Swords of Iron War: Extension Order on Reservists’ Rights
On March 6, 2024, Israel issued an extension order that extends the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement regulating the rights of reservists and their families to all employees and employers in the economy, excluding employees and employers subject to the provisions of a collective agreement in the public sector. The order extends the period during which reservists have protection from dismissal, adds days of paid leave for their spouses, and allows particular employees to accrue vacation days.
Q&A
What does the extension order say about the period during which reservists are protected from dismissal after completing reserve duty?
The extension order prohibits dismissals of employees for 60 days after they complete reserve duty of 60 or more days between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024.
Can employers apply for a special permit to dismiss employees after they complete reserve duty?
Yes. Unlike the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement, the extension order prescribes that employers may apply to an oversight committee that will serve as a dispute resolution body solely in relation to the extension order. This oversight committee may permit a dismissal under extenuating circumstances, to be recorded in its decision, and which justify the dismissal. The committee will only entertain such a decision if the employer proves that the requested dismissal is unrelated to the employee’s reserve duty. The committee will issue its decision within 14 days and, to the extent possible, only after the employee submits a response to it.
Is the oversight committee assuming authorities of the employment committee by virtue of the Discharged Soldiers Law (Reinstatement in Employment)?
No. If the application for a permit to dismiss an employee involves anyone who completed reserve duty of less than 60 days between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024, the 30-day period of protection against dismissal after the completion of reserve duty still applies, during which an employer may not dismiss anyone who completed reserve duty without obtaining a special permit from the employment committee pursuant to the Discharged Soldiers Law.
What about days of paid leave for spouses of reservists?
Spouses of reservists who served between October 7, 2023, and December 31, 2024, will be entitled to days of paid leave at the employer’s expense beyond the statutory provisions, as specified hereunder:
- Spouses of reservists who completed up to 30 days of reserve duty will not be entitled to additional days of paid leave.
- Spouses of reservists who completed between 31 and 60 days of reserve duty are entitled to an additional two days of paid leave.
- Spouses of reservists who completed between 61 and 90 days of reserve duty are entitled to an additional four days of paid leave.
- Spouses of reservists who completed between 91 and 120 days of reserve duty are entitled to an additional six days of paid leave.
- Spouses of reservists who completed at least 121 days of reserve duty are entitled to an additional eight days of paid leave.
Who is considered the spouse of a reservist?
The spouse of a reservist is the person with whom the reservist has at least one child under the age of 14, or a child up to the age of 18 who has a malignant disease or is undergoing dialysis, or a relative who is a person with a disability (as defined by law) who is under their sole supervision or care, or the reservist or the spouse has a sick parent (as defined by law) that needs care.
Under what circumstances can days of paid leave be utilized?
The days of paid leave may be utilized during the period of the agreement (October 7, 2023, to December 31, 2024) under one or more of the following circumstances:
- Illness of a child up to 14 years of age.
- Sole care or supervision of a relative, who is a person with a disability, as defined by law.
- Illness of a child up to the age of 18 who has a malignant disease or is undergoing dialysis.
- Caring for a sick parent, as defined by law.
- Extension of the spouse’s maternity and parenthood leave.
- Supervision and care of a child.
- Necessary absence after the spouse was called up for active reserve duty for the purpose of essential errands in order to manage and maintain the household, which can only be performed during work hours.
- Other absences in coordination with the employer.
Such leave days should be utilized while considering the needs of the workplace, to the extent possible.
What if the leave days were utilized before the agreement came into effect?
Leave days utilized before the agreement came into effect and for which the full wage in respect thereof was paid will be returned to the employee’s quota of sick days and/or vacation days (depending on the nature of the leave days) by no later than the salary of the month after the agreement came into effect.
Leave days utilized up until December 31, 2023, and for which the full wage in respect thereof was not paid will not be deducted from the quota of leave days and they will not be credited to the relevant quota, except at the employee’s request.
Leave days utilized as of January 1, 2024, and until the agreement came into effect and for which the full wage in respect thereof was not paid will be returned to the employee’s relevant quota, according to the nature of the leave days, and the employer must pay the employee the balance of the wage that was not paid in respect of these days by no later than the salary of the month after the agreement came into effect.
To dispel any doubt, the leave days that will be returned according to that stated above will be according to the number of days of reserve duty as specified above.
As of the date the agreement came into effect and until it expires, employers must pay the full wage for utilized leave days in the salary of the month in which they were utilized and these days will be deducted from the quota of leave days, as specified above.
Can the leave days also be utilized after reserve duty is completed?
No. The leave days can only be utilized during the period of active reserve duty.
Can the leave days be partially utilized?
Yes. The leave days can also be partially realized as hours of leave and not necessarily as full workdays.
Does a medical certificate of illness have to be presented for leave day?
Yes. If the leave is for one of the medical reasons specified above, the employee must present a medical certificate of illness shortly before or after utilizing the days.
Can the accrued entitlement to leave days be cashed out after December 31, 2024?
No. The entitlement to leave days does not continue after December 31, 2024, and such days cannot be cashed out.
Does the entitlement apply to spouses whose quota of paid vacation days exceeds that prescribed by law?
Yes, partially. The benefit inherent in the extension order partially applies to a reservist’s spouse whose paid vacation days during a calendar year exceed 35 days (excluding sick leave). In this instance, the quota of days of paid leave will be half the leave days specified above and may only be used in respect of sick days of a child up to the age of 14, a child up to the age of 18 with a malignant disease or undergoing dialysis, a relative who is a person with a disability, or a sick parent.
If a reservist’s spouse has more than one employer, how is leave calculated?
Pursuant to the Employment of Women Law, the spouse of a reservist is entitled to leave days while the reservist is on active reserve duty. According to the extension order, this entitlement will also apply in the instance whereby the spouse is employed full-time but split between different employers. The leave days will be calculated proportionately by each employer upon presenting evidence attesting to the spouse’s actual appointment percentages at all employers.
Does the extension order benefit the accrual of annual leave for all employees?
Yes. According to the extension order, an employee may accumulate the remaining annual leave days available to him even without the employer’s consent and may add the remaining days to the utilizable leave during the subsequent two years of employment, provided as follows:
- The employer did not enable the employee to take a vacation.
- The employee was absent because of reserve duty of at least five consecutive days.
- The employee was absent from work or did not perform it due to the fighting, the shutdown of the educational system, or other circumstances specified in the law.
- The employee received a compulsory tie-up order to report to work at a vital enterprise or enterprise providing essential services, or the employee worked overtime according to the employer’s permit for overtime employment due to the state of emergency.
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Adv. Netta Bromberg, a partner at Barnea Jaffa Lande and head of the firm’s Employment Department, is at your service to provide additional information or answer questions about the collective bargaining agreement and other labor law issues.