In which Labor Court do you file a claim? By the place of work, and sometimes by where you live

Service page: A claim against an employer for wages, pension and overtime.

This guide answers two questions: does the claim belong in the Labor Court at all, and if so, which of the five regional courts it is filed with. For the stages of the proceeding itself, from the statement of claim to the judgment, see the guide The Labor Court: stages of the proceeding and deadlines.

Which claims belong in the Labor Court?

The Regional Labor Court has exclusive jurisdiction, meaning that only it may hear, among other things, these matters (section 24(a) of the Labor Court Law, 5729-1969):

• claims between an employee and an employer arising from an employer-employee relationship, including the question whether there was an employment relationship at all, except a claim based on the Torts Ordinance [New Version] (section 24(a)(1)); claims under certain specific sections of the Torts Ordinance, in connection with a labor dispute, are within its jurisdiction (section 24(a)(1b));
• claims arising from negotiations toward an employment contract, from such a contract before the employment relationship began or after it ended, or from hiring a person or not hiring them (section 24(a)(1a));
• defamation claims between an employee and an employer or an officer of the employer, in connection with the employment relationship (section 24(a)(1d));
• claims by members or by employers against provident funds, arising from membership in the fund or from the employer’s liability to the fund, and any claim for a pension arising from an employment relationship (section 24(a)(3));
• matters in which the regional courts were given jurisdiction under the National Insurance Law and under other laws (section 24(a)(5)).

Section 24 does not limit the jurisdiction by the amount of the claim, and the Regional Labor Court may grant any remedy that a District Court may grant (section 29(a)). So a claim for wages or severance pay against an employer is not filed with the Magistrates’ Court or the Small Claims Court, but with the Labor Court. When it is about a salary, overtime or a pension that was not paid, see also the page Wage claim against an employer.

To which regional court do you file a claim against the employer?

There are five regional labor courts. The Minister of Justice establishes them by order and sets in it their seat and their area of jurisdiction (section 23 of the Labor Court Law). Which of them you file with is set by regulation 3 of the Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure), 5752-1991. In a claim between an employee and an employer under section 24(a)(1), for example over wages, overtime, severance pay or a pension, the place of jurisdiction is “the regional court in whose area of jurisdiction is the employee’s place of work that is the work the claim is about, or in whose area of jurisdiction the work was done” (regulation 3(a)(1)).

Two things follow from the wording. First, the address that counts is the workplace the claim is about, not the employee’s place of residence or the employer’s head office. Second, when the work was done in the area of another court, the regulation also allows filing with the court for that area. In a claim about negotiations toward employment or about not being hired, what counts is the workplace or the intended workplace, or the place where the work was done or was to be done (regulation 3(a)(2)).

When does your place of residence decide?

In several types of proceedings the regulations refer to the place of residence, alone or alongside the place of work:

• A claim against the National Insurance Institute: the court in whose area of jurisdiction the plaintiff lives (regulation 3(a)(8)).
• An employee suing the State: the court in whose area of jurisdiction the employee lives or works (regulation 4).
• Work outside the area of jurisdiction of the labor courts: the court in whose area of jurisdiction the employee lives or the employer’s main place of business in Israel is located (regulation 3(b)).
• A claim by a member against a provident fund: the court in whose area of jurisdiction the plaintiff lives or has their main place of business (regulation 3(a)(4)).
• A tort claim under section 24(a)(1b), in connection with a labor dispute: the employee’s place of work or place of residence (regulation 3(a)(3)).
• Any other proceeding with no special rule: the plaintiff’s place of work or residence, or the defendant’s main place of business, and if the defendant is a corporation, its registered office (regulation 3(a)(11)).

When there are several defendants, the claim can be filed with any court in which it could be filed against one of them (regulation 7). A claim that has no suitable place of jurisdiction under the regulations or under another law can be filed with any regional court, and that court may transfer it to another court if the hearing there would be more convenient for the parties (regulation 5).

Which areas belong to each Regional Labor Court?

