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LawLabor Law

Youth Labour Law, 5713-1953

חוק עבודת הנוער, תשי"ג-1953

Published: 1953-07-23Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2024-06-05 · Last amended 2024-06-04✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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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

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.
(a)In this Law –

"child" means a person who has not yet attained the age of 16 years;

"young person" means a person who has attained the age of 16 years but has not yet attained the age of 18 years;

"youth" means a child or a young person;

"parents", in relation to a youth, includes the guardian of the youth and any person in whose custody, supervision or care the youth is;

"labour inspector" means a labour inspector within the meaning of the Labour Inspection (Organisation) Law, 5714-1954;

"regional labour inspector" means a labour inspector appointed by the Minister of Labour to be a regional labour inspector;

"work record" – (deleted);

"hawking" or "engagement in hawking" means selling or offering for sale, and also providing or offering to provide a service, in a public thoroughfare, in a public place or from house to house.

(b)For the purposes of this Law, a youth shall be regarded as employed and the person with whom the youth works shall be regarded as the youth's employer if the youth works –
(1)with his parents – in work that is for the purposes of their business or occupation, excluding occasional work not in industry and agricultural work on the parents' holding;
(2)with another person, in any work, whether or not an employment relationship exists; for this purpose, "work" includes hawking;
(3)in any place where the work is not solely for the satisfaction of his own needs, even if it is not for the purposes of a business or for profit, including a place declared by the Minister of Labour to be a vocational training centre for youths intended to impart a trade through practical work.
(c)For the purposes of this Law, the employment of a child in a public, artistic or advertising performance, or in photography for advertising purposes, as referred to in section 4, shall be regarded as employment, even if no employment relationship existed in that employment, and even if the employment was a single occasion, whether the employment was for remuneration or without remuneration; for this purpose, "employment of a child" includes his participation.

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Chapter II: Working Age and Prohibited Work

Working Age§

2.
(a)A child who has not yet attained the age of 15 years shall not be employed.
(b)A child who has attained the age of 15 years and to whom compulsory education applies under the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949 (in this section – compulsory education), shall not be employed unless one of the following conditions is fulfilled:
(1)the child is working as an apprentice within the meaning of the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953;
(2)(Repealed)
(3)an instruction has been given in respect of the child under section 5(b)(1)(II) of the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949;
(4)an inspector on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Culture has certified that the child has completed compulsory education in a period shorter than the period of study appropriate to the child's age.
(b1)A young person and a person who has attained the age of 18 years to whom compulsory education applies shall not be employed during school hours unless the conditions set out in paragraphs (1), (3) or (4) of subsection (b) are fulfilled in their regard.
(c)The Minister of Labour may permit the employment of a child who has attained the age of 14 years and in respect of whom an exemption has been granted under section 5 of the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949; a permit under this subsection may be general or special.
(d)(Repealed)

Work during Study Holidays§

2a.
(a)A child who has attained the age of 14 years may be employed during an official study holiday period, notwithstanding the provisions of section 2, in light work that is not liable to harm the child's health and development, all as the Minister of Labour and Welfare shall prescribe by Regulations and subject to conditions to be prescribed, including the number of hours for which a child may be so employed; such Regulations, or part thereof, may also apply to the employment of a child under section 2(c).
(b)The provisions of the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953, shall not apply to employment as referred to in subsection (a).
3.§

(Repealed — תשנ״ח)

Performances and Photography§

4.
(a)Without derogating from the provisions of section 2(a), a child who has not yet attained the age of 15 years shall not be employed in a public, artistic or advertising performance, or in photography for advertising purposes.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) and section 2, the Minister of Labour and Welfare may grant a permit, for a limited period, for the employment of a particular child or for the brokering of the employment of that child in a performance or photography as referred to in subsection (a), provided that no permit shall be granted for employment as aforesaid during the child's school hours.
(c)In this section, "performance" includes a recorded performance and includes rehearsals, study or training for the purposes of the performance.

Participation in an Advertising Performance between the Ages of 15 and 18§

4a.
(a)In this section –

"performance" – as defined in section 4;

"advertising performance" – a performance or photography for advertising purposes, including modelling;

"parent" – includes a guardian appointed by law;

"brokering of employment" – includes all actions taken for the purpose of brokering the employment of a youth in an advertising performance, including the photography of the youth and the youth's presentation.

