Israel Employment Law

The duration of the leave, in respect of a working year with the same employer or at the same place of employment shall be as follows. An employee who has a working year with the same employer or at the same place of employment is entitled to leave in the below manner:

• • • For every year for the first 5 years – 16 days;
    • From the sixth year – 18 days;
    • From the seventh year – 21 days;
    • For the eighth year onward – an additional day for each year of work up to a leave of 28 days;
    • But the Minister of Labor may prescribe, in regulations, for a particular job a longer leave than that, if he deems it necessary for reasons of the employee’s health or the circumstances of the job.

The days of leave shall include not more than one weekly rest for seven days of leave. This does not apply to a salaried employee who has worked less than 75 consecutive days, with one employer or in one workplace, either in one year of work or in two consecutive years of work.

Working days are considered consecutive, even if there is a break in work due to reserve service work. The number of annual vacation days determined by law includes the weekly rest days.

An employee who has a 6-day workweek at his place of work is entitled to 6 days of absence from work for every 7 days of leave accrued by law (since within 7 days of leave a Saturday is included, which is the weekly rest day at workplaces where people work 6 days a week).

When leave shall be given

Leave shall be given in the last month of the working year in respect of which it is given, or in the working year immediately following.

Days not Included in Vacation

• • • • These are the days that will not be included in the number of vacation days:
      • The days when the employee served in the reserved service according to the Reserve Service Law, 5768-2008;
      • Holidays that are not worked on, whether by law or by agreement or practice – except for the weekly rest days;
      • Days of birth and parenthood;
      • The days when the employee is unable to work due to an accident or illness;
      • Days of mourning in the family, for which the employee does not work for religious or customary reasons;
      • Days of strike or shutdown;
      • Days of prior notice of dismissal, unless exceeding fourteen.

Commencement of leave 

The date of the commencement of leave shall be fixed at least 14 days in advance. This does not apply to periods of leave of fewer than 7 days.

Accumulation of leave

Leave cannot be accumulated provided that an employee may, with the consent of the employer, take a leave installment of at least 7 days and add the balance to the leave given him in the following two working years. The government authority may prohibit the accumulation of leave where in his opinion the health of the employee or the circumstances under which the work is performed requires that the whole period of leave shall be given each year.

Leave to be given at one time 

Leave shall be given at one time, provided that with the consent of the employee and the employer and with the approval of the local employees’ committee, if any, it may be split up, but only so that one period of leave consists of at least seven days.

Vacation Pay

The employer must pay the employee for the vacation days vacation pay in an amount equal to his regular salary. Regular pay shall be –

• • • • • in the case of an employee the remuneration for whose work is wholly or in part paid on the basis of a month or a longer period – the pay which the employee would receive, in respect of the period in question, if he had not gone on leave but had continued working;
        • in the case of a wage worker – the average daily pay multiplied by the number of leave days; the average pay shall be the sum resulting from the division of the pay for the quarter immediately preceding the leave, by ninety; where the said quarter includes months of less than full employment, the average daily pay may, at the worker’s option, be calculated on the basis of the quarter of fullest employment within the twelve months immediately preceding the leave.

When leave pay shall be paid

Leave shall be paid not later than on the day on which the employee would receive his pay had he not gone on leave, but if the employee goes on leave for not less than seven days and requests that the payment of leave pay is advanced, it shall be paid not later than two days before the commencement of the leave.

Loss of the right to leave pay

An employee shall not be gainfully employed during his leave and if he performs regular paid work during that period, he shall lose his right to leave pay; if it has already been paid, the employer may deduct an identical amount from the employee’s pay or collect it in any manner in which a civil debt may be collected.

Leave Pay in Case of Termination

In cases, where the employee’s employment ceases before he has received the leave due to him up to the day of cessation of his employment, the employer shall pay him to leave compensation of an amount equal to the amount of leave pay which would be payable to him had he gone on leave on the day of cessation of his employment. Annual leave law, § 2 – 10.

An employee is entitled to accumulate sick leave of one and a half days per full month of employment, and up to a total maximum of 90 days of sick leave. Period of illness shall be calculated in accordance with the following provisions:

• • • in the case of a salaried employee – the period of illness shall be all days of his illness, including days of weekly rest and holidays;
    • in the case of a salaried employee who has worked full-time for the same employer or at the same place of work – the period of illness shall be all his sick days, except weekly rest days and holidays;
    • In the case of a salaried employee who has not worked full time for the same employer or in the same workplace (hereinafter – intermittent worker) – the period of illness shall be all sick days, except weekly rest days and holidays, multiplied by the days the employee worked.

Sick Leave to care for a Family Member

Employees are entitled to accrue days of absence on account of their accrued Sick Days due to taking care of a close family member. The following table details different cases of eligibility and contains links to pages with more comprehensive information on each type of eligibility:

• • • • Ill Spouse – Up to 6 days per year
      • Malignant illness of a spouse – Up to 60 days per year
      • Spouse’s pregnancy or childbirth – Up to 7 days per year
      • Illness of a child under age 16 – Up to 8 days per year
      • Illness of a child under age 18 who has a malignant illness or who requires dialysis treatment – Up to 90 days per year, or up to 110 days per year if he/she is the only parent caring for the child
      • Caring for a child with special needs (of all ages) – Up to 18 days per year, Up to 36 days per year if he/she is the only parent caring for the child
      • Ill parent – Up to 6 days per year
      • Caring for a spouse that donated an organ –  Up to 7 sick or vacation days per year
      • Caring for a parent that donated an organ – Up to 7 sick or vacation days per year

Sick Pay

According to the Sick Pay Act, on the first day of the period of absence (and in any one-day absence), the employee will not receive any payment or salary. On the second and third day during this period of absence, the employee is entitled to receive half of his/her daily wage, and from the fourth day onward the employee is to be paid a regular wage as if he/she has not been absent from work. If a parent of a child with disabilities is absent from work in order to care for that child, he/she is eligible for full sick pay starting from the first day of absence. An employee who has not received entitled payment for sick leave may claim compensation from the employer. Sick leave law, § 2 – 10.

