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LawLabor Law

Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958

חוק הגנת השכר, תשי"ח-1958

Published: 1958-03-20Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2025-11-07 · Last amended 2023-06-06✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-08
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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

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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.

Definitions§

1.

In this Law –

"wage" – including payments for holidays, work productivity and overtime, and other payments due to an employee by reason of and during his employment;

"withheld wage" – a wage that has not been paid by the determining date;

"provident fund" – a health fund, a benefits fund, a pension or insurance fund, or a similar fund or treasury of which the employee is a member, or a provident fund within the meaning of section 47 of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version] to which the employer and the employee, or the employer alone, are obliged to pay by virtue of a collective agreement or an extension order, or by virtue of an employment contract or other agreement between the employee and the employer to which the provident fund has given its consent, and also a provident fund as aforesaid whose purpose is the insurance of the employee and his survivors to which the employee alone is obliged to pay by virtue of a collective agreement or an extension order, or a corporation whose payment the Minister of Labour has approved for the purposes of section 14 of the Severance Pay Law, 5723-1963.

"the determining date" – the ninth day after the due date for payment of the wage or allowance pursuant to sections 9, 10, 11, 13, 14 and 16(b), as the case may be, and in respect of a community service employee performing household work pursuant to Section B-1 of Chapter VI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 – the twenty-first day after the said due date;

"linkage differentials", in respect of any period – linkage differentials to the Consumer Price Index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the rate of the rise of the index from the index last published before the commencement of the period to the index last published before the end of the period.

"postal bank" – the company, in providing the financial services on behalf of the subsidiary, or the subsidiary, in providing the financial services, in accordance with the provisions of the Postal Law; in this definition, "the company" and "the financial services" as defined in that Law, and "the subsidiary" as defined in section 88k of that Law;

"holder of a licence to provide deposit and credit services" – as defined in the Supervision of Financial Services Law (Regulated Financial Services), 5776-2016;

"holder of a stable payment services provider licence" – as defined in section 36i of the Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981;

"payment company" – as defined in the Regulation of Engagement in Payment Services and Payment Initiation Law, 5783-2023;

"banking corporation" – as defined in the Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981.

Obligation to Pay in Cash§

2.
(a)A wage shall be paid in cash, but it may be paid by cheque or postal order if that method of payment has been established in a collective agreement or in an employment contract or if the employee has agreed to it in another manner, provided that the employee is able to obtain payment of the cheque or the postal order from the drawee at the times fixed in sections 9 to 14, all as the case may be; nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the prohibitions prescribed in sections 2 and 4 of the Law for the Reduction of the Use of Cash, 5778-2018.
(b)If the cheque or the postal order was presented for payment within two months after its delivery to the employee and was not paid, the employer's contention that payment could have been obtained at an earlier or later time shall not be heard.

Payment in Kind§

3.

It is permissible, with the employee's consent, to pay part of a wage in food and beverages intended for consumption at the place of work, excluding intoxicating beverages, or in accommodation, if that method of payment has been established in a collective agreement or in an employment contract or if it is an accepted practice in the conditions of employment, provided that the value attributed to all such items does not exceed the market rate.

Prohibition of Restrictions§

4.
(a)An employer shall not oblige his employee to purchase goods from him or from a person connected with him or with his enterprise, or to make use of their services, and an employer shall not in any other manner restrict the right of an employee to use his wage.
(b)In a place of work where the employee cannot obtain goods or receive services that he needs, and the employer has supplied them himself or through a person connected with him or with his enterprise, such goods or services shall be supplied to the employee at a fair price without profit; and if they were supplied with the employer's knowledge by an outside person – they shall be supplied at a fair price. The price at which goods and services as aforesaid are to be supplied requires the agreement of the workers' committee at the enterprise, and in the event of a dispute, the price shall be fixed by a person authorised thereto by the Minister of Labour.

Prohibition of Inclusive Wage§

5.

Where an employee is subject to the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951, and a wage has been set for that employee that includes payment for overtime or a rest-day premium as referred to in the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951, or that includes annual leave pay, annual leave compensation or annual leave redemption as referred to in the Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951 – the wage so set shall be regarded as an ordinary wage only, unless otherwise provided in a collective agreement in respect of payment for overtime or a rest-day premium and the agreement has been approved for that purpose by the Minister of Labour.

Method of Payment of Wage§

6.
(a)A wage shall be paid directly into the hands of the employee, but it may be paid to him, pursuant to his written instruction, through his spouse, parent, child, workmate, the kibbutz of which the employee is a member, a banking corporation, a postal bank, a payment company, a holder of a licence to provide deposit and credit services or a holder of a stable payment services provider licence, an employment bureau established pursuant to section 23 of the Employment Service Law, 5719-1959, or any corporation approved for this purpose by the Minister of Labour with the consent of the largest workers' organisation and with the approval of the Labour Committee of the Knesset.
(b)A wage for a community service employee performing household work pursuant to Section B-1 of Chapter VI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977, shall be paid through the Prison Service or through the Employment Service.

