Starting today, June 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM, an adjusted civil defense policy set by the Home Front Command will take effect. The updated policy introduces some relief measures to maintain continuity in workplaces and essential services as much as possible, based on the principle of “near a standard protected space during an alert” or “inside a standard protected space.”
The updated policy instructions are attached.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
17.6.2025
General permit for extended working hours applying to most industries (excluding employers subject to an extension order in the construction, infrastructure, heavy equipment, public works, and renovations sectors)
In summary, the permit allows for the employment of workers, with their consent, up to 14 hours per day, up to 67 hours per week (including overtime), provided that the number of monthly overtime hours does not exceed 90. The permit is valid until June 30, 2025, or until the end of the declaration of a special situation in the home front, whichever comes first.
16.6.2025
Executive Summary: Webinar – “AM KALAVI: Employers Coping with the Return to Emergency”
In light of the commencement of Operation “Am KaLavi” and its implications for the workplace, Shibolet’s Labor Law Department held a webinar on June 16th,2025, to address urgent issues concerning employers.
The main topics discussed in the webinar:
1. Declaration of state of emergency and its implications
2. Essential workplaces that can operate during a state of emergency
3. Special provisions related to employment during the state of emergency
4. Employment options during the state of emergency
5. Payment of wages and employee rights
6. Restrictions on dismissals and other applicable limitations
Below are the key points of the main topics:
1. Declaration of State of Emergency and Its Implications
1.1. Declaration of Special Situation in the Home Front – On June 13th, 2025, with the commencement of Operation “Am KaLavi,” the Minister of Defense declared a “Special Situation in the Home Front” throughout the entire country. The declaration was extended by a government decision until June 30th , 2025, and will likely be extended again if the security situation continues.
1.2. Concurrently with the declaration, the Minister of Labor issued an order implementing the provisions of Chapter D of the Emergency Labor Service Law, 5727-1967 (hereinafter: the “Law”), throughout the entire country due to concerns about disruption in the supply of essential services to the population.
1.3. The implementation of Chapter D of the Law means that workplaces defined as “Essential Enterprise” or “Enterprises providing Vital Services” are permitted to operate during an emergency and can even require their essential employees to report to work in accordance with special provisions applicable during an emergency period.
1.4. Home Front Command Guidelines– Given the guidelines in effect as of June 17th, 2025, at 18:00, gatherings were prohibited throughout the country. Restrictions were imposed on the operation of workplaces – only essential workplaces are permitted to operate, and only to maintain necessary activities and in accordance with the defense policy established by the Home Front Command.
Effective as of June 18th , 2025, at 18:00 hours through June 20, 2025, at 20:00, the Home Front Command shall implement new directives permitting gatherings throughout the national territory, subject to the following limitations: (i) in proximity to national borders, gatherings shall be restricted to a maximum of one hundred (100) persons within enclosed structures and fifty (50) persons in open areas; (ii) in all other regions, gatherings shall be limited to a maximum of thirty (30) persons, whether in enclosed structures or open areas. All such gatherings shall be permitted solely on the conditionthat participants have access to designated protective shelters in accordance with defense protocols. Furthermore, workplaces may resume operations provided that standard protective shelters are accessible within the prescribed defense response time.
1.5. Non-essential workplaces are prohibited from conducting normal operations. Employers shall retain discretionary authority to implement remote work arrangements (precluding physical attendance at offices or manufacturing facilities) in accordance with the operational requirements and nature of their respective workplaces.
1.6. For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby clarified that in accordance with the developments in the combat situation and the situational assessments conducted by the responsible authorities, it is possible that in the coming days, the Home Front Command’s guidelines may change, providing relief with respect to the operation of workplaces.
2. Essential Workplaces That Can Operate During the State of Emergency
There are three categories of essential workplaces:
2.1. Essential Enterprise – An enterprise or part thereof that has received approval from the Ministry of Labor that it operates or can be operated for state defense, public security, or maintaining essential supplies/services.
