Safety at work: the employer’s duties under the law

Service page: Support for employers: hearings, dismissals and employee claims.

The employer owes you a safe working environment, by law and not out of goodwill

Two main enactments govern safety in the workplace in Israel. The Work Safety Ordinance [New Version], 5730-1970 sets the physical requirements (machines and their guarding, means of access, lighting and ventilation, dangerous substances), and alongside it there are dozens of sector regulations (construction, work at height, personal protective equipment and more). The Labor Inspection (Organization) Law, 5714-1954 governs the organizational side: labor inspectors and their powers, safety committees, safety trustees and safety officers. On heat and cold in the workplace, see Temperature in the workplace: what the law requires.

The legal meaning: breaching the safety provisions is not only “negligence”; it is an offense against an enactment, which a labor inspector has the power to enforce even if no one complained. We have gathered the employer’s general duties (wages, hours, pension) in the article Employer obligations in Israel: a checklist under the law; here we focus on safety.

The employer’s duties, by number of employees

Note that the thresholds are counted by the employees at the workplace, not by the size of the whole company, and that a regional labor inspector may require the appointment of a safety officer even in a smaller workplace if its risks justify it. The regulations on safety officers were updated in June 2025, mainly on training and on renewing the certificate of competence.

A safety committee and a safety trustee: what they do, and what protects them

The safety committee is made up of representatives of the employees and representatives of the employer in equal numbers. Its role is to look into the causes of accidents, to follow safety conditions and to recommend improvements; the employer must allow it to operate. In a plant that has no committee, the employees may elect safety trustees from among themselves. Section 24 of the Labor Inspection (Organization) Law provides that an employer may not harm the working conditions and status of a safety trustee, and may not dismiss them because of their actions as a trustee. This protection is in addition to the general protections against unlawful dismissal (see Wrongful dismissal: what you are owed).

A numerical example: when the duties “step up”

A food plant employs 22 employees in production and 6 in the office: 28 employees at the workplace. This is enough to require setting up a safety committee (the threshold: 25). If the plant recruits another 24 employees and reaches 52, two duties are added: appointing a safety officer and preparing a safety management plan, which must be updated at least once a year. The duty of training, protective equipment and reporting accidents applies to the plant from the first employee, even when it employs only three people.

What happens when a labor inspector finds a breach?

The labor inspectors of the Labor Branch of the Ministry of Labor may enter a workplace and inspect it. When a regional labor inspector is convinced that a machine, equipment, an installation or a substance endangers the employees, they may issue a safety order (section 6 of the Labor Inspection (Organization) Law) prohibiting their use or ordering immediate measures. When a provision of an enactment is not being complied with at the workplace, they may issue an improvement order (section 8A) setting out what must be fixed and by when. Breaching the provisions is a criminal offense, and after an accident criminal proceedings may also be opened against officers.

What do you do when the employer refuses to fix a dangerous situation?

1. Write to the safety officer, the safety committee or the safety trustee at the workplace, and keep a record of what you sent and of the reply.
2. Complain to the labor inspector in your area. The inspector does not need a complaint in order to inspect, but a documented complaint prompts them to act.
3. Know that you are protected. The Protection of Employees (Exposure of Offenses and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law, 5757-1997 prohibits harming or dismissing an employee because of a complaint they filed in good faith about a breach of an enactment at the workplace, with the authority competent to examine it, such as the labor inspector (sections 2 and 4). Details in the guide Protection of whistleblowers: legal framework and employee rights.
4. A real and immediate danger: an employee cannot be expected to carry out an instruction that endangers their life. However, the limits of the right to refuse are not sharply defined in the law, so it is important to document the danger, notify the safety officer immediately and contact the inspector, and not to settle for refusing.

You suffered a work injury: what happens under employment law?

An employee injured at work is entitled to benefits from the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) (injury allowance, and if a disability remains, a work disability benefit) without proving fault; the full information is on the National Insurance Institute website. A tort claim against the employer is a separate track, in the field of tort law. On the employment law side, it is important to make sure of three things: that the employer notified the labor inspector of the accident as required; that the period of absence is not counted against you as an unjustified absence; and that your working conditions were not harmed following the accident or the complaint. Such harm is a cause of action in the Labor Court (The Labor Court: the stages and deadlines of the proceeding). The office deals with this side of the dispute, the employment relationship, and not with personal injury claims.

A guide to all the employer’s duties and the employee’s rights is gathered in the employment law information hub.

Frequently asked questions

From when is it mandatory to appoint a safety officer?

Under regulation 4 of the Labor Inspection (Organization) Regulations (Safety Officers), 5756-1996, the duty to appoint applies to the occupier of a workplace to which the Work Safety Ordinance applies and in which at least 50 employees are employed; to a construction contractor who employs, directly or through subcontractors, at least 100 employees at its construction sites at the same time; to an employer in agriculture with at least 50 employees; and to any other workplace for which a regional labor inspector has determined that a safety officer is needed because of its risks. In June 2025 the regulations on the training of safety officers were updated.

May an employee who complained about a safety hazard be dismissed?

Not because of the complaint. The Protection of Employees (Exposure of Offenses and Harm to Integrity or Proper Administration) Law, 5757-1997 prohibits an employer from harming an employee’s working conditions or dismissing them because of a complaint they filed in good faith about a breach of an enactment at the workplace, and a good-faith complaint to a labor inspector, who is the competent authority, about a breach of safety provisions is such a complaint (section 4). The civil remedies under the Law apply to an employer that is a public body and to another employer that employs more than 25 employees (section 3(b)). A safety trustee has additional protection under section 24 of the Labor Inspection (Organization) Law: their working conditions and status may not be harmed, and they may not be dismissed because of their actions as a trustee. In a dispute with the employer on this matter, the trustee may apply to the Minister of Labor, whose decision is final, and a trustee who was dismissed must apply within 30 days of the dismissal (section 24, which applies section 17(a)(2) of the same Law). A claim under the Protection of Employees Law is heard in the Regional Labor Court (section 3(a) of that Law), and there each party can be assisted by representation in the Labor Court.

What does a labor inspector do on finding a breach?

Under the Labor Inspection (Organization) Law, a regional labor inspector may issue a safety order (section 6), which prohibits the use of a machine, equipment, an installation or a substance that endangers the employees, or orders immediate measures, and an improvement order (section 8A), which orders the employer to correct a breach of an enactment within a period set in the order. Breaching the safety provisions is also a criminal offense, and in the event of an accident it may lead to criminal proceedings against the employer and its officers.

Are managers personally liable for safety offenses?

Possibly. Under section 222 of the Work Safety Ordinance, when a corporation has committed an offense under the Ordinance, every manager, partner or responsible official of the corporation is also considered responsible for it, and may be prosecuted as if they had committed it themselves, unless they prove that the offense was committed without their knowledge and that they took reasonable measures to prevent it. A similar provision applies to an active manager, an agent or an active partner for offenses under the Labor Inspection (Organization) Law (section 36(e) of that Law). So documenting the training, the appointment of the safety officer and the safety management plan may also help in the personal defense of the managers.