Wage of a Deceased Employee§

7.

If an employee died before the wage due to him was paid, the wage shall be paid, notwithstanding the provisions of the law of inheritance, to the person designated by the employee for this purpose; if no designation was made – it shall be paid to his spouse, and if he has no spouse – to his heir.

Attachment, Transfer and Charge§

8.
(a)From the monthly wage, the amount equal to the benefit at the rate specified in column C of the Second Schedule to the Income Support Law, 5741-1981, that would have been paid in the month preceding the payment of the wage to that employee according to his family composition had he been entitled to such a benefit, shall not be subject to attachment, transfer or charge (security interest); if the said amount exceeds 80% of the monthly wage, the amount not subject to attachment, transfer or charge (security interest) shall be reduced to 80% of the monthly wage; for this purpose, "the monthly wage" means the monthly wage remaining after deduction of a payment that the employer is required to deduct from the wage pursuant to a legislative provision.
(a1)If the wage is paid on a daily basis, the amount from the daily wage that is not subject to attachment, transfer or charge (security interest) shall be one twenty-fifth of the amount referred to in subsection (a).
(b)Subsection (a) does not apply to attachment, transfer or charge (security interest) for the purpose of paying maintenance.
(c)Where the wage is paid other than on a monthly or daily basis, the Minister of Labour may prescribe in Regulations provisions concerning the portion of the wage that is not subject to attachment, transfer or charge (security interest).
(d)(Repealed)
(e)An allowance paid by an employer or a provident fund shall be regarded as a wage for the purposes of this section; this provision shall not derogate from the protection against attachment, transfer or charge (security interest) afforded to such an allowance by a legislative provision.
(f)The restrictions in this section also apply to a wage held by an employment bureau, the Prison Service or a corporation as referred to in section 6, through which payment to an employee is made, but they may deduct any amount advanced to the employee on account of the wage; where the wage is paid through a banking corporation, a postal bank, a payment company, a holder of a licence to provide deposit and credit services or a holder of a stable payment services provider licence, the restrictions in this section shall apply to the wage held by them for a period of one month from the day on which it was paid to them.
(g)A provision in a legislative provision that contradicts a provision of this section shall not be applied.

Due Date for Payment of Monthly Wage§

9.

A wage paid on a monthly basis shall be paid upon the expiry of the month in respect of which it is paid; in the case of a wage paid on a basis of a period longer than a month, the proportional part attributable to each month shall be regarded as if it were paid on a monthly basis.

Due Date for Payment of a Non-Monthly Wage§

10.

A wage paid on the basis of an hour, day, week or by quantity of output shall be paid, if no other date has been set in a collective agreement or in an employment contract, at the end of the first half of the month in which the employee was employed; however, in respect of an employee whose wage is paid on such a basis but who was employed throughout the entire said month, section 9 shall apply if advance payments were made to him during the month in accordance with what is prescribed in a collective agreement or in an employment contract.

Due Date for Payment of Piece-Rate Wage§

11.

A wage paid for the performance of a specific task whose performance extends over more than fourteen days shall be paid on the day of completion of the task if advance payments were made during the performance of the task in accordance with what is prescribed in a collective agreement or in an employment contract; if no such advance payments were made, the wage shall be regarded as if it were paid by quantity of output.

Due Date for Payment of Wage of a Person Who Has Ceased to Be Employed§

12.

If an employee has ceased to be employed by his employer, his wage shall be paid at the time at which it would have been paid pursuant to sections 9, 10 or 11 had he continued to work.

Special Due Dates for Payment of Wage§

13.

The Minister of Labour may, with the approval of the Labour Committee of the Knesset, prescribe a due date for the payment of a wage for which no due date has been set in sections 9 to 12.

Increase of Wage§

14.
(a)If it was agreed in a collective agreement or between the employee and the employer to increase the wage for a past period or to add a supplement to the wage as aforesaid, and no agreement was reached on the due date for payment of the differences owing to the employee for that period pursuant to the agreement, the differences shall be paid at the next due date for payment of the wage, but the regional court within the meaning of the Labour Court Law, 5729-1969 may, upon the employer's application submitted to it before that date, and after hearing the employee, set another due date for their payment or prescribe that they be paid in instalments.
(b)If it was agreed in a collective agreement, or in a written agreement between a workers' organisation and employers even if it is not a collective agreement, to increase the wage for a future period, the payment of the wage supplement may be deferred to dates to be set in such an agreement, provided that it is not deferred to a date later than six months after the day on which the wage would have been paid had it not been deferred.

Place and Hours of Payment of Wage§

15.

The wage shall be paid to the employee at the place of work and no later than two hours after the end of work; but an employee on a second or third shift, and also a person who has ceased to be employed, may be paid the wage at the hours at which the wage is paid to the other employees. A wage shall not be paid at a place where intoxicating beverages are sold, except to employees at that place.

