Reservists’ rights at work: protection from dismissal, wages, pension, and what to do when they are breached

Service page: Unlawful dismissal: when, what you are entitled to and how to sue.

A Tzav 8 emergency call-up order arrives on Sunday, on Tuesday you are already at the base, and on Thursday a message comes from your manager: “We’ll talk about what’s next when you’re back.” Many employees have known this sentence since October 2023, and it is exactly what a system of legal protections, greatly expanded in the past two years, is there for. In this article we explain what the Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law, 5709-1949 provides, what the extension order for reservists added, how wages are paid during the service, and what to do when an employer breaches the rules. More guides on dismissals and wages are collected in the employment law hub.

Protection from dismissal: 30 days under the Law, and another 30, with conditions, under the extension order

Section 41A of the Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law sets two different protections. The first is absolute: an employee may not be dismissed because of their reserve duty, their call-up for service or their expected service, at any time. The second depends on time: during the service itself, and for service of more than two consecutive days also in the 30 days after it, an employee may not be dismissed for any reason without prior permission from the Employment Committee at the Ministry of Defense; in the 30 days after such service, the scope of their position or their income may not be reduced without a permit either. The committee gives a permit only if the employer proves that the dismissal is not related to the reserve duty, and section 41A(d) places this burden on the employer expressly:

In addition to the protection in the Law, there is the Extension Order for the Collective Agreement on Reservists and Their Spouses and on Accumulating Annual Leave for Certain Employees (צו הרחבה להסכם קיבוצי בעניין משרתי המילואים ובני זוגם וצבירת חופשה שנתית לעובדים מסוימים), published in Yalkut HaPirsumim (the official notices gazette) on 29 April 2026 and in force from 1 January 2026 for an unlimited period. Under section 5 of the Schedule to the order, the employer of an employee who served 60 or more cumulative days of reserve duty in a calendar year, and served at least seven consecutive days, may not dismiss them in the 30 days following the 30 days after the end of the service either, unless there are special reasons and the dismissal is not because of the reserve duty (this protection is in force from the day the order was published, 29 April 2026). The first 30 days are under the Employment Committee, and days 31–60 under a Supervisory Committee at the Ministry of Labor, to which an employer must apply before a dismissal or before putting the employee on unpaid leave; in a dispute it decides within 14 days, and the dismissal does not take effect until its decision or until it gives notice that there is no dispute (section 7 of the Schedule). An employer who is not sure which committee to apply to, and a reservist who was dismissed without a permit, need the same thing: legal support in employer-employee relationship matters before the deadlines pass.

A ban on changing conditions, demoting or putting on unpaid leave

The protection is not limited to dismissal. The extension order prohibits the employer from harming the working conditions of the reservist (including moving them to another role, or adding or removing tasks) during the service, in the 30 days after it and also in the 30 days that follow (section 8 of the Schedule to the order). In days 31–60 after the service, the order also prohibits putting the employee on unpaid leave, unless there are special reasons, the unpaid leave is not because of the reserve duty and the employee agreed to it, or the employee asked for unpaid leave and the employer agreed (section 6 of the Schedule); an employer who wishes to do so first applies to the Supervisory Committee (section 7). “Canceling” the role while the employee is at the base, cutting hours, removing them from a project or delaying a promotion “because you weren’t here”: all of these are also prohibited discrimination under section 2 of the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law, 5748-1988 (חוק שוויון ההזדמנויות בעבודה, התשמ״ח-1988), which expressly lists “reserve service, call-up for reserve service or expected service” as a ground on which discrimination is prohibited in hiring, in working conditions, in promotion, in training and in dismissal (the Law applies to a person who employs six or more employees, section 21(c)). A unilateral worsening of conditions is also explained in the article on transferring an employee and worsening their conditions.

A small duty that applies to you: section 41C of the Law requires an employee who received a call-up order to notify the employer as far as possible and within a reasonable time. A written notice (an email or a message) is also the first document in the file, if it comes to that.

Wages during reserve duty: who pays, and how much

An employee continues to receive their regular wage from the employer also in the month of reserve duty. It is the employer that files the claim with the National Insurance Institute, and the reserve duty payment is paid to the employer, not to the employee. The amount of the payment is set under the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995: the income in the quarter before the 1st of the month in which the service started, divided by 90, per day, and not less than a minimum payment of NIS 328.76 per day and not more than NIS 1,730.33 per day (the amounts from 1 January 2026). For how many days is it paid: in continuous service, for every day in each run of seven days; a remainder of six days is paid as seven; a smaller remainder, the number of days times 1.4 (section 271(a)). If the payment is higher than the wage the employee would have received for those days, the National Insurance Institute transfers the difference to the employer, and the employer must pass it on to the employee.

Example: an employee who earned NIS 12,000 gross in each of the three months before the service: 36,000 ÷ 90 = NIS 400 per day. For 20 consecutive days of reserve duty, 21 days are paid (two runs of seven days, and a remainder of six days that is paid as seven), so the employer receives NIS 8,400 from the National Insurance Institute, and the employee receives their regular salary on the payslip as if they had worked. An employee who earned NIS 8,000 a month (NIS 266.67 per day) is below the minimum payment, so their payment is NIS 328.76 per day (NIS 6,903.96 for the 21 paid days), and the employer must pass on to them the difference above their regular wage for those days.

