IDF Reservists’ Rights

Since the Israeli political-security cabinet declared a state of war, the Israel Defense Forces have begun a wide-scale call-up of reservists. Following are the main guidelines and rights pertaining to employees who report for reserve duty.

Rights and Obligations

What is reserve duty pay and who pays it?

Israeli men and women called up for reserve duty, whether salaried employees or self-employed, are entitled to reserve duty pay from the National Insurance Institute for the days they serve on reserve duty.

The rate of pay per day of reserve duty is according to the gross wage payable per workday during the three full months preceding the first day of the month in which the reserve duty began, divided by 90, according to one of the following:

1. Salaried employees –their regular wages.
2. Self-employed – their average income.
3. People who are neither salaried employees nor self-employed – the minimum benefit as defined in the law.

When calculating reserve duty pay, the National Insurance Institute also takes into account sick pay, payment in lieu of vacation days, unemployment benefits, maternity allowances, and occupational injury compensation.

The National Insurance Institute’s website offers a reserve duty pay calculator (in Hebrew), enabling the public to enter a reservist’s wage prior to the call-up for reserve duty and calculate the estimated sum of reserve duty pay.

Are employers obligated to pay wages as usual to their employees who have reported for reserve duty?

Yes. Employers must continue paying the wages of employees who report for reserve duty as usual, as if the employees worked during this period.

With regard to salaried employees, the account-settling between the National Insurance Institute and employers in respect of their employees takes place through the employers. Therefore, in this case as well, as noted, employers must pay wages as usual to these employees, which constitute payment on account of the reserve duty pay due from the National Insurance Institute. Employers’ payments must be at the same sum they would have paid to their employees had they not reported for reserve duty.

We recommend that employers inform their employees that the payment is on account of the national insurance benefits and that therefore a precise calculation of the debit or credit will take place after the National Insurance Institute actually reimburses the employers.

The National Insurance Institute will reimburse employers for payments of reserve duty pay to their employees, as specified below.

I paid advances to an employee who reported for reserve duty. What do I do?

After paying an employee advances, the employer is required to file a claim for reimbursement of the reserve duty pay with the National Insurance Institute branch managing its national insurance account.

The National Insurance Institute will calculate the balance of the reserve duty pay according to the wage data reported in the claim and will transfer the balance to the employer.

After the National Insurance Institute reimburses the employer, the employer will retain funds up to the sum of the advances paid to the employee and pay the employee the remaining balance of the reserve duty pay. namely the difference between the reimbursement amount transferred from the National Insurance Institute and the advances the employer paid to the employee.

For example, an employer paid an employee who reported for reserve duty his regular wage of ILS 10,000 and received reimbursement of reserve duty pay from the National Insurance Institute for ILS 12,000. The employer must pay the employee the balance of the reserve duty pay it received from the National Insurance Institute, in the sum of ILS 2,000, while the employer retains the sum it already paid as an advance, in the sum of ILS 10,000.

I paid reserve duty differentials to my employees. Should I deduct national insurance and health insurance contributions and income tax from them?

Yes.

I paid advances to an employee against the reserve duty pay due from the National Insurance Institute but, in retrospect, it turned out the sum I paid was higher than the sum I received from the National Insurance Institute. What do I do?

The employer will keep the reimbursement from the National Insurance Institute and then offset the sum overpaid as an advance from a future wage paid to the employee. Please note that you may not offset more than one quarter of the wage at a time. The employer must inform the employee about the offset and the sum of the offset.

What is the deadline for employers to pay employees on reserve duty the sums transferred from the National Insurance Institute?

Employees must receive their reserve duty pay by no later than the wage payment date in the same month the National Insurance Institute transferred reimbursement to the employer.

How do the self-employed file claims for reserve duty pay?

Employees who want to file personal claims other than through the employer, self-employed people who have not received reserve duty pay automatically three weeks after they completed their service, the unemployed, and people who have more than one employer may file reserve duty pay claims independently to the National Insurance Institute.

Personal claims must include a certificate of reserve duty (Form 3010), which reservists can obtain from IDF liaison officers upon completing reserve duty, and other required documents. After the National Insurance Institute handles and approves the claim, the reservists will receive the calculated reserve duty pay directly into their bank accounts.

Are employers allowed to dismiss employees on reserve duty or subsequently?

No. Employers must allow absences from work due to reserve duty and they may not dismiss employees because they reported for reserve duty, were called up for reserve duty, or expect to be called up for reserve duty, or because of the frequency or duration of their reserve duty.

Employees who complete reserve duty exceeding two days have protection from dismissal for 30 days after reserve duty, unless the Ministry of Defense’s Employment Committee grants a special permit for dismissal. These protections also apply to manpower contractors’ employees.

The government declared our workplace a vital enterprise and issued a compulsory tie-up order to report to work. What takes precedence? A call-up to reserve duty or the tie-up order?

Employees must report for reserve duty and this takes precedence over the tie-up order. 

What reliefs can employers obtain for their employees as a result of the state of emergency?

The National Insurance Institute has published a series of reliefs for employers, mainly regarding the payment of national insurance contributions and enforcement of collections. These reliefs include:

1. imposition of attachments, and fines and linkage differentials imposed on the self-employed who are located in combat zones and were unable to pay national insurance contributions will be canceled.
2. An extension for filing objections and documents to a deductions audit will be granted until further notice and according to the security establishment’s assessments.
3. Any payments of national insurance contributions by the self-employed and by the unemployed (for July-September) that were due on October 15, 2023, but were paid late due to the security situation, will not be charged fines or linkage differentials. The National Insurance Institute will defer such payments until about two weeks after the end of the security situation and according to decisions reached depending upon the situation. Employers may file applications for cancellation of fines and linkage differentials through the National Insurance Institute’s website or by telephone to its call center and at branches nationwide.

* Please note that, in an effort to help employers during this difficult period, employers may submit monthly requests for compensation refunds to support reservist employees, even if their service period has not concluded. For instance, for payments made to an employee in October, the employer may file a reimbursement request in November, regardless of the employee’s ongoing reserve duty. The claim form should indicate the service end date as October 31, 2023. The next service period will commence on November 1 and will conclude upon the completion of service or on November 30, whichever is earlier.

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Adv. Amos E. Rosenzweig, an of counsel at Barnea Jaffa Lande and head of the firm’s national insurance practice, and Adv. Netta Bromberg, a partner and head of the firm’s Employment Department, are at your service to answer any questions in this regard.