Allowance and Compensation for Late Payment of Allowance§

16.
(a)In this section –

"retirement allowance" – periodic payments made to an employee by an employer or a provident fund, after the complete or partial retirement of the employee from his employment, other than on account of disability or illness;

"disability allowance" – periodic payments made to an employee by an employer or a provident fund, after the complete or partial retirement of the employee from his employment, on account of disability or illness;

"survivors' allowance" – periodic payments made by an employer or a provident fund to a survivor of an employee or to a survivor of a person who was an employee and retired from his employment;

"allowance" – a retirement allowance, a disability allowance or a survivors' allowance;

"withheld allowance" – an allowance that has not been paid by the determining date.

(b)A monthly allowance shall be paid upon the expiry of the month in respect of which it is paid, and if it is paid in respect of another period – upon the expiry of that period.
(c)To a withheld allowance there shall be added compensation for late payment of the allowance, which shall be calculated in the manner in which compensation for late payment of a wage is calculated pursuant to section 17, with the necessary modifications.
(c1)Compensation for late payment of an allowance shall, for all purposes other than subsection (c), form part of the allowance.
(d)The provisions of sections 14, 17a and 18 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to an allowance as if it were a wage, and wherever in those sections reference is made to an employer, it shall be regarded as if reference were made to the person liable to pay the allowance.
(e)The provisions of section 20(d) shall also apply to the payment of compensation for late payment of an allowance as if it were compensation for late payment of severance pay.

First Payment of an Allowance§

16a.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 16, an allowance shall not be regarded as withheld –
(1)in respect of a retirement allowance paid by an employer to an employee who retired from his employment where the retirement was at the employee's initiative – until the end of the month following the month in which one hundred and eighty days from the day the employee gave notice to the employer of the retirement were completed;
(2)in respect of a retirement allowance paid by an employer to an employee who retired from his employment where the retirement was not at the employee's initiative – until the end of the month following the month in which sixty days from the day of retirement were completed;
(3)in respect of a retirement allowance paid by a provident fund to an employee who retired from his employment – until the end of the month following the month in which one hundred and eighty days from the day the employee or the employer submitted the application for the allowance to the provident fund were completed;
(4)in respect of a disability allowance – until the end of the month following the month in which sixty days from the day the medical committee issued its decision pursuant to which the employee is entitled to the disability allowance, or from the day of retirement from employment on account of disability, whichever is the later date, were completed;
(5)in respect of a survivors' allowance – until the end of the month following the month in which ninety days from the day one of the survivors submitted the application for the allowance were completed, and if entitlement to that allowance is conditional pursuant to a legislative provision or pursuant to the rules of a provident fund upon a judgment or decision of a court or tribunal being given – until the end of the month in which thirty days from the day the final judgment or decision was served were completed, all according to whichever is the later date.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1), (3) and (5) of subsection (a), if the person liable to pay the allowance had sufficient data in his possession to determine the entitlement to the allowance and its amount within the said periods, those paragraphs shall not apply to him from the end of the month following the month in which sixty days from the day on which the said data were in his possession were completed.
(c)If the person liable to pay an allowance did not have sufficient data in his possession to calculate the amount of the allowance due in the first four months following the dates referred to in paragraphs (1) to (5) of subsection (a) and in subsection (b), and he paid an advance on account of the allowance in an amount corresponding to the data in his possession in the month preceding the month in which the advance was paid, the balance of the allowance shall not be regarded as withheld until the end of the month following the last month of advance payment.

Payment of Differences§

16b.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 16, in respect of a difference arising from a change in the amount of the allowance after its payment has commenced, the allowance shall not be regarded as withheld until the end of the month following the month in which sixty days after the date on which the said change was determined or on which it took effect were completed, all according to whichever is the later date.

Submission of Application§

16c.

An employee who is required by the conditions of his employment to retire from his employment upon reaching a certain age, or if his employer demanded that he retire from his employment before he reached the said age, and who is entitled by reason of his retirement to a retirement allowance from a provident fund – his employer is obliged to submit an application as referred to in paragraph (3) of section 16a(a) at least six months before the date of retirement, and if he did not do so the employee shall be entitled to receive from his employer compensation for late payment of the allowance in respect of the period during which the allowance would have been regarded as withheld but for the provisions of the said paragraph.

Compensation for Late Payment of Wage§

17.
(a)To a withheld wage there shall be added the higher of the following amounts (hereinafter – compensation for late payment of wage):
(1)for the first week after the due date for payment of the wage – one twentieth of the withheld wage, and for each subsequent week or part of a week – one tenth of the withheld wage;
(2)linkage differentials for the period from the due date for payment of the wage until the day of its payment, plus 20% on the total amount of the withheld wage and the linkage differentials as aforesaid for each month in the said period; for part of a month the said addition of 20% shall be paid on a proportional basis.
(b)Compensation for late payment of wage shall, for all purposes other than this section, form part of the wage.

