Israeli Legislation.com
LawLabor Law

Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951

חוק חופשה שנתית, תשי"א-1951

Published: 1951-07-11Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-21 · Last amended 2026-07-20✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-28
Premium
Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter I: Introduction

Interpretation§

1.

In this Law –

"leave" means annual leave to which an employee is entitled under this Law;

"labour inspector" means an inspector, as defined in the Department of Labour Ordinance, 1943;

"wage employee" means an employee whose remuneration for work, in whole or in part, is paid otherwise than on a monthly basis or on a basis of a period longer than one month;

"leave fund" means a leave fund established or authorised by the Minister of Labour under section 18;

"year of work" means a period of twelve months commencing on the first of January of each year.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Chapter II: Leave

Entitlement to Leave§

2.

Every employee is entitled to leave to be granted in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Duration of Leave§

3.
(a)The duration of leave for each year of work with one employer or at one place of work is:
(1)for each of the first 5 years – 16 days;
(2)(Repealed)
(3)for the sixth year – 18 days;
(4)for the seventh year – 21 days;
(5)for the eighth year onwards – one additional day for each year of work up to a leave of 28 days;

but the Minister of Labour may prescribe, by Regulations, longer leave for a particular type of work if the Minister sees a need for it on grounds of the employee's health or the circumstances of the work; in counting days of leave, only one weekly rest day shall be included for every seven days of leave.

(b)Where the legal relationship between the employee and the employer existed throughout the entire year of work, and the employee worked in that year –
(1)at least 200 days – the number of days of leave shall be as stated in subsection (a);
(2)fewer than 200 days – the number of days of leave shall be a proportionate part of the number of days under subsection (a), in the ratio of the number of days actually worked to the number 200; a fraction of a day of leave shall not be counted.
(c)Where the legal relationship between the employee and the employer existed for part of the year of work, and the employee worked within that part of the year –
(1)at least 240 days – the number of days of leave shall be as stated in subsection (a);
(2)fewer than 240 days – the number of days of leave shall be a proportionate part of the number of days under subsection (a), in the ratio of the number of days actually worked to the number 240; a fraction of a day of leave shall not be counted.

Temporary Wage Employee§

4.
(a)Section 3 does not apply to a wage employee who has worked fewer than 75 consecutive days with one employer or at one place of work, whether within one year of work or within two consecutive years of work. Such an employee shall be paid holiday pay in lieu of leave, as specified in Chapter III.
(b)For the purposes of subsection (a), days of work are regarded as consecutive even if there was an interruption in work due to –
(1)reserve service under the Reserve Service Law, 5768-2008;
(2)the weekly rest day or a holiday on which no work is performed, whether by law or by agreement or custom, and also the first of May;
(3)leave under this Law and any leave or recess granted to the employee by law or with the consent of the employer, whether with pay or without pay;
(4)a strike or lockout;
(5)an accident or illness;
(6)days of family mourning on which the employee did not work for reasons of religion or custom;
(7)a temporary cessation without severance of the employment relationship.
(8)training for work service under the Emergency Work Service Law, 5727-1967.

Calculation of Days of Leave§

5.
(a)The following days shall not be counted among the days of leave:
(1)days on which the employee performed reserve service under the Reserve Service Law, 5768-2008;
(2)public holidays on which no work is performed, whether by law or by agreement or custom – excluding weekly rest days;
(3)days of a maternity and parental leave period;
(4)days on which the employee is unable to work due to an accident or illness;
(5)days of family mourning on which the employee does not work for reasons of religion or custom;
(6)days of a strike or lockout;
(7)days of prior notice of dismissal, except insofar as they exceed fourteen days and to the extent of such excess.
(b)Where days referred to in subsection (a) fall within the days of leave, the leave shall be regarded as interrupted for those days, and it shall be completed as far as possible within the same year of work.

Timing of Leave§

6.
(a)Leave shall be granted in the last month of the year of work in respect of which it is granted, or during the following year of work.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an employee is entitled to take one day of leave during the year of work in respect of which it is granted on a date of the employee's choosing, and one additional day on one of the days listed in the Schedule; however, the list of such days shall not derogate from the provisions of section 5, provided that the employee has given the employer at least 30 days' prior notice.
(c)The Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment may, by Order, add to the list of days enumerated in the Schedule.