The areas of jurisdiction were set by the districts in the notice on the division of the State’s territory into districts and sub-districts (section 1 of the Labor Courts (Establishment of Regional Courts) Order, 5729-1969 (צו בתי דין לעבודה (הקמת בתי דין אזוריים), התשכ״ט-1969)). Under section 2 of the Order, in its current version:

The “North-West Sharon area” is the area of the Netanya Municipality and the area of the Emek Hefer Regional Council. The Temporary Provision that moved it to the court in Haifa was published on 13 September 2021 for four years, and in September 2025 it was extended to eight years from the day of its publication; it applies to proceedings opened on or after the day it came into force. The seat of the Tel Aviv court was moved from Tel Aviv to Bat Yam by an amendment to the Order that came into force on 2 February 2020, but in the Order the court is still called the “Regional Labor Court, Tel Aviv”.

Working in Kiryat Ono, Petah Tikva, Ramat Gan or Tel Aviv: which court do you file with?

The table combines two official sources: the district of each city according to the Central Bureau of Statistics’ list of localities, and the area of jurisdiction of each court according to the Order. It refers to the place of work, because that is the test in an employee’s claim against an employer (regulation 3(a)(1)).

What counts is the place of work, even for someone who lives in one of these cities. For example, someone who lives in Kiryat Ono and worked in Jerusalem will file a wage claim against the employer with the Regional Labor Court in Jerusalem (regulation 3(a)(1)), while their claim against the National Insurance Institute will be filed with the court in Tel Aviv, by their place of residence (regulation 3(a)(8)).

The office is in Kiryat Ono. Do you want to check where and when to file? Arrange a first call to look at your case.

What happens if I filed the claim with the wrong court?

The Labor Court Law applies sections 68 to 81 of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984 to the labor courts (section 39). Under section 79(a) of the Courts Law, a court that finds it cannot hear a matter before it because it is outside its local or subject-matter jurisdiction, and the matter is within the jurisdiction of another court or tribunal, may transfer the matter to it, and that court will hear it as if it had been brought before it in the first place. Accordingly, the Labor Court will not grant an application to dismiss a claim for lack of jurisdiction if it considers that the claim should be transferred under section 79 (regulation 45(c) of the Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure)).

Transfer is a power of the court, not a duty. So it is worth checking the place of jurisdiction before filing, by the type of proceeding and by the place of work.

Frequently asked questions

I worked in Kiryat Ono. In which court do I file?

To the Regional Labor Court in Tel Aviv. Kiryat Ono is in the Tel Aviv District according to the Central Bureau of Statistics’ list of localities, and the area of jurisdiction of the Tel Aviv court is the Tel Aviv and Central districts, except Netanya and Emek Hefer, which were moved by a Temporary Provision to the court in Haifa. The Tel Aviv court sits in Bat Yam (section 2 of the Labor Courts (Establishment of Regional Courts) Order, 5729-1969).

Can a small wage claim be filed in the Small Claims Court?

No. The Regional Labor Court has exclusive jurisdiction over claims between an employee and an employer arising from an employer-employee relationship (section 24(a)(1) of the Labor Court Law, 5729-1969), and the section does not limit the jurisdiction by the amount of the claim.

What happens if I filed the claim in a court that doesn’t have jurisdiction?

The court may transfer the matter to the competent tribunal or court, and that court will hear it as if it had been brought before it in the first place (section 79(a) of the Courts Law [Consolidated Version], 5744-1984, which applies to the labor courts under section 39 of the Labor Court Law). The court will not grant an application to dismiss a claim for lack of jurisdiction if it considers that the claim should be transferred (regulation 45(c) of the Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure)).

I work in Netanya. Does my claim belong in the Tel Aviv court?

Not in a proceeding opened from 13 September 2021. Under a Temporary Provision, the area of the Netanya Municipality and the area of the Emek Hefer Regional Council (the “North-West Sharon area”) were removed from the area of jurisdiction of the Tel Aviv court and added to the area of jurisdiction of the Haifa court, for a period of eight years from the day the provision was published. The provision applies to proceedings opened on or after the day it came into force.