Limitation§

17a.
(a)The right to wage-withholding compensation, as distinct from a wage, shall be extinguished if an action has not been brought before a Regional Court within the meaning of the Labour Court Law, 5729-1969 (hereinafter – Regional Court) within one year from the day on which the wage is deemed to have been withheld, or within 60 days from the day on which the employee received the wage to which the compensation relates, whichever is the earlier; however, the Regional Court may extend the period of 60 days to a period of 90 days.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), if the employer withheld the employee's wage, or part thereof, three times within a period of twelve consecutive months falling within the three consecutive years following the date of payment of the wage to which the compensation relates, the limitation period shall be those three years.
(c)The provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply to wage-withholding compensation in respect of which the one-year limitation period referred to in subsection (a) has expired.

Reduction of Compensation§

18.

A Regional Court may reduce or cancel wage-withholding compensation if it is satisfied that the wage was not paid on time due to a bona fide error, or due to a circumstance beyond the employer's control, or owing to a genuine dispute as to the existence of the debt, in the opinion of the Regional Court, provided that the amount not in dispute was paid on time.

Application of the Interest and Linkage Adjudication Law§

18a.

Where the right to wage-withholding compensation, to allowance-withholding compensation or to severance pay withholding compensation has been extinguished pursuant to sections 17a and 20(d), or where a Regional Court has cancelled wage-withholding compensation, allowance-withholding compensation or severance pay withholding compensation pursuant to sections 18 and 20(d), the provisions of the Interest and Linkage Adjudication Law, 5721-1961, shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of section 6 of that Law.

Insolvency or Winding Up§

19.
(a)Where an order as referred to in section 182 of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995, has been made in respect of an employer, the trustee or liquidator appointed in the proceedings in which the order listed in that section was made shall not be liable for the payment of wage-withholding compensation; however, in its decision regarding the approval of the debt it may determine that linkage differentials shall be added to the withheld wage for the period from the due date for payment of the wage until the date of its payment; such differentials shall, for all purposes other than this section, constitute part of the wage.
(b)Subsection (a) shall not apply in respect of a wage that the trustee or liquidator undertook to pay after the order was made.

Debt to a Provident Fund as a Withheld Wage§

19a.
(a)An amount that an employer owes to a provident fund shall also be deemed a withheld wage, whether the amount is owed by the employer directly or whether the employer is required to deduct it from the employee's wage, provided that the amount which the employer was required to deduct was not paid to the fund within 21 days from the day on which the wage from which it was to be deducted is deemed to have been withheld, or that the amount which the employer undertook to pay otherwise than by way of deduction was not paid within 21 days from the day on which the wage in respect of which the liability exists would have been deemed to have been withheld; and this applies whether or not the wage was withheld.
(b)The wage-withholding compensation under this section shall be –
(1)in respect of an amount that the employer is required to deduct from the employee's wage – in accordance with section 17;
(2)in respect of an amount that an employer owes directly to the provident fund (hereinafter – the debt) – linkage differentials for the period from the due date for payment of the wage in respect of which the liability to the provident fund exists until the date of its payment, plus 20% of the total amount of the debt and the linkage differentials as aforesaid for each month in which the debt was not paid; for part of a month the said 20% addition shall be paid on a pro-rata basis.
(c)A provident fund shall maintain a personal card for each employee insured by it, containing the particulars prescribed in Regulations; an employer shall furnish the provident fund with particulars regarding his employee, as the Minister of Labour shall prescribe in Regulations.
(d)An amount that an employer owes to a provident fund as referred to in subsection (a) shall, for the purposes of the rights of the employee or his successor against the provident fund, be deemed to have been paid on time.
(e)If six months have elapsed from the date prescribed in subsection (a) and before the debt in respect of the employee was paid there occurs an event entitling the employee or his successor to receive a payment or a benefit in kind from the provident fund, the fund may claim from the employer an amount equal to the amount it paid or is to pay to the employee or his successor and the monetary value of the benefit in kind given or to be given to the employee or his successor, less any amount that would have been payable in respect of that event to the employee or his successor, or to the employer, or to both, whether as a lump sum or as future amounts, had the employee left the provident fund on the day on which the qualifying event occurred.
(f)The capitalisation of future payments or their monetary equivalent of future benefits in kind for the purposes of subsections (e) and (k) shall be calculated in the same manner as the capitalisation of pensions and the monetary value of benefits in kind are calculated under section 185 of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5728-1968, with the necessary modifications.
(g)The Regional Labour Court may reduce a payment that an employer owes to a provident fund by way of indemnification as referred to in subsection (e), if it considers that the circumstances justify doing so.
(h)If six months have elapsed from the date prescribed in subsection (a) and the employer's debt to the provident fund as referred to in subsection (a) has not been paid, the provident fund may notify the employee of this in writing, with a copy to the employer, and if a further six months have elapsed from the date of delivery of the notice and the debt to the provident fund has not been paid, the provisions of subsection (d) shall not apply in respect of that debt if the Regional Labour Court has determined that the delay in collecting the debt did not occur as a result of the fund's negligence or occurred as a result of other circumstances that justify the provident fund.
(i)If entitlement to a payment or a benefit in kind from a provident fund arose for the employee or his successor during the period between the date prescribed in subsection (a) and the end of the additional six months from the date of delivery of the notice as referred to in subsection (h), the provident fund shall not be entitled to be released from its liability under subsection (d) even if the delay occurred not as a result of the fund's negligence or occurred as a result of other circumstances that justify it.
(j)
(1)An employee to whom a general collective agreement or an extension order within the meaning of the Collective Agreements Law, 5717-1957, applies that requires an employer to pay an amount on his behalf to a provident fund as referred to in subsection (a), and the employer has not furnished the provident fund with particulars prescribed in Regulations in respect of the employee and has not paid any amount in respect of the employee, subsections (d) to (i) shall not apply to the employee; however, once the employer's debt in respect of the employee to a provident fund as aforesaid has been paid within three years from the date referred to in subsection (a) and before an event occurs entitling the employee or his successor to receive a payment or a benefit in kind from the provident fund – the debt shall, for the purposes of the rights of the employee or his successor against the provident fund, be deemed to have been paid on time;
(2)Where the provident fund has paid a payment to the employee or his successor or provided him with a benefit in kind pursuant to paragraph (1) within one year from the date on which the employer's debt was paid as aforesaid, the Regional Labour Court may order the employer to indemnify the provident fund therefor if it considers that the circumstances justify doing so.
(k)The Minister of Labour may prescribe in Regulations the methods of delivering notices or particulars for the purposes of this section and the methods of proving their delivery to the addressee.