Pension, seniority, vacation and recuperation pay

The reserve duty period is a period of work for all purposes. Section 283 of the National Insurance Law requires the employer to continue contributing to pension insurance and to the study fund (keren hishtalmut) according to the regular wage that would have been paid had the employee continued to work, not according to the reserve duty payment. An employer who skips a contribution in a reserve duty month also breaches the general duty of pension insurance, and a retroactive top-up can be demanded. Reserve duty days are not counted as annual leave days (section 5 of the Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951), and they do not break the continuity of employment for seniority, vacation, recuperation pay (dmei havra’a) and severance pay. An employer who deducts vacation days because of reserve duty or “resets” seniority is acting against the law.

Your rights were breached: what to do, and in what order

1. Document in real time. The call-up order and the notice to the employer, every email or message about “continuing your employment”, the dates of release and of the dismissal, and the terms of employment of colleagues who did not serve. The order of events (when the employer learned of the reserve duty and when it decided) is the heart of the case.
2. The Employment Committee at the Ministry of Defense. This is the forum the Law designates for dismissals during the service and in the 30 days after it, and for harm to conditions because of reserve duty. The committee may order, with the employee’s consent, that they be reinstated, or award compensation of five times the monthly wage (and for a dismissal in breach of section 41A, five times the monthly wage or five times the average wage in the economy, whichever is higher, under section 21(c) of the Law), and for special reasons also a different amount; a combination of reinstatement and compensation for the actual damage is also possible. The Ministry of Defense provides reservists who were dismissed with legal aid at its expense, after approval by the Legal Adviser to the defense establishment. The committee’s decision can be appealed to the Regional Labor Court within 20 days.
3. The Supervisory Committee at the Ministry of Labor: for a dismissal or unpaid leave in days 31–60 after the service, under the extension order.
4. The Regional Labor Court. A claim under the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law for discrimination because of reserve duty: section 9 shifts the burden of proof to the employer (for example, in a dismissal, if the employee proved that there was no reason for the dismissal in their conduct or actions), and section 10 allows the court to award compensation even without proof of financial damage, and to grant an injunction or a mandatory order. At the same time, you can claim all the rights that come with an unlawful dismissal, including the lack of a pre-dismissal hearing. The claim process is explained in the article on the proceedings in the Labor Court.

Frequently asked questions

I was dismissed 45 days after coming back from reserve duty: is there still protection?

It depends on the length of the service. The absolute protection in the Law (a ban on dismissal without a permit from the Employment Committee) applies during the service, and for service of more than two consecutive days also for 30 days after it. If you served 60 or more cumulative days of reserve duty in the same calendar year, and served at least seven consecutive days, the 2026 extension order prohibits dismissing you also in the 30 days after those 30 days, unless there are special reasons and the dismissal is not because of the reserve duty; an employer who wishes to dismiss in this period must apply to the Supervisory Committee at the Ministry of Labor. And even after these periods: a dismissal whose reason is the reserve duty is always prohibited, under section 41A(a1) of the Law, and with an employer of six or more employees also under the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law; in a proceeding before the Employment Committee, the burden of proving that the reason was different is on the employer (section 41A(d)).

My employer deducted vacation days for my reserve duty period: is that legal?

No. Section 5 of the Annual Leave Law provides expressly that days of reserve duty are not counted as vacation days, and under section 41A(a) of the Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law, absence for reserve duty is not considered a break in the continuity of employment. The vacation days that were deducted should go back to your balance; you can demand this in writing, and sue in the Labor Court if the employer refuses.

My wage is lower than the minimum reserve duty payment: what will I get?

The higher of the two. The National Insurance Institute pays the employer a reserve duty payment based on the average gross wage in the three months before the service divided by 90 for each day, and not less than the minimum payment (NIS 328.76 per day from 1 January 2026). If the payment is higher than your regular wage for those days, the National Insurance Institute transfers the difference to the employer, and the employer must pass it on to you.

My spouse is on reserve duty: may I be dismissed because of that?

Not if the reason is the reserve duty. Section 41A2(b) of the Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law prohibits dismissing an employee because of the reserve duty of their spouse or of the other parent of their child, and such a dismissal is void; in a proceeding before the Employment Committee, the employer must prove that the reason was different. Section 2 of the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law also prohibits discriminating against an employee because of their spouse’s reserve duty, with an employer of six or more employees (section 21(c) of that Law). In addition, a temporary provision in section 41A2(e), as long as it is in force, prohibits dismissing an employee who has a child under the age of 14 (or a child who is a pupil with special needs), or putting them on unpaid leave, during the spouse’s reserve duty and in the 14 days after it without a permit from the Employment Committee, if the service is under a Tzav 8 order or lasts at least 21 consecutive days, and the employee notified the employer in writing within the time set in the section.