2.2. Enterprise Providing Vital Services – An enterprise or part thereof that has received approval from the Ministry of Labor that it provides vital services, which are one of the following: (1) supply of water, food, or electricity, as well as hospitalization and health services, sanitation, communications, or postal services; (2) services that must be provided to prevent serious harm to the population or in an area where a special situation in the home front has been declared; (3) services that, in the Minister’s opinion, are essential for maintaining supply or caring for the population; or (4) an enterprise or part thereof that provides vital services whose discontinuation, in the Minister’s opinion, could, under the circumstances, cause significant economic damage affecting the entire economy
2.3. Essential Economy – Unlike the first two categories, which are easy to identify because enterprises that are Essential Enterprises and/or Vital Service Enterprises hold the relevant approval from normal times, regarding the third category – Essential Economy – there is less clarity.
On June 15th, 2025, the Ministry of Economy issued a press release clarifying that Essential Economy includes all production factors, resources, services, products, materials, supplies, and activities essential for the population’s existence, the war effort, and the state’s economy, even if they do not fall under the definition of “Essential Enterprise.”
Unlike during COVID-19, when regulations were enacted (retrospectively) explicitly defining which sectors could operate as part of the essential economy, in this case, as of today, there are no specific regulations clarifying who meets the definition of Essential Economy in these circumstances of combat.
According to the Ministry of Labor’s position, no permit or approval is required for an employer to meet the definition of Essential Economy, which is self-determined. Of course, the burden of proof will be on the employer to demonstrate that their occupation is considered essential.
Letters were issued by the Manufacturers Association of Israel and the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce to various employers, clarifying that these organizations consider the employers as belonging to the essential economy, including, inter alia, in the fields of export, customs brokerage, and insurance. Following the webinar, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security published a public notice stating that the Ministry, after consultation with the National Emergency Management Authority and the Home Front Command, will define the essential activities within its area of responsibility, and the notice detailed 25 areas of activity.
3. Special Provisions Related to Employment During the State of Emergency
3.1. When Chapter D of the Law applies, the following provisions apply by virtue of the Law:
3.1.1. Every Essential Enterprise and/or Enterprise Providing Vital Services submits in advance to the Ministry of Labor a list of its essential employees whom it needs to employ to maintain the enterprise, to preserve the continuity of the essential economy.
3.1.2. With the implementation of Chapter D of the Law, the enterprise can require its essential employees (who appear on the list of essential employees submitted to the Ministry of Labor as mentioned) to report to work. Employees who do not report to work may be issued a “Work Service Order” that will effectively bind them to work. Failure to report to work is allegedly a criminal offense.
3.1.3. The Law defines which employees can be bound (internal and external recruits) and which are exempt and cannot be required to report to work. Additionally, there is a reference to how exemptions from reporting can be obtained.
3.1.4. The Law also specifies which laws do not apply to the employment of a person recruited for work when a Work Service Order has been issued. Among other things, most provisions of the Hours of Work and Rest Law do not apply to their employment (so there is no limitation on overtime work, but employment during the weekly rest is permitted only with authorization.
3.2. A General Permit for Overtime Employment in the Transportation Sector has been published, allowing the employment of certain workers, with their consent, for up to 15 hours per day and up to 90 hours per week (including overtime). The permit is valid until June 22nd, 2025, or until the expiration of the declaration of a special situation on the home front, whichever comes first.
3.3. It should be noted that after the webinar, a General Permit for Employing Workers in Overtime Hours Applicable to Most of the Economy was published, except for employers subject to the extension order in the construction, infrastructure, mechanical equipment, public works, and renovation sectors. In summary, the permit allows workers, with their consent, to work for up to 14 hours per day, up to 67 hours per week (including overtime), provided that the monthly number of overtime hours does not exceed 90. The permit is valid until June 30th , 2025, or until the expiration of the declaration of a special situation in the home front, whichever comes first.
4. Employment Options During the State of Emergency
4.1. Essential Enterprises and/or Enterprises Providing Vital Services can, as mentioned, require their essential employees to report to work.
