Protection of whistleblowers: legal framework and employee rights

Who is protected, and who is not?

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

You discovered something wrong in your organization: corruption, a breach of the law, a danger to the public. Now you are considering reporting it. The question everyone asks: what will happen to me afterward?

The protection in the Law applies only to a complaint that meets the conditions of section 4: in good faith, about a breach of legislation (and in a public body also about harm to integrity or to proper administration), and to the competent authority. So the way you report matters no less than the disclosure itself.

What the law in Israel says

The legal basis in Israel is the Protection of Employees (Exposure of Offenses and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law, 5757-1997. The Law prohibits an employer from harming an employee’s employment matters or dismissing them because they filed a complaint against their employer or against another employee of the same employer, or helped another employee to do so (section 2). The protection is given only to a complaint filed in good faith, about a breach of legislation at the workplace or in connection with the work or the employer’s business, and in a public body also about harm to integrity or to proper administration, and to the authority competent to receive it or to examine and investigate its subject (section 4). In practice:

• Internal reporting: contacting someone in the organization, such as an internal auditor or a compliance officer, can be a first step; whether that person is competent to examine the subject of the complaint is what will decide whether the protection applies (section 4(3))
• Reporting to the legal authorities: you can notify the State Attorney’s Office, the police, an internal investigation, or the appropriate regulatory bodies
• Disclosure to the media: the media is not a “competent authority”, so the protection of the Law does not apply to such a disclosure in itself (section 4(3))
• Protection against harm: an employer, or a superior on its behalf, may not harm the complainant’s employment matters, meaning terms of employment, promotion, training, dismissal or retirement benefits, because of the complaint (sections 1 and 2)

What counts as “retaliation”: the list is longer than you thought

Employers often retaliate in ways that look lawful on their face: “reorganization”, “change of role”, “cutting positions”. But when the timing is suspicious, they may give rise to a cause of action. The Law prohibits harming “employment matters”, meaning terms of employment, promotion, training, dismissal or severance pay, and benefits in connection with retirement (section 1), and such harm may include:

• Dismissal: the most obvious form
• Not renewing a contract: may be treated as harm to employment matters
• A pay cut or reduced hours
• A change to a worse role: even if the pay stays the same
• Removal from emails, management meetings, groups
• Creating a hostile work environment: hard to prove, and may be treated as harm to the terms of employment
• Blocking a promotion that was expected

You do not need to wait for a dismissal to sue. Harm to employment matters because of the complaint is prohibited in itself (section 2), even without a dismissal.

How to report so that you are protected: the order of steps

The right procedure decides whether the protection applies to you. Three stages, in order:

1. First of all, document before you report: keep the evidence, the emails and the documents. Once the employer knows you reported, your access to documents may be blocked.
2. Internal reporting (recommended, but not a condition in the Law): contact the competent person in the organization: a compliance officer, the workers’ committee, a senior manager who is not involved. Keep a written confirmation that the report was received.
3. If the internal report gets no response, contact the authorities: the State Attorney’s Office, the police, the regulatory body for the field. The Law does not protect going to the media in itself, since the media is not a “competent authority” (section 4(3)).

When the protection does not apply: the surprising cases

Not every report of corruption entitles you to protection. There are situations in which the employee is exposed despite having reported:

• A report made without good faith: if the report was meant to harm an internal rival and not to expose a real offense, the protection falls away
• A report that does not concern a breach of legislation: a management dispute, cutbacks or wrong business decisions do not give protection, except in a public body, where a complaint about harm to integrity or to proper administration is also protected (section 4(2))
• Disclosure to the media: the media is not a “competent authority” under section 4(3), so such a disclosure in itself does not give the protection of the Law

What the employer must do The Law does not set a mandatory internal reporting mechanism. It sets the prohibition on harming the complainant (section 2) and the remedies: the Regional Labor Court may award compensation and give an order, including cancellation of a dismissal or a transfer to another suitable position, against a public body and against a private employer that employs more than 25 employees (section 3(b)). An employee in a public body audited by the State Comptroller can also apply to the Commissioner for Complaints from the Public (Ombudsman), who may give an order to protect them, including cancellation of a dismissal or a transfer to another position (sections 45A–45C of the State Comptroller Law, 5718-1958 [Consolidated Version] (חוק מבקר המדינה, התשי״ח-1958 [נוסח משולב])).

