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 V: Working Hours, Rest and Annual Leave
Working Day and Working Week§
20.
(a)A youth shall not be employed for more than eight working hours a day and forty working hours a week.
(a1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), at a place of work where it is permitted to work for more than 8 working hours a day pursuant to section 5(a) of the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951, a young person may be employed for up to nine hours per working day, provided that the working week does not exceed 40 working hours.
(b)On the day before the weekly rest and on the day before a holiday on which the youth does not work, whether by law or by agreement or custom, a youth shall not be employed for more than seven working hours.
(c)"Working hours" means the time during which the youth is at the disposal of the work, including short agreed breaks given to the youth for rest and fresh air and including breaks pursuant to section 22a, other than breaks pursuant to section 22.
Weekly Rest Hours§
21.
(a)A youth shall not be employed during the weekly rest.
(b)The weekly rest of a youth shall be at least thirty-six consecutive hours and shall include –
(1)in respect of a Jewish youth – the Sabbath day;
(2)in respect of a youth who is not Jewish – the Sabbath day, or the first day, or the sixth day of the week, all according to what is accepted by him as his weekly rest day.
Breaks§
22.
(a)Where a youth has been employed for six working hours a day or more, his work shall be interrupted for rest and a meal for at least ¾ of an hour, including one continuous break of at least half an hour. On the day before the weekly rest and on the day before a holiday, the break shall be of at least half an hour.
(b)The break shall not exceed three hours.
(c)During a break lasting half an hour or more, the youth is entitled to leave the place where he works, unless his presence at the place of work was essential to the work process or to the operation and use of the equipment, and the youth was required by his employer to remain at the place of work; in such a case, the duration of the break shall be counted as part of the working hours.
Break for Use of Toilet Facilities§
22a.
(a)A youth is entitled, during his working day, to interrupt his work for the purpose of using toilet facilities, in accordance with his needs.
(b)
(1)The employer shall ensure that there are functioning and suitable toilet facilities for use by employees, at the place of work or in its vicinity;
(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 44, provisions prescribed pursuant to section 20a(b)(2) of the Work and Rest Hours Law, 5711-1951, shall also apply with respect to the application of the provisions of paragraph (1).
(c)Nothing in the provisions of subsection (b) shall derogate from duties imposed by any law in respect of toilet facilities, but shall be in addition thereto.
(d)The provisions of this section shall apply, in respect of an employer and an employee, also to an actual employer and to an employee of a manpower contractor employed by an actual employer, and to a service procurer and to an employee of a service contractor employed by the service procurer, provided that for the purpose of the application of the provisions of subsection (b)(1), the employee is employed in premises held by the actual employer or the service procurer, as the case may be; in this section –
"service procurer" means a person who receives a service from a service contractor, in the framework of his business, occupation or public activity;
"actual employer", "manpower contractor" – as defined in the Employment of Employees by Manpower Contractors Law, 5756-1996;
"service contractor" means a person whose occupation is the provision of a service, by means of his employees, to others.
(e)The provisions of section 5a of the Right to Work Seated and in Suitable Conditions Law, 5767-2007, shall apply to proceedings for breach of the provisions of this section.
Study and Working Hours§
23.
(a)Where written notice has been given to an employer by an authorised educational institution stating that a particular youth attends evening classes at the institution on certain days, the youth shall not be employed on those days after 16:00.
(b)No deduction shall be made from the wages of a youth on account of his absence from work due to attendance at evening classes as aforesaid, unless the authorised educational institution has notified the employer in writing that the youth did not attend the classes, and only in respect of the hours during which the youth was absent from work in order to attend the classes and did not attend.
(c)For the purposes of this section, "authorised educational institution" means an institution for the advancement of working youth that the Minister of Education and Culture has authorised for that purpose, or an institution for advancement within the framework of the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953, that the Minister of Labour has authorised for that purpose, and notice thereof has been published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(d)The provisions of this section are in addition to the provisions of section 4(c) of the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949, and of section 14 of the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953, and do not derogate therefrom.
Prohibition of Night Work§
24.
(a)A youth shall not be employed or engage in hawking at night.
