Labor Laws

This section covers labor laws, collective agreements and mandatory comprehensive ordanaces

Are you familiar with section 12 A of the labor law ?

Moshe

Are you familiar with section 12 A of the labor law ?

Submitted by Moshe on Tue, 08/03/2011 – 10:26

There is a trend among employers, especially in Public sector jobs where there is a mandatory tender for every position. This lengthy beaurocratic process can take months. Especially if the employer hasn’t put the proposed position into the annual budget.

In years past, there were employees who worked for years via employment agencies in the same place of work. Sometimes these employees would be transfered from one agency to another, thus losing valuable tenure.

The “Employment of employees via employment agencies” law which was passed by the knesset in 1996 helped rectify this situation somewhat.

The law specifies explicitly that an employee can be employed via an employment agency for a maximum period of 9 months. After this period, The employer either hires the employee directly or ends his employment. Extending the 9 month period is no longer an option, nor is transfering the employee to another employment agency.

The 9 month period is a mutual period of trial where both the employer and the employee check each other out and decide whether they want to continue employment with each other.

If the employer was negligent and didn’t notify the employee of his intentions on time, The law specifies that “an employee who worked for more than 9 months via an employment agency will then automatically be considered the actual employer’s employee”.

The tenure that an employee worked for an employer via the employment agency is recognized as tenure for all purposes with the employer, as the place of employment hasn’t changed.

The employment agency must conduct a hearing with the employee as to intent of continuation of employment directly via the employer or release of the employee. This needs to be done within the 9 month period and also subject to the advance notice law.

Order and enforcement of labor laws

Moshe

Order and enforcement of labor laws

Submitted by Moshe on Tue, 23/11/2010 – 00:12

 

The Administration of order and enforcement of labor laws takes a lot of action in implementing the directives of the labor laws in the State of Israel. The Labor laws, whom the administration has been trusted with enforcing, are defined as protective laws, that make up the legal infrastructure of the Israeli employment market. the purpose of these laws is to set a minimum Raff and to determine basic social rights for employees. These rights are expressed in setting employment terms for employees, that come to ensure a person’s honor, his ability to self fulfillment, equality, division of justice and more. A good portion of these laws have considerable financial significance and they increase the minimum wage to be paid to an employee, with aim to ensure a relatively appropriate standard of living in exchange for his work.

The Administration, as both the professional and authorized agent, coordinates under it’s auspices the enforcement of 19 labor laws, and locating violators and minimizing the detrimental treatment of salaried employees in the lower pay scales.

Goals:
1) Implementation of labor laws via efficient and effective mechanisms of
licensing and enforcement.
2) Creating and establishing practical basis for cooperation with internal and
external enforcement partners.
3) Intensifying both employer and employee awareness to directives of labor
laws within the administration’s responsibility.

The administration’s actions, both criminal and administrative are accompanied, guided and handled by the legal bureau of the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor.

Please note that while all complaints are followed through, a complaint may not necessarily solve your own personal issue with the employer and further action by you may be needed.

The administration can be contacted as follows:

Voicemail for complaints: 1-800-354-354 (can be done anonymously)
Tel: 03-622-3116
Fax: 03-682-8690
Email: achifa-ma@moital.gov.il

The administration of order and enforcement of labor laws
Derech Salameh 53
Tel-Aviv

Collective agreements and how they affect you

Moshe

Collective agreements and how they effect you

Submitted by Moshe on Tue, 09/11/2010 – 21:40

Most of the terms of employment are set not by law, rather by collective negotiating, thereby determining that the collective agreement is the basis for employee’s rights and duties.

The arrangements in collective agreements can be best characterized by the fact that they are not uniform. In each collective agreement one can find a different arrangement which is the fruit of collective bargaining. From the non uniformity of rights in collective agreements one can learn that not only are the span of rights different , but there are large groups of employees who do not share the same rights.

So, what is a collective agreement ?
They can be effectively divided into 2 types:
1) General Collective agreements
These are reached & signed by organizations that represent factoriesemployers in a certain field (such as: construction, textiles, diamonds, hotels, electronics, etc.) or in all fields (cost of living increase, travel expenses, Havra’a payment) and the liason office of general organizations and the worker’s union (histadrut) that represents the employees in a certain field or sector as well as the government (usually the Finance ministry).
2) Special Collective agreements
These apply to a certain employer and are signed by both the management of the employer and the worker’s union that represents the employees of that employer.

Some collective agreements get issued as a expanded regulations order by the minister of Labor, thereby becoming mandatory for every employer in the State of Israel.
A few examples of this are: travel
reimbursement to and from work, cost of living increase.

When a collective agreement is signed it binds all employees and an employee cannot say that he disagrees and didn’t approve it. That is why there are worker’s unions.