(b)
(1)Without derogating from the provisions of sections 2 and 4, a person shall not broker employment and shall not employ a youth who has attained the age of 15 years and has not yet attained the age of 18 years in an advertising performance, including the conducting of an interview and stage auditions for acceptance for employment, except after obtaining the consent of the youth and the youth's parent to the brokering of the employment or to the employment of the youth, as the case may be;
(2)The consent of the youth and the parent as referred to in paragraph (1) shall be given in accordance with the form set out in the Second Schedule, together with a copy of the parent's identity document; the form shall be available as an online form on the website of the Ministry of Labour; the Minister of Labour may amend the Second Schedule by Order.
(c)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), the consent of the youth and the parent to the brokering of employment or to employment as referred to in that subsection may be given by means of a text message or by another digital means that enables the employer to retain the message, if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(a)the consent is for the continuation of brokering of employment or employment with the same broker or employer, as the case may be;
(b)the consent of the youth and the parent was given for the previous brokering of employment or employment by means of a form under section 4a(b), or a permit was granted in respect of the employment under section 4(b), and no more than one year has elapsed from the date on which the consent or permit as aforesaid was given;
(2)A message under this subsection shall include the particulars of the broker or employer, as the case may be, particulars of the advertising performance, the name of the youth, the identity number of the youth, the name of the parent, the contact details of the parent, and the consent of the youth and the parent to the continuation of the brokering of employment or the employment.
(d)An employer of a youth in an advertising performance shall retain the consent of the youth and the parent given under subsection (b) or (c) for seven years from the end of the period of the youth's employment with the employer.
(e)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall prevent a parent or another adult family member of the youth from being present during the brokering of employment or employment of the youth in an advertising performance, including during the conducting of an interview and stage auditions for acceptance for employment.

Prohibition of Work in Certain Places§

5.

A child, even if the child has attained the age of 15 years, shall not be employed in a place designated by the Minister of Labour and Welfare, whether generally or specifically, if in the Minister's opinion the employment of a child in that place is liable to endanger the child's physical, mental or educational development by reason of the nature of the occupation, its location or any other reason.

Prohibited Work§

6.

The Minister of Labour may, by Regulations, prohibit or restrict the employment of a child or young person in types of work, in production processes or in places of work where, in the Minister's opinion, the work is liable to harm their health, well-being or physical development, even if their employment is not prohibited under the preceding sections.

Special Age for Certain Work§

7.

The Minister of Labour may prescribe by Regulations that a youth who has not yet attained a specified age shall not be employed in specified work, if in the Minister's opinion the work is liable to harm the health, well-being or physical, educational, spiritual or moral development of the youth, even if the youth's employment is not prohibited under the preceding sections.

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Chapter III: Medical Examinations

Authorised Medical Institution§

8.
(a)In this Chapter –

"authorised medical institution" – a sick fund, as defined under the National Health Insurance Law, 5754-1994;

"family doctor" – a doctor, a doctor holding a specialist title in paediatrics or a doctor holding a specialist title in family medicine, within the meaning of the Physicians Ordinance [New Version], 5737-1976 (hereinafter – the Physicians Ordinance), employed by an authorised medical institution;

"authorised doctor" – a doctor holding a specialist title in occupational medicine under the Physicians Ordinance, or a doctor employed by an authorised medical institution who has been authorised, for the purposes of the provisions of this Chapter, by the Minister of Labour and Welfare with the consent of the Minister of Health.

(b)A medical examination for the purposes of work requiring fitness examinations under sections 11(b) and 12 shall be carried out by an authorised doctor.
(c)A medical certificate issued under this Chapter shall not contain any medical information beyond that required under the provisions of this Law.

Prohibition of Payment§

9.

A youth, the youth's parents or the youth's employer are not liable for any payment for a medical examination or for a medical certificate under this Chapter.

Procedures for Medical Examination§

10.

The Minister of Labour may, after consultation with the Minister of Health, prescribe by Regulations provisions regarding the conduct and scope of medical examinations under this Chapter.