(b)In this section, "night", in respect of a child and a young person to whom the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949, applies – a period of 12 hours between 20:00 and 08:00, and in respect of a young person to whom the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949, does not apply – a period of 10 hours between 22:00 and 06:00.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1(b), a youth shall be regarded as employed, for the purposes of this section, even if he works in a vocational school.
(d)
(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), an employer may employ a young person during an official study vacation until 01:00, provided that there is no school day on the following day;
(2)Where a young person has been employed during an official study vacation as referred to in paragraph (1) and the employment ended after 23:00, the employer shall, himself or through a person on his behalf, return the young person to his home at the conclusion of the young person's work; for this purpose, a time difference of more than half an hour from the conclusion of the young person's work as aforesaid until his departure for home shall be regarded as failure to return the young person to his home at the conclusion of his work;
(3)The Minister of Labour may prescribe that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to the employment of young persons in certain branches of work or in certain work, for reasons of protection of the health, well-being or physical, educational, spiritual or moral development of young persons.
Jurisdiction and Remedies regarding the Prohibition of Night Work§
24a.
(a)The Regional Labour Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear civil proceedings for breach of the provisions of section 24, and may award compensation, even if no pecuniary damage was caused, in the amount that appears to it to be appropriate in the circumstances of the matter.
(b)
(1)Where the Labour Court has found that the employer breached the provisions of section 24(a) or (d), it may award the youth compensation that is not dependent on damage (in this section – exemplary damages) in respect of each instance of such breach;
(2)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 to be recorded, award exemplary damages 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 compared to the base index; for this purpose –
"index" means the Consumer Price Index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;
"the new index" means the index most recently published before the update date;
"the base index" means the index published in July 2024.
(c)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the right of a youth to compensation or to any other remedy under any law, in respect of the same breach.
(d)In a claim by an employee under this section, for breach of the provisions of section 24(a) or (d), the burden of proof shall be on the employer to show that he did not employ the youth contrary to the provisions of section 24(a) or (d), if the employer did not produce attendance records from a register pursuant to the provisions of section 31.
(e)A claim under this section may be filed by –
(1)the employee;
(2)the representative employees' organisation at that place of work, and where there is no such employees' organisation – the employees' organisation of which the employee is a member.
Night Work Permit§
25.
(a)The Minister of Labour may permit the employment of a young person until 23:00 at a place where work is performed in shifts.
(b)
(1)Where a decision on a state of emergency has been given, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Employment may permit the employment of a young person even after 23:00, at a place where work is performed in shifts or where the work of the young person is necessary by reason of such a decision, provided that conditions for the protection of the health and welfare of the young person have been secured to the satisfaction of the Minister;
(2)The validity of a permit under paragraph (1) shall expire at the time at which the validity of the decision on a state of emergency following which the permit was granted expires, or at another time specified in the permit;
(3)In this subsection, "decision on a state of emergency" means any of the following:
(a)a declaration of a special situation in the home front pursuant to section 9c of the Civil Defence Law, 5711-1951;
(b)the issuance of an Order calling up reserve duty conscripts to report for reserve service pursuant to section 8 of the Reserve Service Law, 5768-2008;
(c)a declaration of a civilian emergency event pursuant to section 90b of the Police Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971.
(c)If the Minister of Labour considers it necessary for the vocational advancement of a young person, he may permit, by a specific permit, his employment at night at a place where work is performed continuously.
(d)If the Minister of Labour considers it desirable to do so for the sake of the arts, he may permit, by a specific permit, the employment of a youth who has attained the age of 10 years until 24:00, if in his opinion conditions for the protection of the health, education and moral development of the youth have been secured.
(e)The Minister of Labour may permit the employment of a young person until 24:00 in agriculture or in an industrial plant where work is performed in shifts and special conditions justify it; the Minister of Labour may also permit the employment of a young person from 05:00 in seasonal agricultural work where work begins early.
Permits – General Provisions§
26.
(a)A permit under section 25 shall specify a condition ensuring the youth a rest of at least 14 hours between one working day and the next, and the Minister of Labour may prescribe other conditions and limitations.
(b)A permit under section 25(c) or (d) shall be a specific permit; a permit under section 25(a) or (b) may be general or specific or for a category of young persons or plants; a permit under section 25(a) or (e) shall be general for the place or work specified in the permit and shall be granted after consultation with the national employees' organisation representing the largest number of employees, with the largest organisation of working youth and with employers' organisations that in the opinion of the Minister of Labour are concerned in the matter.