Not always does a collective agreement define the terms of employment. Frequently Small or private employers or where personal contracts are used, the contracts define the terms of employment, However, it should be noted that the personal contract cannot diminish or contradict the rights defined by law or by an expanded regulation order or collective agreement that may apply to the employer due to the field in which he operates. In short, the personal agreement cannot violate the labor laws of the State of Israel or the expanded regulation orders of collective agreements which are treated as labor laws. The personal agreements can however improve the terms in the law or collective agreement.

Even if a personal contract specifies explicitly terms that diminish the terms/rights defined by law, it becomes null and void, even if an employee signs it.

In small places of employment, it was customary to have work agreements based on verbal agreements, which would be always hard to prove. In such cases the law provides the minimum.

Since Jan 2008, when the section 24 of the protection of wages law came into effect, making mandatory written notification to all employees describing their terms of employment and specifying what needs to be written on this notification, verbal contracts have no place anymore.

see my blog post on correction 24:

and the blog post on “what needs to be included on my payslip” :

What happens to unused vacation days ?

Moshe

 

What happens to unused vacation days ?

Submitted by Moshe on Mon, 08/11/2010 – 20:23

If your employer has a policy of erasing unused vacation days that have been accrued, then basically it’s “use them or lose them”.
This is totally legal provided the employer notifies the employees in ample time to allow them to utilize the accrued days.

If an employee has 10 accrued days, the employer can’t notify the employee on Dec 31st that the days will not be carried over to January. He can and should specify this in employee’s contracts or notification of work conditions as well as a reminder in Sept or Oct with the payslip and notification on employee notice boards.

If such policy does not exist then the days are accrued and carried over from one year to the next. This is easily checked as the balance must be listed on the paylsip.

When an employee resigns or is terminated his position, all unused vacation days that have been accrued are paid out on the last payslip.

Mandatory Pension law – updated Sep 7, 2010

Moshe

Mandatory Pension law – updated Sep 7, 2010

Submitted by Moshe on Sat, 09/10/2010 – 23:18

 

The mandatory pension law was recently updated (Sept 7, 2010).
Originally planned for gradual annual updates from 2008 – 2013, when the mandatory % will reach 15% (5% employee, 5% employer and 5% severance pay -employer)

The new revision now ads another year (2014).
Starting Jan 1, 2014 the mandatory pension will be 17.50% as follows:
employee – 5.5 %
employer – 6.0 %
employer (pension) – 6%

The mandatory pension revision also specifies:
1) that it applies to employees who retired at retirement age and receive a stipend from social security (Bituach Leumi).
2) An employee who begins work at a new place of employment and is insured in a pension plan from his previous place of employment, will be eligible to receive the percentages specified in the mandatory mandatory pension law from day one with the new employer.

see the full wording of the mandatory pension plan here:

Penalty for tardy payment of payroll

Moshe

 

Penalty for tardy payment of payroll

Submitted by Moshe on Mon, 23/08/2010 – 20:44

The protection of salary law specifies that salaried employees must be paid by the last day in the period of time for which they are being paid (i.e. the last day of the month), however salary will only be considered to be have been paid late if 10 days have passed since the due date. In plain English, this means it cannot be enforced until the 10th of the following month, thereby creating the myth that salaries can be paid by the 9th of the month.
But what actually is the penalty for late payment ?
The law specifies that for the 1st week of tardy payment the employer is penalized 5% of the amount that hasn’t been paid and from the second week onwards, for each additional week (or part thereof) an additional 10%.
The same applies for monies that were deducted from the employee’s pay but not transferred by the employer to it’s rightful destination on time; For example pension plan savings.
Labor courts tend to be lenient on penalizing employers when the employer claims that it wasn’t purposely done or for reasons that weren’t in his control.
There are things that can be done, like filing an anonymous complaint with the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Labor’s hotline (see essential phone numbers in the menu bar on this site)
Late payment of payroll on a recurring basis is usually a just means for resigning your position and retaining rights to severance pay if you have worked at least 1 year with the employer.

Information on correct employment of youth

Moshe

Information on correct employment of youth

Submitted by Moshe on Tue, 29/06/2010 – 13:04

 

As summer vacation approaches, it is time once again to refresh everyone’s memory as to the laws regarding youth employment.

AGE OF EMPLOYMENT

It is strictly forbidden to employ youth under age 14.
Youths between the ages of 14 – 15 can be employed in light work only. Light work is defined as work that will not hinder or impair their health or development.
During the school year and in certain dangerous jobs, it is permitted to employ youth only from age 15 and up, under condition that the mandatory learning law does not apply to them.
(examples of dangerous jobs: heavy cutting machines, manufacturing and processing of flammable substances or items, work at temperatures below 4 c or above 40 c.
As for youth employed in commercials, preformances, etc. a special permit is needed from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment, Other special regulations as to employment conditions and hours apply.

