New employee rights in Israel: what you get from day one

Service page: Employment lawyer: dismissals, wages and severance pay.

How long a “probation period” does the law allow?

The Advance Notice of Dismissal and Resignation Law, 5761-2001 (חוק הודעה מוקדמת לפיטורים ולהתפטרות, התשס״א-2001), provides that during the first 6 months, the days of advance notice are shorter (one day for each month of work). In practice, this is the “probation” period as far as the cost of dismissal is concerned. The law does not set a length for a probation period; it is set in the employment contract or in the collective agreement.

What employers cannot do: set a one-year “probation period” in which rights are frozen. In any contract that tries to limit statutory rights on the pretext of “probation”, that specific clause is void. The rights apply even while the probation is still running.

Minimum wage — what you must receive from the first day

The Minimum Wage Law requires payment of at least the current minimum wage from the first day of work — regardless of the probation period, of performance, or of what was agreed in the contract. As of 1 April 2026, the minimum wage for an employee aged 18 or over (section 2(a) of the Law) is NIS 6,443.85 a month for a full-time position and NIS 35.40 an hour (see Minimum wage in Israel: updates, calculation and rights). No agreement by the employee to a wage below the minimum is valid (section 12 of the Law).

A monthly wage is paid at the end of the month for which it is paid (section 9 of the Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958), and a wage not paid by the ninth day after that is a “delayed wage” (section 1). On a delayed wage, compensation for late payment of wages is paid under section 17, and the Labor Court has the power to reduce or cancel it in the circumstances set out in section 18.

When do sick days, vacation days and pension contributions start to accrue?

Sick days: they accrue from the first day at a rate of one and a half days for each month of work (Sick Pay Law, 5736-1976). No sick pay is paid for the first day of each illness, half is paid for the second and third days, and from the fourth day, full sick pay (section 2). Up to 90 days can be accrued.

Vacation days: they accrue from the first day: 16 vacation days in each of the first five years, including no more than one weekly rest day for every seven vacation days (Annual Leave Law, section 3(a)); someone who worked fewer than 200 working days in the year, or fewer than 240 when their employment lasted only part of the year, is entitled to a proportional part. Annual leave not used by the end of employment is paid out in money (section 13).

Pension: under the Extension Order for Mandatory Pension (צו ההרחבה לפנסיה חובה), from the January 2017 wage the employee contributes 6% and the employer 6.5% to the benefits component, plus 6% to the severance component; an employee who has an active pension fund is entitled to contributions from the first day, and an employee without a fund after six months of work. A collective agreement or an employment contract may set earlier contributions. Check the agreement for your sector.

When may you be dismissed during probation, and when not?

Allowed: the employer can dismiss during probation with relatively short notice — if the dismissal is connected to performance in the job, to a lack of professional fit, or to a business need — but even then it is advisable to hold a pre-dismissal hearing before the decision: the duty to hold a hearing derives from the duty of good faith in the employer-employee relationship (section 39 of the Contracts (General Part) Law, 5733-1973 (חוק החוזים (חלק כללי), התשל״ג-1973)), and it does not depend on its having been set in the contract.

Forbidden — even during probation: dismissal because of pregnancy, parenthood, age, sex, religion, nationality or another improper ground in section 2 of the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law, 5748-1988; because of disability (section 8 of the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 5758-1998); dismissing an employee who was absent because of illness during the period of entitlement to sick pay (section 4A of the Sick Pay Law); or because of membership or activity in a trade union (section 33J of the Collective Agreements Law, 5717-1957 (חוק הסכמים קיבוציים, התשי״ז-1957)). Dismissing a pregnant employee who has worked for at least six months requires a permit from the Minister of Labor (section 9(a) of the Women’s Employment Law, 5714-1954 (חוק עבודת נשים, התשי״ד-1954)), and during the birth and parenting period dismissal is forbidden altogether. Someone who was dismissed during probation and suspects one of the forbidden reasons should check their rights.

What happens with Bituach Leumi (National Insurance) in the first year?

From the first day, both the employer and the employee must pay National Insurance contributions. The employer deducts the employee’s share and pays it together with its own share. If the employer does not transfer the payments, the responsibility falls on the employer, not on the employee.

Entitlement to benefits: unemployment benefit requires a qualifying period of 12 months for which unemployment insurance contributions were paid, within the 18 months before the unemployment (section 161 of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995). Maternity allowance for 15 weeks, if contributions were paid for 10 of the 14 months before the birth (or 15 of 22), and for 8 weeks, if they were paid for 6 of the 14 (section 50). Work injury: the employee is insured from the first day. A claim for a cash benefit is filed within 12 months from the day the cause arose, and late filing limits the period for which the benefit will be paid (section 296).

Training and professional exams: who pays?

A deduction from wages for training is allowed only within the deductions in section 25 of the Wage Protection Law — for example a debt under a written undertaking by the employee, and no more than a quarter of the wage (section 25(a)(6)); an unlawful deduction is a wage that was not paid on time. A “generic” consent in the contract to future deductions may not be enough, because the deduction must be based on a written undertaking for a specific debt.

If the employer sent you on an expensive course and wants a “refund” if you leave early, such a demand relies on an express written undertaking signed before the course began, and it is also examined for its reasonableness.

May employees unionize already in the first year?

Yes. The right to organize and to act in a workers’ organization (trade union) applies from the first day (section 33H of the Collective Agreements Law). An employer may not dismiss an employee, worsen their conditions or refuse to hire them because of membership or activity in a workers’ organization (section 33J), and the Regional Labor Court may issue an order and award compensation even without proof of damage (section 33K). An employee who complained about a breach of the law is also protected under the Protection of Employees (Exposure of Offenses and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law, 5757-1997 (חוק הגנה על עובדים (חשיפת עבירות ופגיעה בטוהר המידות או במינהל התקין), התשנ״ז-1997), under the conditions in that Law.