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Insights & News / Jacki  Silbermann

Israel Freezes Convalescence Pay Rate

In March 2024, the Knesset legislated the Freezing and Reducing Convalescence Pay in 2024 for Budgeting Benefits for Reservists Law. This law applies to the private sector, following an earlier collective bargaining agreement that applies to the public sector and prescribes a parallel rule. Q&A   Who receives convalescence pay? Employees who have completed one […]

Fatphobia: Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits in Israel

The Israeli National Labor Court reversed the Regional Labor Court’s ruling and ruled that the demotion of a football referee to a lower league derived from irrelevant considerations of weight and appearance.

Israel Raises Minimum Wage

According to the update, which will take effect on April 1, 2024, the minimum wage for a full-time job will be ILS 5,880.02. The increase will also be reflected in the sums of social contributions to provident and severance pay funds, vacation pay, overtime pay, and sick pay.

New Collective Bargaining Agreement in Israel: Welfare of Employees Serving in IDF Reserves

The collective bargaining agreement signed between the Histadrut-General Federation of Labor in Israel and the Presidium of Israeli Business Organizations will come into effect only after an extension order is issued. The agreement regulates the rights of both employees serving in the reserves and their spouses, including the addition of paid vacation days and anchoring protections against dismissal

Guide to Working Parents’ Rights – Jacki Silbermann Interviewed by Israel Hayom

As an employment law expert, Jacki Silbermann was interviewed by Israel Hayom about the rights of working parents. With regard to shortened work days, Jacki noted, “There are special arrangements that entitle parents to shorter work days for a certain period of time.  In the absence of a workplace arrangement regarding shorter work days, and if an employee requests such to take care of his children, he must reach an agreement with his employer."

Categories: Employment

Payment of Wages to Private-Sector Employees in Israel

The payment of wages to private-sector employees in Israel who were absent from work due to the war will be regulated under a new collective bargaining agreement, subject to the issuance of an extension order governing its provisions. This arrangement will also apply to employees placed on unpaid leave due to the war.

How Businesses Are Affected in Israel – SHRM Interview with Jacki Silbermann

Jacki Silbermann from our Employment Department, was interviewed by the Society for Human Resources Management, the world’s largest HR association, in connection with remote work in Israel during the ongoing war. Jacki noted, “A lot of the businesses where employees can do remote work, in the high-tech and other sectors, have moved to that, and I think they're planning on being in that stage for a while.”

Categories: Employment

Lawful Employment Termination in a Changing Labor Market

Employers must be diligent about complying with Israeli labor law and case law when dismissing employees, even during layoffs and reorganization processes, including employees’ statutory rights to a dismissal hearing with their lawyer present.

Doing Business in Israel: Being an Employer

Employment law in Israel is dynamic and relies not only on the letter of the law, but also on rapidly changing case law. At the same time, Israeli employment law is highly regulated, and there are a wide variety of rules and standards that obligate the parties to an employment relationship.

New Precedent in Israel – Abuse of a Position of Influence and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

In the case in question, there was no abuse of authority in the work relationship between the defendant and the complainant, since the complainant was not subordinate to the defendant. However, the defendant abused his position of influence over the complainant, obligating the employer to conduct investigation  in accordance with a different set of standards.

New Ruling on How to Conduct Sexual Harassment Investigations

The Israeli National Labor Court’s ruling indicates there is no fixed or standard format for the proper conduct of an investigation pursuant to the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law. Rather, complaints should be clarified within their specific context and considering the unique issues that arise during the process.

Implications of Israeli Public Transportation Reform on Reimbursement of Employees' Travel Expenses

Many employers in Israel calculated the daily travel cost according to the monthly pass. As a result of the reform employers may be required to recalculate the cost of their employees’ daily reimbursement.

Hadar Israeli and Jacki Silbermann Op-Ed in Calcalist – Should Israel Be Worried about the US Supreme Court Ruling on Abortion?

The Israeli legal system, like many others, often relies on US precedents and views the US constitution and legal system as a model. Will the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade affect abortion in Israel as well?

Workplace Rights for LGBTQ Couples

LGBTQ couples have clear rights under Israeli labor law, even parental leave.

Conference on Complex HR Situations

We hosted the HR managers of numerous companies for a conference dealing with the optimal management of complex human resources situations.

