Get Your Israeli Boss to Give You Terms of Employment

Do you what the Israeli terms of employment are? If you don't, you're probably missing out on this employee right.

This article is 2nd in a 4-part series about 3 Israeli Labor Laws You Do Not Know But Should by Moshe Egel-Tal, CSPP.

What are the Israeli terms of employment?

According to an amendment to the Israeli labor laws (2002) (Hebrew), every employer must issue a “terms of your employment” document to each employee in any of 3 instances:

1. Within 30 days of a new employee being hired,
2. an existing employee receives a raise,
3. or a change in position / added social benefits.

This law is binding to all employers whether they be a self employed individual, a small or medium sized company (private or public), or a large conglomerate.

The latter usually has a well-versed, organized HR department to do things according to the book, and the problem is more acute in the private sector (small businesses or personal employers).

Complain if you must

Anyone who encounters a violation of the law on employee rights can submit a complaint online (Hebrew) to the Ministry of Labor's “Administration of enforcement and regulation” of labor laws.

Template for employers

The law is very explicate and clearly states exactly what needs to be written on the “terms of employment” documents. A template form is available on the Ministry of Labor's website (Hebrew) and can be copied word for word onto company stationary. There's really no excuse for error.

The only exception to this law is the employer of foreign workers.

What needs to be in the terms of employment?

The terms of employment must clearly state the following:

1. The ID of the employee and employer (name, ID\passport number, address, phone #)
2. The employee's exact start date and length of contract (if undetermined this should also be stated)
3. An explanation of the employee's main job function(s)/description
4. The name and function of the employee's direct superior
5. Summary of all payments to be paid to the employee and the date of the month and manner they are to be paid. If the employee is hired according to public position pay charts (rank and level) these need to be specified.
6. The length of the employee's workday or workweek as applicable.
7. The employee's weekly rest day (usually Shabbat)
8. Types and terms of payment by both employee and employer toward social benefits (percentages, base salary for social benefits if different than base pay), including the specific names of the funds to which payment will be transferred. (If social benefits will be given at a later date this should be specified explicitly)
9. When the place of employment has an employee council or belongs to a union, the name of the rep. or union will be specified including all relevant contact information and any funds deducted from the employee's pay will be specified.
10. The document needs to specifically mention that if any labor law, statute or regulation that is in direct conflict with this terms of employment document, it is the law, statute or regulation which will be binding.

Any change in any of the above terms, the employer must notify the employee within 3 days of the change(s) by way of written “change in terms of employment” document except when the change is due to a change in laws, regulations or statutes (for example cost of living increase).

Notes

• The Hebrew link to the exact wording of the law can be difficult to understand without proper professional certification.
• In many cases there are revisions to the law and the site may not be 100% up to date.
• The wording in my articles is of my own choosing and not a literal translation. This is in order to ensure clear understanding and is based upon the law itself, actual cases that have been brought before the labor courts, my experience in dealing with these issues and from close work with legal advisers on labor issues over the years.

About the author

Moshe Egel-Tal is a certified senior payroll professional (CSPP) with over 20 years experience in the finance field. He has vast experience in payroll instruction to end users, setup and implementation of payroll departments and fine-tuning payroll processes for companies. Moshe has lectured at university on labor laws in HR managers' courses and at payroll comptrollers' courses. Born in Chicago, Moshe made aliya in 1978 and resides with his wife and 3 sons in Jerusalem. Get Moshe's book “Tax Benefits for Salaried Employees in Israel“.

For more information about Moshe, see his Jobshuk profile or LinkedIn profile. If you need help with labor issues in Israel, Moshe can help you with his consultation services.

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