In light of the continuation of Operation “AM KALAVI” and its implications, attached is an executive summary of urgent matters faced by employers, prepared by the Labor Law Department at Shibolet & Co.
Essential Workplaces
There are three categories of essential workplaces:
- Essential Plant – A plant, or part thereof, that has received approval from the Ministry of Labor that it operates or can be operated for the purposes of national defense, public safety, or the provision of essential supplies/services.
- Plant for Providing Essential Services – A plant, or part thereof, that has received approval from the Ministry of Labor that it provides essential services, which are one of the following: (1) Supply of water, food, or electricity, as well as the provision of hospitalization and health, sanitation, communications, or postal services; (2) A service that must be provided to prevent serious harm to the population or the area subject to the declaration of a special situation in the home front; (3) A service that the Minister deems essential for the provision of supplies or care for the population; or (4) A plant, or part thereof, that provides essential services whose cessation, in the Minister’s opinion, may, under the circumstances, cause significant harm to the economy affecting the entire economy.
- Essential Industry – Unlike the first two alternatives, where it is easy to understand whether they fall into those categories, as an essential plant and/or an essential service plant holds such approval from the routine period, regarding the third alternative – essential industry – there is less clarity
On June 15, 2025, the Ministry of Economy issued a press release clarifying that essential industry includes all production factors, resources, services, products, materials, supplies, and actions essential for the existence of the population, the war effort, and the state’s economy, even if they do not fall under the definition of “essential plant.”
On June 21, 2025, a document by the National Emergency Authority was published, coordinated with the central government ministries regarding the economy in an emergency, clarifying the definition of “essential industry.” The document includes a list of sectors permitted to work, emphasizing that their activity will be carried out in accordance with the updated Home Front Command’s defense guidelines, defined as of this date as “essential activity,” to create a uniform language with the public and employers in various sectors and to enable the proper functioning of the essential industry in an emergency. The updated Home Front Command policy as of June 23, 2025, at 8:00 AM is attached here.
The list of sectors includes: Energy, Communications, Financial Sector, Banking, Taxes, Agriculture, Transportation, Food, Beverages, Toiletries, Cleaning and Cosmetics, Welfare, Immigration and Absorption, Holocaust Survivors’ Rights, National Insurance, Local Authorities, Construction and Housing, Healthcare Services, Optics, Pharma, Environmental Protection, Social Equality, Religious and Burial Services, Population Authority, Support and Miscellaneous Services.
Under the “Miscellaneous” sector, the following are included:
- Building maintenance services, including safety, elevators, plumbing, electricity, cleaning, and sanitation;
- Provision of services and products in the following areas: Technology, Communications, Cyber Defense and Information Security, Computing, and in particular support services, maintenance, database maintenance, digital and development, provided that they cannot be performed remotely;
- Security and guarding;
- Telephone call centers;
- Support services for salary calculation, processing, and payment;
- Accredited laboratories under the Standards Law, 5713-1953;
- Inspectors certified under the National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites Law, 5758-1998;
- Research laboratories that require physical presence;
- Provision of installation and repair services for security and low-voltage systems;
- Preferred enterprise as defined in Section 51 of the Encouragement of Capital Investments Law, 5719-1959.
The complete file is attached.
Each employer must examine whether they belong to one of the sectors and the general definitions in the document.
Special Provisions Related to the Employment of Workers in a State of Emergency (Essential Plant and Plant for Providing Essential Services Only)
When Chapter D of the law applies, the following provisions apply by virtue of the law:
- Every essential plant and/or plant for providing essential services submits in advance to the Ministry of Labor a list of its essential employees whom it is required to employ to maintain the plant, in order to maintain the continuity of the essential industry.
- Upon the application of Chapter D of the law, the plant can require its essential employees (who appear on the list of essential employees submitted to the Ministry of Labor as mentioned) to report for work. Employees who do not report for work can be issued a “Work Service Order,” which will effectively bind them to work. Failure to report for work is ostensibly a criminal offense.
- The law defines which employees can be bound (internal and external recruits) and which employees are exempt and cannot be required to report for work. In addition, there is a reference to how to obtain an exemption from reporting.
- The law further specifies which laws do not apply to the employment of a recruit during the period a Work Service Order has been issued. Among other things, most of the provisions of the Hours of Work and Rest Law will not apply to their employment (so there is no restriction on overtime work, but work on the weekly rest day is permitted only with a permit).
Employment Options in a State of Emergency for Workers Who Are Not in an Essential Plant or a Plant for Providing Essential Services (Including Essential Industry)
During the period from Wednesday at 6:00 PM until June 22, 2025, at 2:50 AM, workplaces were allowed to operate, provided they had a standard shelter. On the other hand, parents are required to supervise their children since educational institutions are closed, and many employees were afraid to come to work.
Starting from June 22, 2025, at 3:00 AM and as of this time until June 23, 2025, at 8:00 AM, we have returned to the initial situation that prevailed in the first days of the war – a ban on gatherings throughout the country, operation of essential/vital workplaces only, while educational institutions remain closed.
