Severance Pay to Heirs of Employees Who Died During Swords of Iron War

Before the amendment, the law provided that, upon an employee’s death, the employer must pay severance pay to the employee’s surviving relatives as if the employer had dismissed the employee. The law’s definition of “surviving relatives” includes the employee’s spouse at the time of death, including a common-law spouse with whom the employee lived, and the employee’s dependent child.

The law also provided that, where severance pay is payable to surviving relatives other than a spouse or dependent children, it must be deposited with the Regional Labor Court. The court determines which surviving relatives receive payment and how it is distributed, taking into account their financial circumstances and degree of dependence on the deceased employee.

To make it easier for surviving relatives and heirs to receive the deceased employee’s severance pay, the amendment introduces an arrangement allowing payment to the employee’s statutory heirs or the heirs named in the employee’s will, without initiating legal proceedings or depositing the funds with the Regional Labor Court. This arrangement is intended to eliminate proceedings that might otherwise be necessary to clarify the entitlement of distant surviving relatives or address cases in which the employee has no surviving relatives.

The amendment defines the relevant period as beginning on October 7, 2023, and ending one year after the declaration of a state of emergency on the home front is rescinded. Under the new arrangement, an employer must pay severance pay to the surviving relatives of an employee who died during this period as if the employer had dismissed the employee.

If the deceased employee has no surviving relatives, the employer must pay the severance pay to the employee’s statutory heirs or the heirs named in the employee’s will.