Israeli law requires employers to provide advance notice of dismissal to employees. The notice must be in writing and indicate the date of entry into the workforce.
Wage workers are entitled to the following notice periods:
Salaried workers are entitled to the following notice periods:
Employees on probation are also entitled to notice ranging from 3 days to 2 weeks. The notice period can be waived, in part or entirely, by paying compensation to the employee in place of notice. If employers fail to give advance notice to a dismissed employee, they will be liable to pay compensation equal to the regular salary of the employee for the duration of the notice period.
Effective April 29, 2026, employers may not dismiss or place on unpaid leave an employee who has completed at least 60 cumulative days of reserve duty in a calendar year (including 7 consecutive days) during an additional 30-day protected period following the existing statutory 30-day protection, unless a supervisory committee approves the action for special reasons.
Foreign nationals who wish to work in Israel must obtain a work permit. Employers apply for a visa and work permit on behalf of their employees. They must submit a copy of the labor contract to the Ministry of Interior. The permit is granted for at least one year, a maximum of 3 years, and can be extended for 5 years in total.
Before hiring a foreign worker, employers should ensure the following:
Employees are entitled to fully paid annual leave every calendar year (January to December). The entitlement, expressed in calendar days including weekly rest days (on a 6-day-week basis), is as follows:
For employees on a 5-day work week, the net number of working days off is lower (for example, 12 working days for the first 5 years). Young workers (under 18) are entitled to 18 days of annual leave regardless of seniority.
During annual leave, only 1 weekly rest day is included for every 7 days of vacation.
Annual leave must be taken continuously. It may be divided with the agreement of both the employee and the employer (and, where one exists, the approval of the workers' committee), provided that at least 1 of the leave periods is 7 days long. With the employer's consent, the employee must take at least 7 days of leave in the year and may carry the remaining balance forward to the following 2 work years. Annual leave cannot be replaced by monetary compensation during employment.
Effective January 1, 2026, as a temporary measure, an employee who was unable to use annual leave during the order period due to reserve service or other qualifying circumstances may add it to leave granted in the following 2 work years, without the employer's consent.
Annual leave allowance is equal to the regular salary and is paid in advance by the employer. Unused leave accrues, subject to the carryover limits above, and is redeemable on termination.
Per Israel's Working Hours and Rest Act, a standard workweek is 42 hours. However, the normal workweek regulations do not apply to the following employees:
A working day shall not exceed 8 hours (for those with a 6-day workweek), and night work is limited to 7 hours. Hours worked in excess of these limits are considered overtime. The maximum number of hours worked in a day cannot exceed 12 hours, including overtime. The law entitles employees to a weekly rest period of at least 36 continuous hours, including the Sabbath Day for Jewish employees.
The working hours for employees under 18 years of age are 40 hours per week and not more than 8 hours per day. Such employees cannot work on their weekly rest days. Finally, persons under 18 years of age are entitled to a break of at least 14 hours between 2 consecutive working days.
Israeli labor law grants all female employees maternity leave. Employees with at least 12 months of service are entitled to the full 26-week leave period. Employees with less than 12 months are entitled to 15 weeks. In case of complications during birth or pregnancy, multiple births, or complex disability, maternity leave can be extended.
The National Social Security Institute of Israel provides maternity insurance to female employees who are employed or self-employed in Israel. Employees who have paid insurance contributions for either 10 of the 14 months or 15 of the 22 months preceding the cessation of work are eligible for maternity allowance for 15 weeks (full). Employees who have paid insurance contributions for 6 of the 14 months preceding the cessation of work are entitled to an 8-week allowance (partial). The maternity allowance is determined according to the mother's income (based on which the mother has paid insurance contributions) and has a ceiling of ILS 1,752.33 (Israeli shekels) per day.
The daily allowance to which the mother is entitled is the higher of the following amount:
The Women's Labor Law of Israel allows a daily 1-hour paid break for breastfeeding employees for 4 months beginning from the end of maternity leave.
Israel's labor law stipulates that all employees over 18 years of age are entitled to a minimum wage. An order of the government determines the minimum wage amount by April of each year. Effective April 1, 2026, the minimum wage is set as follows:
The Minimum Wage Law calculates the statutory hourly minimum wage by dividing the monthly minimum wage by 186 hours, even though the standard full-time work month was reduced to 182 hours in 2018. As a result, a full-time monthly employee earns the full monthly minimum wage over fewer hours, resulting in an effective hourly rate of ILS 35.40 (2026), while hourly-paid employees, including part-time employees, are paid the statutory hourly minimum of ILS 34.64 (2026).
Employees must be paid regularly and on time. Monthly salaries should be paid by the end of the month in which they are earned. If payment is not made by the 9th of the following month, it is considered late. Employees who are paid hourly, daily, weekly, or based on the amount of work they produce should be paid at the end of the applicable pay period, unless their employment contract or a collective agreement provides for a different payment date. If an employee is paid for a specific job that takes more than 14 days to complete, they must be paid when the job is finished.
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