Insurance in Several Provident Funds§

19b.
(a)The provisions of section 19a(d) to (k) (hereinafter – the provisions) shall not apply in respect of a payment or a benefit in kind as referred to in the provisions from a provident fund, if the employee or his successor is entitled to receive them in full, by reason of the same qualifying event, from another provident fund under an agreement between the employer and the employee and not by virtue of the provisions.
(b)If the employee or his successor is entitled under an agreement as referred to in subsection (a) to a payment or a benefit in kind that is not of the full value at which they would have been provided to them from the first provident fund by reason of the same qualifying event, or if they are entitled to a payment or a benefit in kind as aforesaid by virtue of the provisions by reason of the same event, all the provident funds shall bear the payment jointly or provide the benefit in kind jointly, and the division of the burden involved shall be, in the absence of agreement between them, as the Regional Labour Court considers equitable in the circumstances of the matter.
(c)When an employee or his successor approaches one of the provident funds in order to exercise his right under the provisions, the fund shall pay the payment or provide the benefit in kind, to the full extent due to him, and once it has done so the employee or his successor shall no longer be entitled as against another provident fund to the same payment or service in respect of the same event, and the provident fund that made the payment or provided the benefit in kind as aforesaid is entitled to reimbursement from another provident fund as referred to in subsection (b).

Preservation of Rights§

19c.

The provisions of sections 19a and 19b shall not derogate from the rights of an employee as against an employer or a provident fund under any enactment, agreement or the rules of the provident fund, or from the mutual obligations and rights of an employer and a provident fund under an agreement or the rules of the provident fund.