Accumulation of Leave§

7.
(a)Leave may not be accumulated; however, an employee may, with the consent of the employer, take only at least seven days of leave and carry forward the remainder to leave to be granted in the two following years of work.
(b)The Minister of Labour may, by Regulations, prohibit the accumulation of leave if, in the Minister's opinion, the employee's health or the circumstances in which the work is performed require that all leave be granted to the employee each year.

Continuity of Leave§

8.

Leave shall be continuous, except that with the consent of the employee and the employer and with the approval of the employees' committee at the workplace, if one exists, it may be divided, provided that one part thereof is at least seven days.

Commencement of Leave§

9.
(a)The date of commencement of leave shall be fixed at least fourteen days in advance, and once the date has been fixed, the employer shall record it in the register kept under section 26, if the employer is required to keep such a register.
(b)This section does not apply to parts of leave of fewer than seven days.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Chapter III: Payments

Leave Pay§

10.
(a)The employer is obliged to pay the employee, in respect of days of leave, leave pay in an amount equal to the employee's regular wage.
(b)The regular wage for the purposes of this section is –
(1)in relation to an employee whose remuneration for work, in whole or in part, is paid on a monthly basis or on a basis of a period longer than one month – the wage that the employee would have received for that period had the employee not gone on leave and continued to work;
(2)in relation to a wage employee – the average daily wage multiplied by the number of days of leave; the average daily wage is the amount obtained by dividing the wage for the quarter preceding the leave by ninety; if the said quarter included months of incomplete work, the average daily wage shall be calculated on the basis of the fullest working quarter within the twelve months preceding the leave, all at the employee's election.
(c)Wage for the purposes of subsection (b) means any remuneration, in money or money's worth, paid to the employee by the employer in respect of regular working hours, unless otherwise provided in a collective agreement approved for this purpose by the Minister of Labour; an amount paid to an employee to cover special expenses that do not exist during the leave shall not be regarded as part of the wage.

Time of Payment of Leave Pay§

11.

Leave pay shall be paid not later than the day on which the employee's wage would have been paid had the employee not gone on leave and continued to work; but if the employee goes on leave of at least seven days and demands early payment of the leave pay, it shall be paid not later than two days before the commencement of the leave.

Forfeiture of Entitlement to Leave Pay§

12.

An employee shall not work for wages during the days of leave, and if the employee worked regularly for wages, the employee forfeits entitlement to leave pay; and if it has already been paid, the employer may deduct it from the wage to be paid to the employee, or recover it in any manner in which a civil debt is recovered.

Redemption of Leave§

13.

Where an employee ceases to work before being granted the leave due to the employee up to the day on which the employee ceased to work, the employer shall pay leave redemption in an amount equal to the leave pay that would have been paid to the employee had the employee gone on leave on the day on which the employee ceased to work.

Calculation of Regular Wage; Disputes Regarding Payments§

14.
(a)The Minister of Labour may prescribe, by Regulations, supplementary provisions regarding the calculation of the regular wage for the purposes of section 10.
(b)Where disputes arise regarding the manner of calculation of leave pay, or of leave redemption, or in connection with section 12, a regional court within the meaning of the Labour Court Law, 5729-1969 shall determine the matter.

Payment of Holiday Pay in Lieu of Leave§

15.
(a)A wage employee who works with one employer or at one place of work for at least one day but fewer than 75 consecutive days as referred to in section 4, whether within one year of work or within two consecutive years of work, and between whom and the employer there is no written contract of employment for a consecutive period exceeding 74 days – the employer shall pay holiday pay in lieu of leave of at least 4% of the wage.
(b)The holiday pay in lieu of leave shall be paid to the leave fund of the branch of work in which the employee worked, or in any other manner prescribed by Regulations.
(c)Where the holiday pay in lieu of leave is to be paid to the leave fund, the employer is obliged to pay it at the beginning of the month following the month of work, based on the wage paid in the preceding month to employees referred to in subsection (a); if the employee continues to work with the same employer or at the same place of work for more than 74 consecutive days, the employer shall pay the employee leave pay, or leave redemption, as the case may be, and the leave fund shall refund to the employer, upon request, the amounts transferred to it in respect of that employee; the Minister of Labour may prescribe by Regulations the times and arrangements for the refund of amounts by the leave fund, as aforesaid.
(d)Holiday pay in lieu of leave paid to a leave fund shall be delivered to the employee in accordance with the provisions of the fund's regulations, and holiday pay in lieu of leave paid in any other manner shall be delivered to the employee in the manner to be prescribed by Regulations.
(e)A leave fund may – with the consent of the employees to be given in a collective agreement, a contract of employment or in such other manner as shall be prescribed – enter into an agreement with the employer regarding the payment of leave pay to the fund also in respect of employees who worked with the employer for more than 75 days.

