Introduction:

A foreign worker is entitled to the same work conditions that every salaried employee employed in Israel is entitled to by law
This page provides information regarding weekly rest days and vacations (annual vacations, holidays and sick leave) that all workers, including foreign workers, are entitled to
Foreign nursing care workers that live in the patient's house have different rights regarding their weekly rest
For additional information see the Ministry of Economy website


A foreign worker is entitled to the same work conditions that every salaried employee employed in Israel is entitled to by law.

  • Among other things a foreign worker is entitled to weekly rest days, annual vacations, holiday vacations, sick leave and annual convalescence pay.

Weekly Rest

  • In general, workers are entitled to a weekly rest period of at least 36 consecutive hours.
  • The period includes Friday, Saturday or Sunday depending on what is considered the worker's personal day of rest.
  • Nevertheless, foreign nursing care workers that live in their patient's home are entitled to a weekly rest period of 25 hours.

Annual Vacation

  • All workers are entitled to a paid annual vacation.
  • The vacation is given after one year of work, or the following year, according to what the employee and worker coordinate together.
  • The number of vacation days to which a worker is entitled is determined based on several criteria (for example: seniority, number of work days per year, etc.).
  • For an explanation on how to calculate how many days an employee is entitled to, see calculation of the number of annual vacation days.

Holiday Vacations

  • A worker is entitled to paid leave for 9 holidays a year according to his religious holidays or according to Jewish holidays of his choice.
  • A worker who has a regular monthly salary- a monthly worker who was absent from work due to holidays, is entitled to his regular monthly salary, as if he had not been absent from his work due to the holiday.
  • An employee who is not a monthly employee (that is, an hourly wage worker, a daily wage or a salary according to output) is entitled to payment for his absence on a holiday day only after three months of work, provided that he worked on the day preceding the holiday and the following day.
    • If the holiday falls on the worker's weekly rest day - the worker is not entitled to payment for the holiday.
    • Fore additional information see Holiday Pay.

Sick Leave

  • A worker is entitled to 1.5 Sick Days for every month that he works (up to 18 days per year), provided he has a written doctors note. You can accumulate up to 90 sick days.
  • Sick Pay:
    • According to the Sick Pay Law, there is no payment for the first sick day.
    • For the second day and the third day absent, the worker is entitled to receive from the employer 50% of the regular salary that he would have been entitled to if he had been at work.
    • For the fourth day onward, the worker is entitled to 100% of the salary he would receive if he worked.
Example
A foreign worker got the flu and the doctor gave him a sick note for 5 days.
  • His employer is not obligated to pay him anything for the first day he misses.
  • His employer pays him 50% of his daily salary for the second and third day that he misses.
  • He receives his full salary for the fourth and fifth days that he misses.

Who is Eligible

How to Claim It?

  • These rights should be given automatically by the employer.
  • In event that there is a violation of the worker's rights, a claim can be filed to the labor court. For an explanation on how to submit the claim see the Justice Ministry website.

Please Note

Aid Organizations

Assistance in Employing Nursing Care Workers

Government Agencies

Court Rulings

Laws and Regulations

Additional Publications

Credits

English translation and maintenance by The Shira Pransky Project.