Severance Pay Withholding Compensation§

20.
(a)In this section, "the due date for payment of severance pay", in respect of an employee or a person entitled to severance pay by virtue of him – the later of the following dates:
(1)the day of termination of the employment relationship;
(2)the date prescribed for payment of severance pay pursuant to a provision of a collective agreement, another collective arrangement or an extension order applicable to the employee;
(3)if a right to severance pay exceeding that prescribed by an enactment, a collective agreement, another collective arrangement or an extension order has been established pursuant to an employment contract or other agreement – the day prescribed for payment of severance pay pursuant to that employment contract or agreement, and if no day as aforesaid was prescribed and the said right was established after the day of termination of the employment relationship – the day on which the right was established;
(4)if a right to severance pay has been established after the day of termination of the employment relationship pursuant to a collective agreement, another collective arrangement or an extension order, and no date for its payment was prescribed – the day on which the right was established;
(5)if the right to severance pay is conditional, pursuant to a provision of an enactment, upon fulfilment of a condition on the part of the employee after the day of termination of the employment relationship or upon fulfilment of a condition during a specific period following that day – the day of fulfilment of the said condition or the day of expiry of the said period, as the case may be.
(b)Severance pay shall be deemed withheld if it was not paid within 15 days from the due date for its payment; the severance pay withholding compensation shall be as follows:
(1)if severance pay was paid during the period between the sixteenth and the thirtieth day after the due date for its payment – linkage differentials for the period from the due date for its payment until the day on which it was paid;
(2)if severance pay was paid after the thirtieth day following the due date for its payment – linkage differentials for the period from the due date for its payment until the day on which it was paid, plus 20% of the total amount of the severance pay and the linkage differentials as aforesaid for each month in which the severance pay was not paid; for part of a month the said 20% addition shall be paid on a pro-rata basis.
(b1)Severance pay withholding compensation shall, for all purposes other than subsection (b), constitute part of the severance pay.
(b2)The employer may deduct from the severance pay and from the withholding compensation an amount of a debt owed by the employee to the employer or an amount that the employer is required or entitled to deduct from the severance pay.
(c)A person entitled to severance pay otherwise than by virtue of sections 1(a) or 5 of the Severance Pay Law, 5723-1963, shall not be subject to the due date for payment of severance pay as referred to in subsection (a) unless a prior written demand for payment of the compensation stating the grounds for the demand has been delivered to the employer; if the demand was delivered to the employer after the said date – the due date for payment of the compensation shall apply to him from the day of delivery of the demand.
(d)The provisions of sections 17a, 18 and 19 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the withholding of severance pay as if it were the withholding of a wage; however, a Regional Court shall be competent to reduce or cancel severance pay withholding compensation as referred to in section 18, even if severance pay was not paid as a result of any of the following:
(1)a genuine dispute as to the very existence of the right to severance pay, in the opinion of the court;
(2)a dispute as to the date on which the employment relationship was terminated;
(3)the person entitled to receive the severance pay did not furnish the employer, upon his request, with particulars relating to the employee or to the entitled person as aforesaid that are required for the purpose of determining the right to severance pay or its rate.
(e)A person entitled to receive from a provident fund the severance pay or part thereof by virtue of payments made to it by the employer shall not be entitled to severance pay withholding compensation in respect of the amount due to him from the provident fund, pursuant to his said right, if the employer notified the provident fund in writing, within 15 days from the due date for payment of severance pay, that he consents to its payment; the provisions of this subsection shall not derogate from the provisions of sections 14 and 20 of the Severance Pay Law, 5723-1963.
(f)Where an employee or a former employee has died and the employer has deposited with a Regional Court treasury an amount of severance pay so that the court shall transfer it to the person entitled thereto – the said amount shall, for the purposes of subsection (b), be deemed to have been paid to the entitled person on the day of deposit.
21.§

(Repealed — תשל״א)

21a.§

(Repealed — תשכ״ט־2)

22.§

(Repealed — תשכ״ד)

23.§

(Repealed — תשכ״ט־2)

Wage Register and Wage Slip§

24.
(a)An employer is required to maintain a wage register and to furnish each employee, in writing, with a wage slip; in this Law –

"wage register" – a register concerning the wage due to employees and the particulars of the wage paid to them;

"wage slip" – a record of data from the wage register, detailing the particulars of the wage paid to the employee.

(b)The wage particulars in the wage register and in the wage slip shall include the particulars listed in the Schedule.
(c)The entry in the wage register and the delivery of the wage slip to the employee shall be made no later than the determining date.
(d)The provisions of this section shall not apply to an individual in respect of an employee whom he employs otherwise than in the framework of his business or occupation, unless the Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment, with the approval of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset, has determined otherwise in respect of categories of employers or employees as aforesaid and under the conditions and in the manner he has prescribed.
(e)The Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment may, after consulting with the labour organisation representing the greatest number of employees in the State and with employers' organisations that are in his opinion representative and concerned, and with the approval of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset –
(1)amend, by Order, the Schedule;
(2)prescribe special methods of delivery of wage slips for categories of employers or employees.

Deductions from Wages§

25.
(a)Only the following amounts may be deducted from a wage:
(1)an amount required to be deducted, or permitted to be deducted, under an enactment;
(2)donations which the employee has agreed in writing shall be deducted;
(3)membership fees in a labour organisation of which the employee is a member, which must be deducted from the wage under a collective agreement or an employment contract, or which the employee has agreed in writing shall be deducted, and the regular payments to the employees' committee at the workplace;
(3a)an addition to the membership fees which may be deducted pursuant to paragraph (3), intended for the financing of party-political activity, unless the employee has notified the employer in writing of his objection to the payment of the addition;
(3b)professional-organisational service fees for the benefit of the representative organisation within the meaning of the Collective Agreements Law, 5717-1957, which must be deducted under a collective agreement or an employment contract from the wage of an employee who is not a member of any labour organisation, or which the employee has agreed in writing shall be deducted; the Minister of Labour, after consulting with the labour organisation representing the greatest number of employees in the State, and with the approval of the Labour Committee of the Knesset, shall prescribe in Regulations the maximum professional-organisational service fees that may be deducted pursuant to this paragraph;
(4)an amount imposed as a disciplinary fine pursuant to a collective agreement or under an enactment;
(5)current payments to provident funds, provided that payments as aforesaid to a provident fund which only the employee is required to pay shall not be deducted from the employee's wage if the employee has notified the employer in writing of his objection to their payment;
(6)a debt under a written undertaking of the employee to the employer, on condition that no more than one quarter of the wage shall be deducted on account of such a debt;
(7)advances on account of a wage, if the advances do not exceed three months' wages; if the advances exceed three months' wages – the provisions of paragraph (6) shall apply to the balance.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), where an employee has ceased working for the employer, the employer may deduct from the employee's last wage any outstanding balance of a debt owed by the employee to him, including advances.

