Service page: Employment lawyer: dismissals, wages and severance pay.
You were dismissed. You were not paid. Someone less capable was promoted because of your sex or your age. You already tried to approach the employer directly, and it did not help. Now you are thinking of suing. Before you file a statement of claim, it is worth understanding exactly which court you are entering, what its rules are, and which steps will decide the fate of the case.
The Labor Court: what it is and why it is different
The Labor Court is a special judicial forum set up under the Labor Court Law, 5729-1969. The aim: to create a dedicated forum for employment law that is faster, less formal and more useful to the parties than an ordinary civil court.
In terms of structure: there are five regional labor courts in Israel, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Be’er Sheva and Nazareth. The appeal court is the National Labor Court in Jerusalem. As a rule, a Regional Labor Court sits with a professional judge together with two public representatives, one from the employees’ representatives and one from the employers’ representatives. But in the proceedings listed in the Third Schedule to the Law, or at a party’s request and by a reasoned decision of the judge, the judge sits alone (section 18).
What exactly can you sue for in the Labor Court? The subject-matter jurisdiction is broad: individual employment disputes (unpaid wages, severance pay, payment for unused leave (vacation redemption), pension contributions), as well as claims of discrimination at work on grounds of sex, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or disability, and collective disputes. Contrary to a common belief, the Labor Court is not limited in the amount of the claim.
Time limits: do not miss them
The general limitation rule in employment claims is seven years, but there are critical exceptions: a claim under the Equal Pay (Female and Male Employees) Law, 5756-1996 (חוק שכר שווה לעובדת ולעובד, התשנ״ו-1996), becomes time-barred after five years (section 7A of the Law); a claim of unlawful discrimination under the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law, 5748-1988 (חוק שוויון ההזדמנויות בעבודה, התשמ״ח-1988): five years from the day the cause of action arose, and for a job applicant, three years (section 14 of the Law); claims under the Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951: three years (section 31 of the Law); and the right to compensation for late payment of wages: one year from the day the wages are treated as delayed, or 60 days from the day the wages were received, whichever is earlier (section 17A of the Wage Protection Law). As a rule, there is no duty to file a complaint before filing a claim, but there are special arrangements. For example, an employee of a service contractor in security, cleaning or catering who wants to make the client of the service liable as well must usually make a written demand to the contractor, and notify the client of the service of it, before the claim (section 25 of the Increased Enforcement of Labor Laws Law, 5772-2011 (חוק להגברת האכיפה של דיני העבודה, התשע״ב-2011)).
(a) The right to compensation for late payment of wages, as opposed to wages, shall become time-barred if no claim was filed with a Regional Court within the meaning of the Labor Court Law, 5729-1969 (hereinafter – Regional Court) within one year from the day on which the wages are treated as delayed, or within 60 days from the day on which the employee received the wages to which the compensation relates, whichever is earlier; however, the Regional Court may extend the period of 60 days to a period of 90 days.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if the employer delayed the employee’s wages, or part of them, three times in a period of twelve consecutive months within the three consecutive years after the day of payment of the wages to which the compensation relates, the limitation period shall be the said three years.
(a) There shall be added to delayed wages the higher of the following amounts (hereinafter – compensation for late payment of wages):
(1) for the first week after the date for payment of the wages – one twentieth of the delayed wages, and for each week or part of a week after that – one tenth of the delayed wages;
(2) linkage differentials for the period from the date for payment of the wages until the day of their payment, plus 20% of the total amount of the delayed wages and the said linkage differentials for each month in the said period; for part of a month, the said 20% addition shall be paid proportionally.
(b) Compensation for late payment of wages shall be part of the wages for all purposes, except for the purpose of this section.
Practice shows that even when the limitation period has not technically passed, the longer you wait, the harder it is to gather evidence and to convince a judge.
A question about wages, dismissal or final settlement?I will get back to you within one business day.
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What happens after you write to me
- You write what happened and with whom. No documents.
- I get back to you within one business day for a short call of a few minutes.
