Client updates / Employment

The Israeli Minister of Labor signed a general permit to employ teenagers during evening hours due to the state of emergency in the economy. This permit expands the work hours during which teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 may be employed.

The experience acquired in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic provided the groundwork for the creation of a more favorable plan to support employees on unpaid leave, in order to assist businesses experiencing severe financial losses.

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.

New regulations in Israel regulate for the first time the wage components of contract workers in the security guard, cleaning, and catering sectors.

Employers’ use of technological tools to track their employees’ geolocations has sharply increased in recent years, as remote work has become more prevalent. The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority recently published its recommendations on the collection of geolocation data from employees’ vehicles.

As of September 2023, employees will be able to enroll in managers’ insurance plans only if their salaries exceed twice the average wage in Israel, in order to ensure they receive adequate pensions.

Employers that want to use technological surveillance measures to monitor and track employee performance remotely must be diligent about formulating a clear policy, informing employees, and using these means reasonably and proportionately.

For employers that discover gender wage disparities in their organizations, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission recommends taking action to appoint an implementation team comprised of both senior management representatives and employees, for the purpose of preparing a multi-year work plan to promote equal pay and reduce gender wage disparities.

The update will take effect already in the salaries for April 2023 and will affect the sums of social contributions to provident funds and severance pay, vacation pay, overtime pay, and sick pay.

The Ministry of Finance and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) reached some understandings regarding the framework agreement for the public sector for the years 2020 to 2027.

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.

The Interior Ministry has once again extended its policy of not taking enforcement measures against the employment of Ukrainian citizens who are in Israel because of the war in Ukraine.

A regional labor court found an employer’s conduct did not comply with the law’s provisions on proper termination, and also harmed a longtime employee’s good name.

From now on, recipients of contract workers’ services must periodically review the wages paid to the service contractor’s employees working on their premises, set up a mechanism for clarifying workers’ grievances, and fulfill a series of other obligations designed to protect contract workers’ rights.

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.

The Israeli National Labor Court awarded ILS 300,000 to the employee after a regional labor court awarded the employee only ILS 60,000.

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.

The Israeli Privacy Protection Authority recently published a document presenting its position and recommendations on the privacy protection aspects pertinent to waivers of medical confidentiality and disclosures of medical information during the hiring process.

The Ministry of Economy and Industry’s Labor Branch – Regulation and Enforcement Administration is increasing enforcement measures in workplaces with regard to the fulfillment of employer obligations and employee rights.

Removing an employee from the workplace’s WhatsApp group chat before a hearing may expose employers to wrongful termination claims.