Transfer of Deducted Amounts§

25a.
(a)An amount deducted pursuant to section 25 shall be transferred by the employer to the person for whom it is intended within 30 days from the day on which the wage from which it was deducted is deemed to have been withheld, unless another method has been prescribed by an enactment.

Penalties§

25b.
(a)An employer who does any of the following shall be liable to half the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(2) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 (in this section – the Penal Law):
(1)fails to furnish his employee with a wage slip by the date referred to in section 24(c), contrary to the provisions of section 24(a); an offence under this paragraph is of the category of strict liability offences;
(2)furnishes his employee with a wage slip that does not include all or some of the particulars of the wage paid to the employee, contrary to the provisions of section 24(b).
(b)An employer who has deducted amounts from an employee's wage contrary to the provisions of section 25 shall be liable to half the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(3) of the Penal Law.
(b1)
(1)An employer who has not paid an employee's wage and the determining date after which that wage became a withheld wage has passed, and the employer has not proved that the non-payment of the wage resulted from a circumstance beyond his control, shall be liable to six months' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(3) of the Penal Law;
(2)An employer shall not be prosecuted for an offence under paragraph (1) unless 90 days have elapsed from the determining date and the wage has not been paid by that time, and in accordance with a procedure approved by the Attorney General.
(c)An employer who has deducted amounts from an employee's wage and has not transferred them to the persons for whom they were intended, contrary to the provisions of section 25a, shall be liable to two years' imprisonment or a fine five times the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law.
(d)An employer who commits an offence under the provisions set out below in aggravating circumstances shall be liable –
(1)subsection (a) or (b) – double the fine prescribed in that subsection, as the case may be;
(2)subsection (c) – thirty months' imprisonment or a fine six times the fine prescribed in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law.
(e)In this section, "aggravating circumstances" – any of the following:
(1)the act was done with intent to obtain a benefit for the accused or another, or to avoid payment due to or on behalf of an employee;
(2)the employer is charged in the indictment with at least six counts for the commission of offences under this Law within a period not exceeding 12 months, provided that six counts relate to offences committed against two employees, three counts against each of them; in counting counts under this section, a count for an offence against more than one employee shall be regarded as a count for an offence against each of the employees.

Liability of an Office Holder in a Corporation§

26.
(a)(Repealed)
(b)An office holder in a corporation is required to supervise and to do everything possible to prevent an offence under section 25b being committed by the corporation or by any of its employees; one who violates this provision shall be liable to half the fine prescribed for that offence.
(c)Where an offence under section 25b has been committed by a corporation or by any of its employees, there is a presumption that an office holder in the corporation has violated his duty referred to in subsection (b), unless he proves that he did everything possible to prevent the offence.
(d)In this section, "office holder" – an active manager in a corporation, a partner, excluding a limited partner, or another person holding a position who is responsible on behalf of the corporation for the area in which the offence was committed.

Jurisdiction and Remedies§

26a.
(a)The Labour Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear civil proceedings for a breach of the provisions of this Law, and may award compensation in such amount as it deems fit in the circumstances of the matter, in addition to any other compensation or remedy.
(b)
(1)Where the Labour Court finds that the employer knowingly failed to deliver to his employee a pay slip by the date referred to in section 24(c), in contravention of the provisions of section 24(a), or that the employer knowingly delivered to his employee a pay slip that does not include all or some of the particulars of the wage paid to the employee, in contravention of the provisions of section 24(b), it may award the employee compensation that is not contingent on damage (hereinafter – exemplary damages), in respect of each pay slip in relation to which the employer acted as aforesaid;
(2)Where the Labour Court finds that the employer committed a breach as referred to in paragraph (1) in at least two months within a period of 24 months, it shall be presumed that the employer committed the breach knowingly, unless the employer proves otherwise;
(3)Exemplary damages as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be in an amount not exceeding NIS 5,000; however, the Labour Court may, for special reasons that shall be recorded, award compensation in a different amount; the amount specified in this paragraph shall be updated on 1 January of each year (in this paragraph – the update date), in accordance with the rate of increase of the new index relative to the basic index; for this purpose –

"index" – the Consumer Price Index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;

"the new index" – the index most recently published before the update date;

"the basic index" – the index published in July 2009;

(4)Nothing in the provisions of this subsection shall derogate from the right of an employee to compensation or to any other remedy under any law, in respect of the same breach; however, the Labour Court shall not award compensation under this subsection in a class action within the meaning of the Class Actions Law, 5766-2006.

