Clients updates / Employment

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, many employers have been forced to reduce employees’ salaries. Such reductions, when not made through agreements or in an orderly fashion, may be fertile ground for claims regarding material worsening of work conditions, effective termination proceedings, and creating a stress-filled work environment.

The COVID-19 crisis has thrown many employers into economic difficulties. In these uncertain times, many employers are asking themselves if they are obligated to pay their employees bonuses. Just before the end of 2020, the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court issued a new ruling on this very subject. 

A statutory amendment to the Economic Assistance Program Law (Novel Coronavirus) (Temporary Order) arranges payment for employees absent from work due to mandatory quarantine. The new arrangement stipulates that an employee entitled to sick pay from the first day of absence is also entitled to quarantine pay from the first day of absence. 

Yesterday the Court granted the State’s request to extend the period during which employees may use paid sick leave for time in quarantine until October 28, 2020. 

As you may remember, the Supreme Court repealed an order from the Ministry of Health, according to which a sweeping medical certificate was given to employees in quarantine due to possible exposure to COVID-19. This repeal was to have entered into effect on September 30, 2020.

The lockdown entered inְto effect on September 25, 2020, at 14:00, and is expected to continue until October 10, 2020. It is possible at the end of this period the lockdown will be extended. We have prepared an in-depth update for employers on the relevant topics.

A nationwide lockdown in Israel is to take effect on Friday, September 18, 2020, from 2 p.m., to last for at least 14 days, (the restrictions may be extended, in full or in part, as determined by the Israeli government). While the regulations are currently pending final approval by the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, they are expected to be enacted late tonight or early tomorrow.

An important ruling regarding workplace authority figures and the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace has established that one cannot automatically assume sexual comments or advances by an employee with managerial authority constitute sexual harassment. In this ruling, it appears, the National Labor Court has tempered to some extent widespread notions about sexual harassment by an authority figure.

According to a new amendment to the Male and Female Workers (Equal Pay) Law, employers must publish a yearly report outlining wage gaps between female and male employees. The amendment provides that certain employers must draft an internal yearly report detailing the average salary of their employees and the average wage gaps between men and women within each group of employees in the workplace.

The National Labor Court recently handed down an important ruling that concerns many employers in the market engaged with service provider companies. The National Labor Court ruled that although there were no employee-employer relations between the employee and its employer in this matter, the service user still had to take part in the employee’s termination and hearing process, in addition to the obligation of the direct employer to hold the hearing.

There have been a few recent updates to statutory provisions and administrative procedures regarding employees and employers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The State of Israel continues to cope with the COVID-19 crisis and its implications for the workforce. In recent days, new and important guidelines were updated for the Israeli workforce’s handling of the coronavirus crisis

More will be told of the COVID-19 crisis and the changes it brought to Israeli labor relations. In the meantime, we have gathered brief guidelines on a return to normal:

On April 19, new guidelines were introduced allowing a gradual return to the workplace. Here are the key guidelines. According to the guidelines, it is permitted to employ in a workplace whose opening has not been banned 10 employees or up to 30% of employees, whichever is higher. However, it is possible to increase the number of employees in the workplace in the industries and services fields beyond the 30% cap, subject to each workplace complying with the “purple tag” rules.

New regulations were signed on April 6, 2020 that allow pregnant women, women and men undergoing infertility treatment, and women returning to work after maternity leave to be put on unpaid leave, under certain conditions, without the need for a permit from the Ministry of Labor.

New guidelines for conduct in the workplace came into effect today in Israel.

On March 22, 2020, and again on March 25, 2020, emergency regulations on limiting market activity and limiting the number of employees in the workplace were published.

Several employment restrictions in light of the emergency regulations that were published in Israel and an update on giving retirement insurance and car use benefits during unpaid leave.

On March 18, 2020, the Israeli Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services published new regulations permitting employers to engage overtime workers at a larger scope, significantly in excess of what has been permissible to date.

As a result of the economic downturn and in order to reduce expenses, one of the alternatives is imposing unpaid leave on employees.

Because of the coronavirus, many employers have been forced to consider minimizing expenses. In Israel several alternatives are being explored: reducing the scope of employment, lowering salaries, utilizing any available leave days, imposing unpaid leave on employees, reducing manpower, and conducting layoffs.