Questions that arose:
- Is an employee who is a parent of a child up to the age of 14 or a child with special needs up to the age of 21 exempt from reporting for work? No, there is no exemption regarding the obligation to come to work.
- Is someone who lives far away and is afraid to come to work exempt from coming to work when the workplace is open? No, the Home Front Command does not address the distance of the workplace from home.
- Is it possible to dismiss someone who refuses to come to work when the workplace is open because they are caring for a child? No. The Employee Protection Law protects the dismissal of an employee who did not report for work or did not perform work due to Home Front Command instructions (including due to the closure of educational institutions for children up to the age of 14 or with special needs up to the age of 21, subject to several conditions – the child is in sole custody, the spouse is self-employed and did not miss work or a parallel occupation, or was unable to care for the child, there is no adequate childcare arrangement at the employee’s or spouse’s workplace).
- Is there an obligation to pay wages and benefits to employees who do not perform work due to the security situation? No, as of today, there is no obligation to pay wages.
- In previous wars, arrangements were reached that determined compensation for employees who did not work due to Home Front Command instructions retroactively (sometimes several months after the qualifying period ended).
- In Operation “Guardian of the Walls,” a wage arrangement was established that enabled retroactive compensation and, at the same time, partial reimbursement for employers from the National Insurance Institute. The agreement also established mechanisms for returning vacation days to those who were paid for this period as “vacation days” and for providing compensation to those whose absence period was defined as unpaid leave.
- What about employees stuck abroad? The inability to arrive in Israel and the closure of Ben Gurion Airport may be considered a “frustration” of the employment contract, and if considered as such, there is no obligation to pay wages. It is recommended in any case, as much as possible, to act according to the solutions offered here (especially for those on a business trip).
Possible Solutions
- Allowing remote work/full or partial – The Ministry of Labor’s recommendation is to allow working from home as much as possible. It is the employer’s prerogative to decide whether to allow working from home, with each such decision made in good faith and taking into account the employee’s needs versus the employer’s needs.
- Putting employees on leave – It is possible to impose forced leave without prior notice of up to 7 calendar days (for those with an accumulated balance). With consent – it is possible to take a longer leave or enter a negative balance (it is recommended to arrange this in writing).
Advantage – The employee receives regular ongoing payment and remains committed to the workplace (whereas if they were not put on leave, they would not be entitled to wages at this stage). There is no need to obtain approval for leave of up to 7 days. In addition, in previous arrangements, vacation days deducted were returned retroactively (instead of providing retroactive compensation).
Disadvantages – An employer with cash flow difficulties continues to pay as usual without receiving work output. In addition, this is a full salary payment, while under the agreements determined retroactively, there was a ceiling on the compensation given retroactively to employees (relevant mainly to very high earners).
If the situation continues for a long time – the consent of the employees will be required to continue to be on leave. - Unpaid leave: Requires the employee’s consent and is subject to the legal limitations on unpaid leave (pregnancy, fertility treatments, reserve duty, spouses of reserve soldiers).
Advantage – Eases cash flow for employers.
Disadvantages – May lead to the disappearance of employees, employees are left without income during a period of economic uncertainty (at this stage, no relief for receiving unemployment benefits during unpaid leave has been determined, as was determined in previous emergency operations, which included shortening the qualifying period to 6 months, shortening the minimum unpaid leave period to 14 days instead of 30, and eliminating the need to use vacation days beforehand).
In addition, unpaid leave requires consent, and there are protected populations that cannot be put on unpaid leave without prior permission (pregnancy, 60 days after maternity leave, fertility treatments, reserve duty). - Additional options for providing benefits to employees – Providing advances, granting vacation days at the employer’s expense, providing a solution for childcare (as long as it is permitted to operate informal frameworks according to Home Front Command guidelines and subject to gathering restrictions).
- It is recommended to classify in the payroll system the days of absence as “leave due to the security situation” and “unpaid leave due to the security situation” so that there is an ability to classify the reason for absence retroactively.
Protection Against Dismissal and Other Restrictions in Force
- It is forbidden to dismiss an employee for failure to perform work or failure to report for work due to Home Front Command instructions given during a declared state of emergency in the home front.
- It is forbidden to dismiss an employee for absence to care for a child up to the age of 14 (or 21 if they have special needs) when the educational framework is closed.
- It is forbidden for an actual employer to cause the dismissal of a manpower contractor’s employee due to justified absence.
- Protections for reservists and their spouses – Prohibition of dismissal of a reservist during reserve duty and 30 or 60 days thereafter (as the case may be).
- Prohibition of dismissal of a spouse of a reservist during reserve duty and 14 days thereafter (subject to conditions).
- Prohibition of harming the income or scope of employment of a reservist.
- Restrictions on placing reservists and their spouses on unpaid leave.
We at Shibolet & Co. would be happy to assist you with any questions LaborLaw@shibolet.com.
