Israeli employment law is a blend of continental and common law legal systems. Employment protection laws – a set of laws that provide minimum conditions for all employees, irrespective of their wage levels – are at the foundation of employment law in Israel. The following are some of the basic rights granted to employees in Israel.
Employers are required by law to provide their employees with written notification of certain terms of their employment (eg, a description of the employee's main duties, reference to the salary payment date and whether the employment agreement is for a defined or an open-ended period). Such notice may be provided within an employment agreement.
Payment of salary and minimum wage
Employers are required by law to pay employee salaries no later than the ninth day of the calendar month following the month in which wages were earned. The current statutory monthly minimum wage is NIS5,300 for a full-time position.
Employers are required by law to include certain specific information in employees' payslips (eg, details of the updated minimum wage and the number of hours the employee has worked over the relevant month).
An employee is entitled to minimum annual leave ranging from 12 to 20 days, based on seniority. Employment agreements may provide for additional holiday entitlement. Up to a maximum of two years of unused statutory holiday entitlement is redeemable by an employee on termination. However, company policy or personal agreements may provide for enhanced redemption rights.
All employees are entitled to sick leave, such that one-and-a-half days of sick leave is accrued for each month of employment, up to a maximum of 90 sick days. Unused accumulated sick days cannot be redeemed. An employee's first day of absence is not required to be paid and on the second and third days of absence, 50% of the daily salary is paid. Full entitlement is paid from the fourth day of sick leave. In practice, it is customary to pay employees in full from the first day of absence.
Failure to comply with these requirements may constitute a criminal offence and further expose an employer to liability for damages.
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