Adv. Netta Bromberg, head of the Employment Department, Adv. Jacki Silbermann, and Adv. Lior Girshevitz discussed complicated hearing procedures, harassment in the workplace, recruitment crises, and more.

Categories: Employment

Environmental Sexual Harassment – It’s No Joke, It’s Harassment

Inappropriate memes, sexual innuendo, degrading jokes, intimate details—these all create what is known as environmental sexual harassment. While Israeli law does not precisely define this offense, it treats it similarly to other forms of sexual harassment.

Expansion of Night Shift Work Arrangements to Include Single Parents

An amendment to the Employment of Women Law, which went into effect on March 14, dictates that employers may not refuse to hire women or single parents simply because they do not agree to work night shifts due to family considerations. 

Workplace: Maternity and Paternal Leave Rights in Israel

People have many questions about their rights to parental leave, especially with respect to their workplaces. What are your rights as parents of newborns? We have compiled some of the key answers to prevalent questions about mothers’ and fathers’ rights to parental leave.

Representing Inomize in Transaction with Facebook (Meta)

We served as legal counsel for Inomize, an Israeli developer and manufacturer of electronic components, in its acquisition by Facebook. The acquisition is by way of acquiring the know-how and experience of Inomize’s employees. Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss led the deal. Advs. Netta Bromberg and Jacki Silbermann advised on the employment matters.

Categories: Corporate | M&A employment issues | Mergers and Acquisitions

Representing GAP Inc. in Acquisition of Israeli Startup

Our firm advised the fashion giant GAP in its first significant acquisition of an Israeli technology startup. As part of the acquisition, CB4’s team will join Gap as full-time employees. Advs. Simon Jaffa and Ariella Dreyfuss represented the US clothing and accessories retailer. Advs. Netta Bromberg and Jacki Silbermann advised on the employment matters arising from the deal.

Categories: Corporate | Employment | Investments | Mergers and Acquisitions

Contractors' Lawsuits for Recognition of Employment Relationship: Changing the Rules of the Game

One of the possible contractual forms between parties is the provision of services as an independent contractor (in colloquial terms, a freelancer). This type of contracting is not particularly favored by labor courts, which seek, as a policy matter, to apply employment relations in cases involving claims of the existence of an employee-employer relationship. Once in a while, labor courts establish new rules on recognizing employment relationships and on retroactive calculation of the rights of independent contractors as employees.

Can employers prevent unvaccinated employees from coming to work?

Yesterday, a labor court ruled for the first time that, under particular circumstances, employees who have not been vaccinated or do not present a negative coronavirus test may be denied entry to the workplace.

Israel: Workplace Sexual Harassment – Disclosure of Materials in Internal Investigations

A new court ruling may require employers to disclose materials collected during investigations into incidents of sexual harassment.

Prepare Your Workplace for Lockdown Number Three (and a Half)

Israel entered another general lockdown, which began at midnight (January 8, 2021) and will continue until January 21, 2021. We have summarized the main guidelines concerning workplace activity during lockdown. The final and binding version of the regulations regarding workplace activity during lockdown have yet to be published.

Epidemiological Investigations and Privacy Protection

Israel’s Privacy Protection Authority published its guidelines and emphases for protecting the privacy of individuals when conducting COVID-19 epidemiological investigations in workplaces.

Payments to Employees Absent from Work Due to Mandatory Quarantine

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. 

Employment: Paid Sick Leave for Time in Quarantine

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.

Jacki Silbermann Lectures on Workers' Rights

Jacki Silbermann, a lawyer from our firm's Employment Department, lectured today on workers' rights in Israel.

The lecture was held as part of a program run by Israel Tech Challenge, an organization established to address the manpower shortage in the Israeli tech industry. Israel Tech Challenge offers intensive training programs for new immigrants who are outstanding graduates from leading universities around the world. The lecture was held as part of a training session for the ITC's Data Science Fellows program.

Categories: Employment

Updates Regarding the Upcoming Lockdown in Israel

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.

Employers Are Now Required to Publish Wage Gaps between Women and Men

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.

Not All Sexual Comments or Advances from a Supervisor Constitute Sexual Harassment

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.

Labor Law - An Important Update for Employers

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