Faced retaliation? This is how to act quickly

Protecting a whistleblower who was harmed requires quick action: a temporary injunction to prevent a dismissal can be requested within days. Delay may rule out remedies.

1. Document immediately: keep a record of every change in your terms of employment from the day you reported: emails, changes to your schedule, verbal messages.
2. Contact an employment lawyer: even before you have filed a formal complaint. Early advice decides whether it is worth asking for interim relief to prevent the worsening of your position before the decision.
3. Interim relief: check whether you are entitled to an injunction. The Labor Court may give an order, including an order that cancels a dismissal (section 3(a)(2)), and in an application for interim relief, delay may harm the chances of the application.

How to prove that it is retaliation and not a legitimate reason

The basic rule: under section 3A of the Law, the burden of proof shifts to the employer if the employee proved three things: that they were harmed in their employment matters or dismissed, that there was no reason for this in their conduct or actions, and that no more than two years passed from the date of the complaint to the harm. Then the employer must prove that it did not act contrary to the Law.

To strengthen the presumption, document the link in time between the report and the change. If you reported on 1 January and were demoted on 1 February, that is a clear link in time. Closeness in time is important circumstantial evidence, even beyond the two-year requirement in section 3A.

A numerical example (hypothetical): an employee of a private company that employs 40 employees complained in good faith to the competent authority about a breach of legislation in the employer’s business on 1 March 2025, and was dismissed on 1 September 2026. (1) The employer employs more than 25 employees, so the Labor Court may give the remedies in section 3(a) (section 3(b)). (2) 18 months passed between the complaint and the dismissal, less than two years; if she proves that she was dismissed and that there was no reason for this in her conduct, the burden shifts to the employer to prove that it did not act contrary to the Law (section 3A). (3) If the cause of action arose on the day of the dismissal, the claim becomes time-barred three years later, on 1 September 2029 (section 5). Had she been dismissed on 1 April 2027, 25 months after the complaint, the rule in section 3A would not have applied, and the burden would usually have stayed with her.

The remedies you can obtain

The Labor Court can award several remedies together:

1. Compensation for the damage: loss of wages, expenses, emotional distress
2. Compensation without proof of damage: compensation in an amount the court sees fit, as well as exemplary damages of up to NIS 50,000, and up to NIS 500,000 because of the seriousness of the breach (base amounts that are updated on 1 January each year; section 3(a)(1) and (a2))
3. Reinstatement: if the dismissal was contrary to the Law, the court can order reinstatement
4. A temporary injunction: to protect the employee while the claim is pending

A false complaint that the employee knew, or should have known, was untrue does not give a right to a remedy (section 3(c)), and the claim becomes time-barred within three years of the day the cause of action arose (section 5).

Frequently asked questions

If I expose the affair in the media, will I be protected?

Not under the Law. The media is not a “competent authority”, so the protection of the Protection of Employees (Exposure of Offenses and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law does not apply to such a disclosure in itself (section 4(3)). The protection applies to a complaint to the competent authority.

Do you have to report inside the organization first?

No. Internal reporting is recommended, but it is not a condition in the Law. Contacting someone in the organization, such as an internal auditor or a compliance officer, can be a first step; whether that person is competent to examine the subject of the complaint is what will decide whether the protection applies (section 4(3)).

I wasn’t dismissed, but after the complaint my hours were cut and I was left out of meetings. Is that prohibited harm?

Possibly. The Law prohibits harming “employment matters”, meaning terms of employment, promotion, training, dismissal or severance pay, and benefits in connection with retirement (section 1), and such harm because of the complaint is prohibited in itself (section 2), even without a dismissal. So it is worth documenting every change in your terms of employment from the day you reported.

How do you prove that the harm was because of the complaint?

Under section 3A of the Law, the burden of proof shifts to the employer if the employee proved three things: that they were harmed in their employment matters or dismissed, that there was no reason for this in their conduct or actions, and that no more than two years passed from the date of the complaint to the harm. Then the employer must prove that it did not act contrary to the Law.

How long do you have to sue?

The claim becomes time-barred within three years of the day the cause of action arose (section 5). In an application for interim relief, such as an order to prevent a dismissal, delay may harm the chances of the application.