WORK NOTEBOOK & MEDICAL APPROVAL

The law mandates the employer to demand from youth employees (under age 18) to produce a work notebook, as a prior condition of employment.
This notebook is issued by the local employment services office. In order to procure a work notebook, applicants need to show up in person with their Israeli I.D. card (or one of their parent’s I.D. card where they are listed), a doctor’s note from the family practitioner, that they are healthy and able to work, 2 passport pictures. There is no fee to procure the work notebook and it is issued on the spot.
The work notebook needs to be on premises at the place of employment.

NOTIFICATION LAW

The purpose of this law is to make clear the conditions and terms of employment, rights and obligations of the employee.
Each youth must receive a written notification. signed by the employer, within 7 days of start of employment and it must include all of the following:
the ID number of the employee, employee’s name, address, start date and length of employment, work hours, job description, houly rate and all benefits and payments (i.e. travel expense), name and job description of the employee’s direct superior adn any other information which can help the youth understand his job and what is expected of him.

WORK HOURS

Youths can be employed for up to 8 hours maximum per day and no more than 40 hours per week.
Youths aged 16 and above can be employed for up to a maximum of 9 hours per day, as long as the maximum of 40 hours per week is complied with.
The above does not apply to youths that are employed and who are covered by preferential terms of employment or a collective agreement and also handicaped youth (physical, mental) who are employed in protected factories (factories that the State of Israel participates in their financing).

OVERTIME employment of youths in overtime is completely forbidden by law !

Weekly day of rest

It is forbidden to employ youths during their weekly day of rest (Shabbat) and there is no possibility of receiving a permit for this.

Breaks

After 6 hours of work, it is mandatory to allow youth a 45 minute break for rest and to eat, at least 30 minutes must be consecutive.
The break is usually on the employee’s time (i.e. unpaid) but this should be agreed apon before employment commences in order to avoid future misunderstandings.

NIGHT WORK

The law states that between the hours of 20:00 and 08:00 A.M., it is forbidden to employ youths under age 16.
Employment of youths, between ages 16 – 18 is forbidden between the hours 22:00 and 06:00 A.M. unless a special permit has been granted
from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment.

RECORDING WORK HOURS

All employers are required by law to keep track and record the exact hours of work of all youth employees, and if such is done manually, each youth who is employed, and the employer need to authorize their hours by signing off on them daily.

ANNUAL VACATION

For the first four years at the place of employment a youth is entitled to 18 calander days (14 actual work days) of vacation time per year.

TRAVEL EXPENSES

In addition to pay, youth are entitled by law to re-imbersement for travel expenses from their home to work and back. The maximum rate per day for travel expense is 23.70 shekels. The employer is obligated to ensure that the youth employees have means to return safely home after work. youth who work 18 days or more, are usually paid the rate of a monthly free bus pass (chofshi chodshi). Those who work less than 18 days would be paid per day at the rate of cost (up to the max 23.70 sh)

FINES & DEDUCTIONS

It is illegal to fine or punish youth by means of salary deductions, unless specifically permitted by law. This includes any dedections for “damages”.

TAXES AND SOCIAL SECURITY

A youth’s income is taxable, just as a regular (over age 18) employee.
The only difference is that youth between 16-18 are eligible to receive an extra tax point each month. Male youth (16-18) receive 3.25 tax credit points, while female youth (16-18) receive 3.75 tax credit points. Each tax credit point is worth 205 shekels (as of Jan 2010).
Working youth are exempt from payments towards social security (bituach leumi) and health insurance (bituach briut), however the employer is obligated by law to pay the employer’s portion of social security as follows: (as of Jan 2010) 0.38% of the total gross pay – up to 4,809 shekels and 0.61% of every additional shekel up to 79,750 shekels.

MINIMUM WAGES FOR YOUTH (in Israeli Shekels) – updated June 2010

Age—— Monthly salary **—– Hourly Rate
——————————————————–
up to age 16 —– 2,695.13 —— 15.58
up to age 17 —– 2,887.63 —— 16.69
up to age 18 —– 3,195.65 —— 18.47
apprentices * —– 2,310.11 —— 13.35

* apprentices are in accordance with the apprenticeship law only)
** The monthly salary is for full-time position – no more than 40 weekly hours or 173 monthly hours. Partial positions are configured accordingly.

Even if a youth agrees to work for less than the amounts in the table above, it is illegal and the employer cannot pay less than the minimum.