4.2. A Vital Enterprise cannot require employees to report to work. Still, it can allow them to report to work if two conditions are met: (1) employment of the minimum number of employees required to enable the provision of essential services to the Essential Enterprise or Enterprise Providing Vital Services, and (2) the employment is conducted in accordance with the Home Front Command’s defense policy.
4.3. Any other employer that is not essential can decide whether to allow work from home, according to work needs and at their discretion. Only employees who work from home will be entitled to regular wages for performing their work. Those who do not work will not be entitled to wages.
There was discussion about the need to act in good faith toward employees and to show sensitivity and understanding of the employees’ situation during these days regarding the possibility of working from home (at all or partially), among other things, due to the need to supervise children while educational institutions are closed, anxiety, lack of sleep, etc.
An employee cannot be forced to work from home.
4.4. Alternatives for employees who cannot work remotely:
4.4.1. Paid leave: Accrued vacation days are used at the employee’s request. Or, at the employer’s initiative – provided the employee has accrued vacation days. This is for a period of up to 7 consecutive days. Taking leave for a longer period requires agreement or 14 days’ advance notice.
4.4.2. Unpaid leave: Requires the employee’s consent and is subject to legal restrictions on placing employees on unpaid leave (pregnancy, fertility treatments, military reserve duty, spouses of those serving in reserve duty).
4.4.3. It is recommended that absence days in the payroll system be classified as “leave due to security situation” and “unpaid leave due to security situation.”
5. Payment of Wages and Employee Rights
5.1. In a previous arrangement reached during the “Swords of Iron” war regarding employees who fell into wage-entitling categories, it was determined that an employee who took leave during the security situation and received vacation pay was considered as wages due to them. The number of vacation days used during that period will be added to the employee’s accrued vacation days.
5.2. In the same arrangement, it was determined that an employee who was placed on unpaid leave but would have been entitled to wages during the security situation had they not been on unpaid leave is entitled to wages for that period.
5.3. It is possible that the temporary situations of unpaid leave and vacation arrangements will also be regulated for absences during the “Am KaLavi” period.
5.4. Principles of the wage payment arrangement for employees who were absent from work due to qualifying absence during “Swords of Iron,” during the period that entitled them to wages, were presented. These principles were also adopted in previous wage arrangements related to security operations in recent years, and there is a likelihood that they will be adopted soon regarding employee absences during these days. Summary of the principles:
5.4.1. The arrangement does not apply to essential employees.
5.4.2. Only an employee who was unable to come to work or perform their work due to Home Front Command guidelines (gatherings, going to a protected space, supervising a child, etc.) is entitled to wages.
5.4.3. The payment is of regular gross salary, without additions (such as one-time payments, holiday gifts, bonuses, overtime), but includes social contributions.
5.4.4. A daily ceiling for “daily work wages” was set (in “Swords of Iron,” approximately NIS 1,510 per day).
5.4.5. The obligation to pay wages also applies to manpower contractors and service contractors in accordance with the actual workplace of their employees.
6. Protections Against Dismissals and Other Applicable Limitations
6.1. It is prohibited to dismiss an employee due to non-performance of work or non-reporting to work because of Home Front Command instructions given during a declared special situation in the home front.
6.2. It is prohibited to dismiss an employee due to absence for the purpose of supervising a child up to the age of 14 (or 21 if they have special needs) when the educational framework is closed.
6.3. It is prohibited for an actual employer to cause the dismissal of a manpower contractor employee due to justified absence.
6.4. Protections for reserve duty personnel and their spouses – prohibition on dismissing a person serving in reserve duty during the reserve duty and for 30 or 60 days afterward (depending on the case)
6.5. Prohibition on dismissing a spouse of a person serving in reserve duty during the reserve duty and for 14 days afterward (subject to conditions).
6.6. Prohibition on harming the income or scope of employment of a person serving in reserve duty.
6.7. Restrictions on placing reserve duty personnel and their spouses on unpaid leave.