Burden of Proof§

26b.
(a)In an action brought by an employee for payment of a wage, including overtime pay or weekly rest pay, where the hours of work for which the wage is claimed are in dispute, the burden of proof shall lie on the employer to show that the employee was not available for work during the disputed hours of work, if the employer did not produce attendance records from a work-hours register, to the extent that he is required to maintain one; in this section –

"overtime pay", "weekly rest pay" – as defined in the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951;

"work-hours register" – a work-hours register pursuant to section 25 of the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951, or a register pursuant to section 31 of the Youth Labour Law, 5713-1953.

(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), where the action is for payment of a wage in respect of overtime pay, the burden of proof shall lie on the employer as referred to in that subsection only in respect of a number of overtime hours not exceeding 15 overtime hours per week or not exceeding sixty overtime hours per month.
(c)In an action brought by an employee whose disputed causes of action are non-payment of overtime pay, weekly rest pay, holiday pay, compensation in lieu of holiday, or holiday redemption, recuperation pay or travel expenses, and the employer who is required to deliver a pay slip pursuant to the provisions of section 24 did not deliver a pay slip to the employee, or delivered to the employee a pay slip that did not include the said components, it shall be presumed that an all-inclusive wage was determined for the employee in contravention of the provisions of section 5, to the extent that it applies to him, and the wage paid to him shall be regarded as a regular wage in which the said components are not included, unless the employer proves otherwise.

Wage-Delay Compensation and Criminal Proceedings§

26c.
(a)When awarding wage-delay compensation against an employer as referred to in section 17, the Labour Court may take into account the fact that the employer was convicted in respect of the same act, or that a monetary sanction was imposed on him in respect thereof pursuant to the Wage Protection Law (Monetary Sanction), 5769-2009.
(b)When imposing a fine on an employer convicted of an offence pursuant to section 25b(b1), the Labour Court or a court may take into account the fact that wage-delay compensation was awarded against the employer pursuant to section 17 in respect of the act for which he was convicted as aforesaid.
(c)When sentencing an employer convicted of an offence pursuant to section 25b(b1), the Labour Court or a court may take into account the fact that the wage was not paid on time due to a bona fide error, or that the wage was not paid on time owing to a genuine dispute as to the very existence of the debt, provided that the undisputed portion was paid.
27.§

(Repealed — תשל״ו)

Right of Action§

28.
(a)The following shall have a direct right of action against the employer:
(1)a person for whom a sum deducted pursuant to section 25 is intended;
(2)a provident fund – in respect of a sum that the employer owes it as referred to in section 19a and in respect of wage-delay compensation for such a sum;
(3)the Israel Prison Service or the Employment Service – in respect of a sum that the employer is required to pay to a community service employee performing household work pursuant to Section B-1 of Chapter VI of the Penal Law, 5737-1977.
(b)A claim by an employee for payment of a withheld wage or for wage-delay compensation may also be submitted to the Labour Court by the representative workers' organisation at that workplace, and where there is no such workers' organisation – by the workers' organisation of which the employee is a member.

Protection of Employee§

28a.

An employer shall not harm an employee's wage, his advancement at work or his conditions of employment, and shall not dismiss him from work, on account of a claim submitted in good faith by the employee or by a workers' organisation as referred to in section 28(b) for payment of a withheld wage or for wage-delay compensation, or on account of the employee having assisted in good faith another employee or a workers' organisation in connection with such a claim.

29.§

(Repealed — תשל״א)

New Employer's Guarantee for Predecessor's Debt§

30.
(a)Where an enterprise passes from hand to hand, or is divided or merged, the new employer shall also be liable for the payment of wages and payments to a provident fund owed by the previous employer; however, the new employer may, by means of a notice published in the enterprise and in the press in the manner prescribed by Regulations, require that claims for such payments be submitted to him within three months from the date of the transfer, division or merger, or, if he published the notice after that date – from the date of publication. The new employer shall not be liable for the payment of claims submitted to him after the said period of three months.
(b)The provisions of this section shall not apply to the transfer, division or merger of an enterprise as a result of bankruptcy or as a result of the winding up of a company or cooperative society due to its inability to pay its debts.

Implementation and Regulations§

31.

The Minister of Labour is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation.

Duty of Consultation§

32.

The Minister of Labour shall not make Regulations pursuant to section 13 except after consultation with the workers' organisation representing the largest number of employees and with representative national employers' organisations that, in the opinion of the Minister, are concerned in the matter.

The State as Employer§

33.

For the purposes of this Law, the State as employer shall be treated as any other employer.

Preservation of Rights§

34.

This Law does not come to derogate from any right vested in an employee under any law, collective agreement, employment contract or custom.

Repeals§

35.
(a)In matters dealt with by this Law, Book 2 of the Mejelle shall not apply.
(b)Sections 82 and 83 of the Ottoman Execution Law are hereby repealed.

Commencement§

36.

This Law shall commence on the eleventh day of Nisan 5718 (1 April 1958).

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LawLabor Law

חוק הגנת השכר, תשי"ח-1958

Wage Protection Law

Sakhar Protection Law

Wage Law

Sakhar Law

5718

1958

Wage Security

Worker Wages

Salary Protection

Wage Deduction