An employee is entitled to paid maternity leave for a period of 15 days. The total period of leave for an employee having at least one year’s service is 26 weeks which can be split into a period of up to 7 weeks before the due date and the remainder after the delivery.

The period of maternity leave of an employee who has worked for less than 1 year is 15 weeks, of which 7 weeks or less, as the employee wishes, can be taken before the estimated date of birth and the rest after the day of birth. In cases of multiple births, a female employee is entitled to 3 additional weeks for each additional baby, starting with the second.

A mother who has been hospitalized during her leave for 2 weeks or more may extend her paid leave for the hospitalization period, up to 4 weeks, or split her leave so the hospitalization period will not be included.  A mother whose baby has been hospitalized during the leave for two weeks or more may extend her paid leave for the hospitalization period, up to 20 weeks, or split her leave so the hospitalization period will not be included.

A woman who gave birth to a dead fetus (stillbirth) or went through pregnancy termination after 22 weeks, is entitled to the majority of rights that are given to women to give to live babies. A female worker who has had a miscarriage may be absent from work for unpaid for one week, after the miscarriage, or such period, not exceeding six weeks, as the physician may determine.

Payment of maternity allowance during maternity leave

During the first 15 weeks of maternity leave, employees are entitled to a birth fee from the National Insurance Institute at a rate of 100% of their salary. The remaining weeks are unpaid. Employees continue to accrue annual leave and pension fund contributions during maternity leave.

Breastfeeding Break

The female employee will be entitled to 1 hour per day, to be called parenting hour, From the end of the period of birth and parenthood, until the end of six months from the date of birth provided that she is employed full time as usual in the employee’s workplace or she is employed for at least 174 hours per month, whichever is lower.

An employee returning from maternity leave will not be employed in night work for 4 months from the end of the leave. Employment of Women Law § 6 – 7 Amendment No. 9.

The spouse of an employee who has given birth to a child is entitled to 7 days’ maternity leave during the same period as the mother’s maternity leave (this is on account of the maternity pay to which the mother is entitled to the same period). These days are in addition to the spouse’s entitlement to sick days under the Sick Pay Law. The minimum period of leave which the spouse can take in order to be eligible for paid leave is 7 days. Employment of Women Law § 6 – 7, Amendment No. 57.

An employee is entitled to 26 weeks of leave for the purposes of adoption, as long as the child is under 14 years of age. If both spouses are adoptive parents, only one of them (of their choice) will be entitled to leave, but the other spouse will be able to utilize the balance of the leave that the first spouse did not take.

An adoptive parent may be absent from work for travel to a foreign country for the purpose of international adoption, provided that a recognized association has confirmed in writing, in respect of each such travel, that it is necessary for the purpose of international adoption. The periods of absence from work shall not exceed 45 days for the same adoption procedure.

An adoptive parent who has worked for less than 12 months for the same employer or at the same workplace is entitled to a leave of only 15 weeks, during which he is entitled to an adoption allowance for 15 weeks.

Extended paid adoptive leave

An employee who has adopted more than one child at one time is entitled to extend the adoption leave by an additional 3 weeks, for each additional child, starting with the other child.

Hospitalization of the child – if during the adoption leave the child has been hospitalized for at least 15 days – the adoptive parent is entitled to extend the leave and receive additional leave pay for the extension period.

Payment

During the leave, the employee is not entitled to wage payment, but he/she may be entitled to an adoption fee for 15 weeks from the National Insurance Institute. Adoption Leave Law, § 6A – 6b.

An intended employee who has taken custody of a child as an intended parent under the provisions of Surrogate Motherhood Agreements is entitled to the same rights as a female employee receives under the maternity rights. Parents who have worked for at least 12 consecutive months at the same employer or at the same workplace are entitled to a 26-week leave.

Intended parents who have worked for the same employer or at the same workplace for less than 12 months are entitled to 15 weeks’ maternity leave.

Eligibility for maternity leave is only for one of the parents (of their choice), but if the parent who went on maternity leave did not use the entire period he is entitled to, the other parent may go on maternity leave for the remaining unused days.

Employees who are absent from work in order to fulfill the obligations of mourning in accordance with their religion or custom are entitled to receive full payment for their absence, up to 7 calendar days (meaning, the day count includes normal weekly days of rest).

The right is recognized as long as they have worked at least 3 months at their place of employment.

• • • A female worker who has had a miscarriage may be absent from work for unpaid for one week, after the miscarriage, or such period, not exceeding six weeks, as the physician may determine.
    • Absence by virtue of subsection (a) shall be deemed to be absent due to illness.
    • A female worker may be absent formwork – (1) during the months of her pregnancy if and to the extent that a physician certifies that her condition, as determined by her pregnancy, so requires.
    • From the expiration of the maternity leave under the expiration of 6 months from that date if and to the extent that a physician certifies that her condition, as resulting from her childbirth, so requires; absence from work by virtue of this section shall be treated as absence because of illness;
    • From the end of the maternity leave until the end of 4 months thereafter – one hour per day, provided that she is employed in a full-time position; the absence from work permitted under this paragraph is in addition to the breaks provided, and are not to be deducted from her pay.
    • During the period, when she is receiving in vitro fertilization, and when a male worker receiving fertility therapy.
    • After maternity leave, employees are entitled to an unpaid vacation. Employees are entitled to unpaid vacation leave according to their seniority at the workplace (one-quarter of the working period, up to one year).

Employment of Women Law, § 10.