of the work hours and the employer is not obligated to pay for it.

The employer will be obligated to pay for breaktime only if he ordered that the employee stay on the premises during the break.

The employee is allowed to pray during the workday in accordance with his religion and the work requirements.

Employees are entitled to paid annual leave according to their seniority.
A 5 day workweek entitles the employee to 11 days a year (0.91 days per month)
A 6 day workweek entitles the employee to 13 days a year (1.08 days per month)

The number of days increases every year in correspondence with the number of years employed at the same workplace.

Payment for annual leave days will be calculated according to the average daily pay the employee received in the 3 months prior to the leave.

Employees in Israel are entitled to 18 days of sick leave per year. An employee will receive pay from the second day of absence and onward.
First day of absence – no pay (and a sick leave day is deducted), second and third days – 50% pay, fourth day onwards – full pay.

The employer is obligated to participate in travel expenses to and from work (or provide his own transport).
The payment will be up to 22.6 NIS per day or according to the price of a multiple entry ticket / monthly pass (the cheaper one).

The employer may choose to pay more but he is not obligated to do so.

Every employer must allocate funds towards the employee’s pension insurance.

If the employee does not have a pension fund, the allocation starts after six months.

If the employee has a pension fund from a previous employer, the allocation starts after three months (and he is retroactively compensated).

The allocation is 18% of the salary. 5.75% is payed by the employee and the remainder is paid by the employer.

Non-reporting or evading payment of insurance fees and taxes on time, will evoke charges and fines to the employer’s account plus interest according to the law.

The employer is liable for these payments on behalf of his employees.

Every employee employed for over a year is entitled to convalescence pay.

The amount depends on seniority.

The amount can be payed yearly, monthly or by funding getaways.

There are several public holidays in Israel:

Jewish new year (2 days), Yom Kippur (1 day), Sukkot (1 day), Simchat Torah (1 day), Passover (2 day), Independance Day (1 day), Shavuot (1 day).

These are rest days identical to Sabbath (Saturday) and the rules for payment on rest days apply.

Employees are entitled to holiday allowance/gifts after completing 3 working months.
The workday on the eve of a holiday will be 7 hours long.

An employee who resigned, was laid off, or whose boss passed away, may be entitled to a severance package with the termination of their contract.

The employer must allocate monthly amounts into the employee’s pension insurance, for severance package purposes.

The employer must allocate 6% of the salary as a compensation component according to the extension order. The employer may add an extra 2.33% in order to achieve the full severance amount of 8.33%.

Employers who wish to terminate employees or employees who wish to resign are obligated to provide prior notice in writing.

The employment contract is terminated as the notice period expires.

The required notice period is determined according to seniority.

Employees in Israel may be summoned by the military to reserve duty.

It is prohibited to terminate an employee during his reserve service, and if he served over two consecutive days, it is prohibited to terminate him for 30 days after service completion.

The employer is obligated to pay the employee’s regular wages during the service and he may claim a refund from the national insurance institute.

There are several public holidays in Israel:

Jewish new year (2 days), Yom Kippur (1 day), Sukkot (1 day), Simchat Torah (1 day), Passover (2 day), Independance Day (1 day), Shavuot (1 day).

These are rest days identical to Sabbath (Saturday) and the rules for payment on rest days apply.

Employees are entitled to holiday allowance/gifts after completing 3 working months.
The workday on the eve of a holiday will be 7 hours long.