Right to Claim Holiday Pay in Lieu of Leave§

16.

Holiday pay in lieu of leave that an employer is obliged to pay shall be regarded as a debt owed by the employer to the leave fund or to whomsoever it is to be paid in accordance with the Regulations.

Status of Payments§

17.

Leave pay, leave redemption and holiday pay in lieu of leave shall, for all purposes, have the same status as wages.

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →

Chapter IV: Leave Funds

Establishment or Authorisation§

18.
(a)The Minister of Labour may establish a leave fund, and may also authorise a leave fund on such conditions as the Minister sees fit, if satisfied that it provides sufficient guarantee for the effective use of the holiday pay in lieu of leave for rest and recuperation.
(b)The Minister of Labour shall not establish or authorise more than one leave fund for a single branch of work.
(c)The leave fund shall be administered by the employees as shall be prescribed by Regulations.

Supervision§

19.

A leave fund shall be subject to the supervision of the Minister of Labour, in accordance with the Regulations.

Incorporated Body§

20.

A leave fund is an incorporated body and may enter into contracts and be a party to any legal proceedings and to any other negotiations.

The Regulations§

21.

The Minister of Labour shall prescribe model regulations for leave funds and those regulations, with such amendments as he approves, shall constitute the regulations of a leave fund, and the fund shall operate in accordance therewith; the model regulations shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Modes of Operation§

22.

The Minister of Labour may, by Regulations, prescribe provisions regarding the manner of establishing a leave fund, its mode of operation, the keeping of its accounts, the submission and publication of reports, the methods of supervision over it, and the manner of investing funds and the use of surpluses for rest and recuperation, as well as regarding the establishment of audit committees, their composition and their modes of operation.

Cancellation of Authorisation or Winding Up§

23.
(a)The Minister of Labour may cancel the authorisation of a leave fund, or wind up a leave fund established by him, in any one of the following three cases:
(1)the fund does not fulfil the conditions prescribed for its authorisation;
(2)the fund does not comply with Regulations made under this Law;
(3)the cancellation or winding up is desirable, in the opinion of the Minister of Labour, for the benefit of the persons to whom leave pay is paid.
(b)Where the Minister of Labour has cancelled the authorisation of a leave fund or wound up a leave fund, he shall notify by Order to whom and on what conditions the funds of the fund shall pass. Upon the making of the Order, the funds of the fund shall be conveyed to the person to whom they have been transferred under the Order, and no other person shall have control over them.

Publication of Notices§

24.

Notice of the establishment or authorisation of a leave fund, and likewise notice of the winding up of a leave fund or of the cancellation of its authorisation, shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Registrar of Leave Funds§

25.
(a)The Minister of Labour shall appoint a person to be Registrar of leave funds; notice of the appointment shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(b)The Minister of Labour may transfer to the Registrar of leave funds the powers vested in him under this Chapter, except for the powers to make Regulations, to wind up a leave fund or to cancel its authorisation; notice of the transfer of powers shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).

Need to cite this law in a foreign court?

Eli Shimony Israeli Attorneys-at-Law provides certified Expert Legal Opinions on Israeli law within 24–48 hours, accepted by courts worldwide.

Contact Us →
←12 →

Page 1 of 2

Read the entire law on one page — continuous text, no page breaks, plus PDF downloads.

LawLabor Law

חוק חופשה שנתית, תשי"א-1951

annual leave law

chufa shana law

vacation law israel

paid leave law

workers annual leave

leave entitlement law

holiday law israel

employee leave rights