IMPORTANT NOTE: There is no such thing as a “trial period” or “training” where the youth employee would not be paid !
Every period of employment carries mandatory payment for work from the first hour of work. Payment is mandatory for training, explanatory meetings, etc. such as pre-work meetings for summer camps.

continuation of pension plan by a new employer

Moshe

Continuation of pension plan by a new employer

Submitted by Moshe on Thu, 29/04/2010 – 15:13

 

An employee who starts a new job and has an active pension plan from a previous employer, can demand immediate deductions from his payroll from his start date, along with employer’s contribution according to the law.
In order to procure this the employee needs to present the new employer with a detailed printout of the existing accounts’ deposits.

This is highly recommended, rather than waiting several months until the employer starts deducting towards a new plan.This is highly recommended, rather than waiting several months until the employer starts deducting towards a new plan.

However, some employers will only do this after you have tenure of three months in order to ensure that employees stay on. If the tax year ends prior to your three month tenure date, it is required for the employer to forgo the 3 month waiting period because the pension funds do not allow retroactive deposits for previous years due to new regulations.

Holiday payment directives

Moshe

 

Holiday Payment Directives

 Submitted by Moshe on Wed, 07/04/2010 – 14:17

Holidays are explicitly defined:
2 days Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, 2 days Sukkot, 2 days Pesach, Shavuot and Yom Ha’atzmaut.

Monthly employees are entitled to payment for the Holidays that occur during the month for which payroll is paid, since their base pay is monthly based (set). Such employees receive their regular pay and are not entitled to additional pay for the Holidays.

Employees who receive a daily rate (or hourly rate or contractual employees) are entitled to payment for Holidays, provided that they worked at least 3 months at the place of employment and that they were not absent from work the day before and the day following the Holiday, except with the employer’s permission.

Non-Jewish employees: The employer is not liable to pay non-Jewish employees for Jewish Holidays in addition to the Holidays of his/her faith. In this case the employee must choose whether to receive payment for Jewish Holidays or Holidays of his/her faith.

Erev Chag – In work places where the work week is 6 days, work on Erev Chag is 7 hours (payment is for 9 hours- full day) and in places where the work week is 5 days, work on Erev Chag is 8 hours (payment is for 9 hours- full day).

Hol-Hamoed: There are no directives in the law with regard to Hol-Hamoed or the payment for work on these days. As far as the law is concerned, these are regular, normal work days. This is of course unless there is a collective agreement at the place of work which specifies differntly,or if it is specifically mentioned in an employee’s work contract.

This directive commenced by power of the comprehensive mandatory order about shortening the work week to 43 hours, which went into effect on July 1, 2000 and applies to all employees and employers in the State of Israel.

2010 – Amounts exempt from garnished wages

Moshe

 

The amounts that are exempt from garnished wages (except alimony) have been updated by the Israel Tax Authority as of Jan 1, 2010 as follows:

marital status amount in shekels
single 1,994
single/divorced/widowed
with 1 child 3,224
single/divorced/widowed
with 2 children or more 4,022
couple 2,991
couple with 1 child 3,469
couple with 2 children or more 3,948

If the above amounts are more than 80% of the monthly wages, then the amount that is exempt from garnished wages will be lowered to 80% of the monthly wages.

Note: If a court issues a garnished wages order due to alimony payments, the whole paycheck can be garnished.

Risk Pregnancy (Shmirat herayon)

Moshe

If a woman is diagnosed by her doctor to be in risk pregnancy, under certain conditions she may be eligible for a stipend from Social Security (bituach leumi).

Section 58 of the social security law defines risk pregnancy that entitles insured women to risk pregnancy stipend; absence from work during pregnancy due to medical condition that stems from pregnancy and endangers the woman or her fetus.

The conditions are:
1) Doctor’s note which explicitly states that the woman is in risk pregnancy.
2) the woman is absent a minimum of 30 consecutive days from work due to this condition.

The woman is entitled to continuous deductions to any and all social benefits (kupot gemel, keren hishtalmut, pension plans) provided she pays her part.

Most employers continue the payments and collect the employee’s part when she returns to work after maternity leave.

This period of time is considered to be continuous work period for tenure, social benefits. In other words, employer-employee relations are still in effect.

Forms for application and more information is available on the Social Security website:

www.btl.gov.il

You are entitled to a hearing before termination

Moshe

If an employer decides to terminate an employee, he is required by law to grant the employee a hearing prior to terminating the employee.
While this may not change the employer’s mind about the termination, it does clear the air by allowing both sides to express themselves and lay everything on the table.

Employers in the public sector and large companies usually do this as standard procedure, while many private sector and small employers tend to ignore this basic issue which gives respect to employees as people.

Failure to grant a hearing to an employee prior to termination, may void the termination. Employees who were not given a hearing prior to termination are advised to file a complaint with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Labor’s hotline 1-800-354-354 and seek damages for infringement of rights via Labor court.