Recuperation pay 2026: how many days, how much money and when it is paid

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

How much is a recuperation day worth in 2026?

The extension order was published in Yalkut HaPirsumim (the official notices gazette) on 18 August 2026. It sets the employer’s participation in its employees’ recuperation and vacation expenses “for the 2026 recuperation year”. It is NIS 451.50 for each recuperation day.

The order extends a general collective agreement signed on 22 June 2026. The parties were the Presidium of the Business Sector (נשיאות המגזר העסקי) and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor). It applies to all employees and employers in Israel, with two exceptions. One is employees whose wages are paid under collective agreements in the public service or linked to them. The other is employees in sheltered workshops.

Before this order, the rate of a recuperation day was NIS 418, from 1 July 2023. The new order sets the May 2026 index as the base index for updating the rate of a recuperation day in 2027. So it is worth checking the rate again before paying or suing next year.

The order does not define which months are included in the “2026 recuperation year”. And the section that sets the rate was extended only in part. Anyone who paid or received recuperation pay (dmei havra’a) for this year before 18 August 2026 should check the arrangement that applies to them.

How many recuperation days do you get by seniority?

The number of days is set by your year of employment at the workplace:

The table is for a full-time position. In a part-time position the payment is proportional to the scope of the position. The order does not apply when a collective agreement that applies at the workplace sets a more favorable provision on recuperation pay.

How do you calculate recuperation pay? Three examples

The formula: the number of days in the table × the scope of the position × the rate of a recuperation day. The examples are hypothetical, at NIS 451.50, the rate set for the 2026 recuperation year:

• Full-time position, fifth year: 7 days × NIS 451.50 = NIS 3,160.50 gross.
• Half-time position, second year: 6 days × 50% × NIS 451.50 = NIS 1,354.50 gross.
• Full-time position, employment ended after a year and a half: after completing the first year, the employee is also entitled to the proportional part of the second year. That is 6 days × 6/12 = 3 days, so 3 × NIS 451.50 = NIS 1,354.50 gross. This is in addition to the 5 recuperation days of the first year, if they were not paid.

From when are you entitled to recuperation pay, and what about someone who left?

• Only after a year: an employee is entitled to recuperation pay only after completing the first year of employment at the workplace. From that moment they are also entitled to the proportional part for part of a year.
• What counts toward the period: unpaid leave, and any other absence during which there is no employer-employee relationship, do not count. Maternity leave under the law counts.
• No proof of a vacation: the employee does not have to prove that they stayed at a convalescent home or went on vacation.
• Someone who left: some people stop working after completing one year of employment. Under the same rule, they are also entitled to the proportional part of the last year. Someone who left before completing a year is not entitled to recuperation pay under the order.

Recuperation pay 2026: when is it paid?

Recuperation pay is paid in one of the summer months, from June to September, unless another date was agreed or is customary at the workplace.

On the payslip, it should appear as a separate payment, with the number of days and the amount. That is like any payment in addition to the regular wage (item 5(3) of the Schedule to the Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958). How to read this line on the payslip: Payslip: what must appear on it and how to read it.

The employer did not pay recuperation pay: what do you do?

1. Check the payslips. Look for a “recuperation pay” item, a number of days and an amount, year after year.
2. No item on the payslip? The burden is on the employer. The employer may not have given a payslip, or gave one without a recuperation pay item. Then the wage paid is presumed to be a regular wage that does not include it, unless the employer proved otherwise (section 26B(c) of the Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958).
3. Check how many years back. The 2017 extension order provided that the limitation period of the claim will be “according to law and not two years”. The general limitation period under the Prescription Law, 5718-1958 (חוק ההתיישנות, התשי״ח-1958) is 7 years from the day the cause of action arose (sections 5 and 6). The details: Limitation period for wage and employment claims.
4. A written demand, and then a claim. A demand letter that sets out the years, the days and the amount; if payment does not arrive — a claim in the Regional Labor Court. The steps: Wage claim against an employer.

And what about pension, severance pay and a study fund?

Each of these has its own guide on the site:

• Pension contributions: Mandatory pension contributions: rates and conditions.
• Severance pay and Section 14: Severance pay calculator.
• A check of all the items on the payslip together: Payslip review by a lawyer and CPA.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a recuperation day worth in 2026 in the private sector?

NIS 451.50 for each recuperation day, under the extension order published in Yalkut HaPirsumim on 18 August 2026. Before that, the rate was NIS 418, from 1 July 2023.

Recuperation pay 2026: when do you get it?

In one of the summer months, from June to September, unless another date was agreed or is customary at the workplace.

Are you entitled to recuperation pay in the first year?

Only after you have completed one year of employment. Then you get 5 days for the first year, and later also the proportional part of a year not yet completed.

Do part-time employees get recuperation pay?

Yes, in proportion to the scope of the position. For example, in a half-time position in the second year: 6 days × 50% × NIS 451.50 = NIS 1,354.50.

I left my job. Am I entitled to recuperation pay?

If you completed at least one year of employment — yes, including the proportional part of the last year. Someone who left before completing a year is not entitled under the order.

Do I have to prove that I went on vacation?

No. The order provides that the employee does not have to prove that they stayed at a convalescent home or took part in a vacation.

How many years back can you sue for recuperation pay?

The 2017 extension order provided that the limitation period will be “according to law and not two years”. The general limitation period is 7 years from the day the cause of action arose.