- If it is a matter I handle: after the call you will receive, in writing, what will be done and what the next step is. Work starts only after you approve.
At the end of the call you will know one of three things: it is a matter I handle, and what the next step is; you can manage without a lawyer, and which guide fits; or it is outside my field, and where to turn.
Stages of the proceeding: from the statement of claim to the judgment
A statement of claim is filed with the competent Regional Labor Court, setting out the cause of action, the remedy sought and supporting documents. Then comes the pre-trial stage: the judge examines the points in dispute, tries mediation and marks the key questions, and at this stage the possibility of a settlement is also sometimes considered. The document discovery stage requires each party to disclose relevant documents; an employer must produce payslips, the employment contract and attendance records. At the hearing of evidence, witnesses testify under oath and are cross-examined.
How long does a claim in the Labor Court take?
According to the annual report of the Judicial Authority for 2023, a labor dispute case heard by a judge lasted 12.2 months on average in the labor courts; a labor dispute case heard by a registrar, 8.3 months; and a case in an expedited proceeding, 5.4 months. The report gives one average for each type of case, without distinguishing between a case that ended in a judgment and a case that ended in a settlement or in another way. This is an average, not a promise about any particular case.
What is the difference between the tracks? The court registrar has authority to hear, among other things, wage claims and other monetary claims of an employee against their employer, up to a ceiling set in the Law that the ministers may raise by order (section 27(b) and (b1) of the Labor Court Law). In a monetary claim between an employee and an employer up to an amount the ministers set in regulations, the court hears the case by way of an expedited proceeding, and in such a proceeding it is not bound by the rules of procedure (section 31). As of 2026, the amount is NIS 40,700, not including late-wage compensation, linkage differentials and interest up to the day the claim is filed. It is updated on 1 January each year to three times the average wage (regulations 1 and 1A of the Labor Court Regulations (Determination of the Claim Amount in Expedited Proceedings), 5750-1990 (תקנות בית הדין לעבודה (קביעת סכום התביעה בדיון מהיר), התש״ן-1990)). A judgment in an expedited proceeding can be appealed only with leave from the President of the National Labor Court, the Deputy President or a judge appointed for this purpose (section 31(d)).
Source: Judicial Authority, Courts Administration: Annual Report 2023, Figure 26: average lifetime of a case in the labor courts, in months (PDF, in Hebrew). The figures are for 2023.
Has something similar happened to you?You can write to me what happened and with whom, without documents.
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Deadlines by stage: what the regulations set
The deadlines here are taken from the Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure), 5752-1991 (תקנות בית הדין לעבודה (סדרי דין), התשנ״ב-1991). Where the regulations do not set a deadline, the table says that the deadline is set by the court.
| Stage | What the regulations set, and where |
|---|---|
| Filing the statement of claim | The regulations do not set a deadline; the limit is the limitation period of each cause of action (see above).Regulation 8 |
| Service on the defendant | The court serves the defendant with a summons and a copy of the statement of claim.Regulation 12(a) |
| Statement of defense | Within 30 days of the day the instruction to file it was served on the defendant, or of the day it was given, if it was given in the defendant’s presence. A judge or registrar may extend the deadline, and for special reasons also shorten it.Regulation 28 |
| If no statement of defense was filed | The court may give judgment against the defendant on the basis of the statement of claim alone.Regulation 43(a) |
| Preliminary hearing (pre-trial) | The regulations do not set a deadline for it. The judge has authority, among other things, to examine the pleadings, draw up a list of issues and set the stages of the hearing. Notice of a hearing date is sent at least 30 days in advance, unless the matter is urgent.Regulation 47; section 18(d) of the Law and the Fourth Schedule, items 1–4 |
| Further particulars, discovery of documents and questionnaires | By order of the court and by the date it sets.Regulation 46 |
| Affidavits and the evidentiary hearing | The dates are set in the court’s decisions. The plaintiff and the plaintiff’s witnesses are heard first, and then the defendant and the defendant’s witnesses, subject to a different order set by the judge.Regulation 51 |
| Closing arguments | Orally, or in writing by order of the court, which sets the order and the dates.Regulation 52 |
| Judgment | As soon as possible; in a hearing before a judge or a panel, within 30 days, and before a registrar, within 15 days. If it is not given on time, a reasoned written notice of this is sent to the President of the National Labor Court.Regulation 55 |
| Appeal to the National Labor Court | Within 30 days of the day the judgment was delivered, or of the day it was served if it was given in the absence of the parties, unless another enactment sets a different deadline.Regulation 73 |
| Application for leave to appeal another decision | Within 15 days of the day the decision was given, or of the day it was served if it was not given in the applicant’s presence.Regulation 74(a) |
Court recess days are not counted in the number of days, unless the court ordered otherwise (regulation 126). The Civil Procedure Regulations, 5779-2018 (תקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, התשע״ט-2018), did not replace these regulations: regulation 129 applies only certain subjects from them, such as service of court documents, interim remedies and testimony by video conference.