Medical Certificate for Employment§

11.
(a)A youth shall not be employed unless the youth has undergone a medical examination and the family doctor who examined the youth has issued a medical certificate for the youth's employment.
(b)
(1)In this Chapter, "work requiring fitness examinations" means work in respect of which the Minister of Labour and Welfare has determined that a preliminary medical determination of the youth's fitness to work therein is required, as well as the conduct of periodic medical examinations regarding the youth's medical fitness for that work;
(2)A youth shall not be employed in work requiring fitness examinations unless the youth has also been examined by an authorised doctor who has determined the youth's fitness for such work and has issued a medical certificate to that effect;
(3)A certificate under paragraph (2) shall be for a specific type of work requiring fitness examinations or for a category of work similar thereto in terms of health risk and the physical effort required of the youth, and may be made subject to conditions and limited in time for the purposes of a trial period.

Temporary Work§

11a.

The Minister of Labour may permit a youth, subject to the provisions of section 2, to work for a period not exceeding three months in work designated in the permit as not endangering health and not involving strenuous physical effort, if a medical certificate for the youth's employment in that work has been issued by the family doctor; a permit under this section may be general or special.

Periodic Medical Examination§

12.
(a)A youth working in work requiring fitness examinations shall be examined by an authorised doctor at the times and under the conditions prescribed by the Minister of Labour and Welfare for such work and at least once a year (hereinafter – periodic medical examination).
(b)On the basis of the report of the authorised doctor who conducted a periodic medical examination under this section, the authorised medical institution shall record a medical certificate stating any restriction on work arising from a deterioration in the youth's state of health, and shall bring it to the attention of the parents, the employer, and also to the attention of the labour inspector and the regional apprenticeship inspector within the meaning of the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953.

Notification of Results of Medical Examination§

13.
(a)If a medical examination under sections 11(b) and 12 reveals that –
(1)(deleted)
(2)the youth is not medically fit for the work in which the youth is employed;
(3)the work in which the youth is employed is adversely affecting the youth's state of health –

the authorised medical institution shall give written notice to a regional labour inspector.

(b)The regional labour inspector shall send a copy of the notice to one of the youth's parents, and if the notice states that the youth is not fit for the work in which the youth is employed, a copy shall also be sent to the youth's employer.

Prohibition of Employment after Receipt of Notice§

14.

Where the employer has received a copy of a notice pursuant to section 13, the employer shall cease to employ the youth within ten days of the date of receipt of the notice, or within a shorter period determined by the regional labour inspector, in the work to which the notice relates or in work similar thereto in terms of health risk or the physical effort required of the youth.

15.§

(Repealed — תשנ״ח)

Medical Examination up to the Age of 21§

16.
(a)Where a person who has not yet attained the age of 21 years is employed in work that involves a special health risk, the provisions of this Chapter and the provisions of Chapter VI shall apply to that person as if the person were a youth.
(b)The Minister of Labour shall prescribe by Regulations, after consultation with the Minister of Health, the types of work that involve a special health risk for this purpose.

Presentation and Retention of Medical Certificate§

16a.
(a)An employer shall not employ a youth unless the youth has presented to the employer a medical certificate issued under section 11(a), and, if the work requires fitness examinations, also a medical certificate issued under section 11(b)(2).
(b)An employer shall retain at the place where the employer's business is conducted the medical certificate presented to the employer under subsection (a), or a copy thereof, for the period during which the youth is employed with the employer and for one year after the termination of the employment; upon the expiry of that period the employer shall destroy the medical certificate or the copy thereof.

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Chapter IV: Vocational Guidance

Interpretation§

17.

In this Chapter, "vocational guidance" means guidance given to a youth in the choice of a vocation or in the youth's advancement in a vocation, having regard to the youth's personal attributes and employment prospects.

Provision of Vocational Guidance§

18.
(a)The Minister of Labour shall take such steps as the Minister considers necessary to enable vocational guidance to be provided.
(b)The Minister of Labour may prescribe by Regulations types of work for which a youth shall not be accepted unless the person accepting the youth is satisfied that the youth has previously received vocational guidance from an authorised institution under section 19.

Mechanism for Vocational Guidance§

19.
(a)The Minister of Labour may appoint a person to be the Supervisor of Vocational Guidance. Notice of the appointment shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(b)The Minister of Labour shall authorise institutions to provide vocational guidance, and an institution so authorised shall not employ in the provision of vocational guidance any persons other than persons who possess the qualifications prescribed by the Minister of Labour in Regulations.

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חוק עבודת הנוער, תשי"ג-1953

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