Guidelines for Employers Ahead of Israel’s Election Day

Election Day for the 26th Knesset will take place on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. We have compiled a Q&A on employees’ rights and employers’ obligations to help you prepare.

Is Election Day a statutory holiday?

Yes. Under Basic Law: The Knesset, Election Day is a statutory holiday, except for public transportation and other public services that the Central Elections Committee has lawfully permitted to operate as usual. As a general rule, employees in Israel are not required to report to work on Election Day. Their absence cannot be treated as annual leave, and employers may not deduct a day from an employee’s accrued annual leave entitlement.

Which services and workplaces are permitted to operate on Election Day?

According to the Central Elections Committee’s announcement dated September 22, 2026, the services and workplaces permitted to operate include the Central Elections Committee, including employees engaged to perform roles or provide services for the purposes of Election Day and employees of political parties; transportation services, parking garages, and gas stations; dining establishments, restaurants, coffee houses, kiosks, hotels, and guest houses; industrial and agricultural enterprises with continuous production processes; communications services; water and power plants; fuel supply and transport; cinemas, theaters, and other entertainment venues; newspapers, radio stations, and television channels; bakeries and dairies; food stores (for limited hours); transport of bread, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products (for limited hours); courts, solely for urgent hearings relating to enforcement of the Knesset Elections Law and arrests; hospitals and healthcare services, according to their Sabbath and holiday hours; and security forces, rescue services, and burial services.

The full list (in Hebrew) can be viewed on the website of the Central Elections Committee for the 26th Knesset.

It is important to emphasize that employers must enable employees to exercise their right to vote, even if they are permitted to operate their workplaces as usual on Election Day.

When does the statutory holiday begin and end?

The law does not explicitly define the duration of the statutory holiday. The accepted view is that it generally corresponds to the polling stations’ operating hours, which are expected to be from 07:00 to 22:00. Under another interpretation, however, the statutory holiday runs from midnight to midnight.

Can employers operate their businesses and ask employees to work on Election Day, even though it is a statutory holiday?

Election Day is a statutory holiday, but the law does not expressly prohibit businesses from operating on such days. Accordingly, businesses may generally operate on Election Day, although they cannot require employees to report to work. Workplaces and services that the Central Elections Committee has permitted to operate as usual may be able to require employees to work on Election Day, subject to the arrangements applicable in the relevant workplace and provided that employees are able to exercise their right to vote.

Which employees are entitled to wages if they do not work on Election Day?

Employees who have worked for the same employer for at least 14 consecutive days immediately prior to Election Day, and employees who performed jobs initiated by a public institution for at least 14 days out of the two months preceding Election Day, are entitled by law to the wages they would have been paid had they worked on Election Day. In other words, employees’ wages must not be affected by Election Day, and their absence must not be deducted from their accrued annual leave entitlement.

What wages are employees entitled to if they do not work on Election Day?

Employees who do not work on Election Day must receive their regular wages. Employees paid a monthly salary are therefore entitled to their regular salary. For employees paid hourly or daily, employers should calculate the wages they would have earned had they worked on Election Day, based on their regular work pattern and the work arrangements that would otherwise have applied that day.

What wages are employees entitled to if they work on Election Day?

The law does not explicitly specify the wages payable to employees who work on Election Day. However, the accepted interpretation, which is supported by labor court rulings and national labor unions, is that these employees are entitled both to payment for their work (100% of their regular wages) and to statutory holiday pay (an additional 100%). Accordingly, employers customarily pay employees who work on Election Day 200% of their regular wages.

However, employers should check whether there is a collective bargaining agreement, extension order, employment contract, or any other workplace arrangement that prescribes a different or more beneficial arrangement.

What does the law provide for non-Israeli citizen employees?

The law provides a special arrangement for non-Israeli citizen employees who work in the nursing care sector for private individuals, or in the hotel, catering, construction, agriculture, or industrial sectors. Employees in these sectors who work on Election Day are entitled only to their regular wages, at a rate of 100%. If they do not work on Election Day, they are not entitled to payment for that day unless their absence is for a reason that entitles them to payment, such as illness, vacation, a holiday, a compensatory rest day in lieu of the regular weekly rest day, mourning, or another absence permitted by law.

It is important to note that this special arrangement does not apply to all non-Israeli citizen employees, but only to those employed in one of the specific sectors listed above. Accordingly, employees who are arranging their legal status in Israel through marriage to an Israeli citizen, or who are immigrating to Israel and are lawfully employed, should be assessed based on their employment sector rather than the type of residence permit they hold. If they are not employed in one of the listed sectors, the usual rules applicable to other employees will apply.

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Barnea Jaffa Lande’s Employment Department is available to provide professional advice on questions relating to employees’ rights on Election Day and any other labor law issue.

Adv. Amit Hadad is an associate in the firm’s Employment Department.