And how long does the whole proceeding take? The regulations do not set this. The average by type of case, from the Judicial Authority’s annual report, appears above. The length of a particular case varies with the court’s workload, the number of hearings and witnesses, and the court’s decisions along the way. Nobody can commit in advance to the length of the proceeding or to its outcome.
Sources: Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure), 5752-1991 · Labor Court Law, 5729-1969 (Wikisource; the latest amendment to the regulations shown there: Kovetz HaTakanot 5787, a temporary provision of 7 October 2026 in regulations 3 and 129, which does not change the deadlines in the table). The binding text is the one published in Reshumot (the official gazette).
A temporary injunction: when time is pressing The court has authority to grant interim remedies, and in particular injunctions that hold up a dismissal while the matter is being examined. An employee who is dismissed in an apparently unlawful way can ask for the dismissal to be frozen. The threshold for obtaining an order: showing a reasonable chance of success and a balance of convenience in the employee’s favor.
Do you need a lawyer in the Labor Court?
Employees may appear on their own, and may also be represented by a lawyer. A workers’ organization (trade union) of which the employee is a member may decide who will represent them in the court (section 34). The Legal Aid Department (Ministry of Justice) may provide representation to eligible employees who cannot afford a lawyer.
Has something similar happened to you?You can write to me what happened and with whom, without documents.
Calls and replies in English or Hebrew
When is it worth contacting a lawyer?
- You received a statement of claim or a court decision, and there is a deadline for filing a response.
- The other party is represented by a lawyer, or the claim includes calculations of several components.
- You have no payslips or attendance records, or the claim includes several components together: wages, overtime, pension and severance pay.
- You were asked to sign a termination agreement, a waiver or a final settlement — before you sign.
You can also do it without a lawyer: employees can appear in the Labor Court on their own, and a claim for an amount that does not exceed the amount set in the regulations is heard by way of an expedited proceeding (section 31 of the Labor Court Law). In a simple claim, with payslips and a clear calculation, you can file on your own.
Checklist
- Practical tip: ask for immediate discovery of documents already at the pre-trial stage. An employer’s refusal to disclose wage data and work records creates a basis for an application for procedural remedies. In a claim about working hours, an employer who did not present attendance records bears the burden of proof, within the limits of section 26B of the Wage Protection Law.
- Relevant legislation: Labor Court Law, 5729-1969; Labor Court Regulations (Rules of Procedure), 5752-1991; Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law, 5748-1988.
- Common mistake: going to a District Court to appeal a judgment of the Regional Labor Court is an error. An appeal is filed only with the National Labor Court in Jerusalem.
- Tactical point: in dismissal claims, always check whether the dismissal took place in “entitling circumstances” under the Severance Pay Law, 5723-1963 (חוק פיצויי פיטורים, התשכ״ג-1963). It is sometimes possible to negotiate and reach an agreement outside the court, without conducting a full judicial proceeding.