(c)Every permit, other than a specific permit, and the conditions and limitations prescribed therein, as well as the revocation of such a permit and the amendment of the conditions prescribed therein, shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette).
(d)A person to whom a specific permit has been granted shall display it conspicuously, at the place where persons are employed under it, but if he maintains a register pursuant to section 31, he may attach the permit to the register.
(e)In non-industrial occupations, within the meaning of the Convention concerning the Night Work of Young Persons Employed in Non-Industrial Occupations, 1946, a permit under section 25(a) shall not be granted unless the conditions prescribed in Section C, paragraph 2 of the Convention have been fulfilled.
Annual Leave§
27.
(a)In respect of a youth, section 3(a) of the Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951, shall be read as if "18 days" were substituted for "14 days".
(b)The provisions of this section shall apply to the year of work, within the meaning of that Law, commencing on the 16th of Nisan 5713 (1 April 1953) and to every year of work thereafter.
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Contact Us →Chapter VI: Obligation of a School Day
Obligation of a School Day§
27a.
(a)The Minister of Labour shall, by Order, impose on every employed youth who has attained the age of 15 years and has not yet attained the age of 18 years an obligation of studies for the purpose of vocational training, and these shall be carried out at a place designated by him for that purpose.
(b)The Minister of Labour may apply the obligation of studies gradually, provided that within five years from the date of commencement of this section he shall impose it on every employed youth to whom the Apprenticeship Law, 5713-1953 (hereinafter – the Apprenticeship Law), does not apply.
(c)The Minister of Labour, after consultation with the Minister of Education and Culture, shall prescribe a uniform minimum curriculum; the prescription of the curriculum shall not prevent the addition of lessons to those specified therein; the duration of studies, according to categories of youths, shall be prescribed in Regulations with the approval of the Labour Committee of the Knesset.
(d)An Order as referred to in subsection (a) may be general, or specific to a particular plant or to categories of plants, branches of work or geographical areas, or to persons of a certain age or educational level.
(e)An Order may prescribe a continuous obligation of studies on one day a week or divided over several days a week, provided that in total it does not exceed nine hours per week.
(f)In respect of certain categories of youths, the Minister may prescribe concentrated study periods during the year, and the number of hours per week to be devoted to such studies.
(g)A youth who is subject to an obligation of studies pursuant to this section is entitled to receive them free of charge, and shall not be required to pay any fee therefor; this provision does not apply to equipment and study materials.
Exemption from the Obligation§
27b.
The obligation of studies pursuant to this Chapter shall not apply in respect of a youth –
(1)who studies at a school to which the Schools Supervision Law, 5729-1969, applies;
(2)who studies at an authorised educational institution within the meaning of section 23;
(3)who studies at a school or educational institution in which the majority of education workers are State employees acting in their official capacity;
(4)who studies at a school or educational institution that the Minister of Labour has designated as an institution whose studies exempt the youth from the obligation pursuant to this Chapter;
(5)who is of an age at which an obligation of studies applies to him under the Compulsory Education Law, 5709-1949, unless he has been released from that obligation by the Minister of Education and Culture.
Supervisory Powers§
27c.
(a)An apprenticeship inspector within the meaning of the Apprenticeship Law shall also supervise the fulfilment of the obligations pursuant to this Chapter, and shall have for that purpose the powers conferred upon him by that Law.
(b)The Apprenticeship Council established pursuant to the Apprenticeship Law shall be an advisory council for the purposes of the provisions of this Chapter.
Certificate of Completion of Studies§
27d.
The Minister of Labour may prescribe in Regulations provisions regarding the issuance of a certificate of completion of the obligation of studies pursuant to this Chapter.
Release for Studies§
27e.
(a)A person who employs a youth who is subject to an obligation of studies pursuant to this Chapter is obliged to release him from work during study hours, and shall not employ him during those hours.
(b)No deduction shall be made from the wages of a youth on account of his absence from work due to studies as aforesaid, unless it has been proved that he did not participate in the studies, and all this unless a collective agreement applicable to the youth and his employer contains a different provision in this regard.
(c)The institution in which the youth studies during the hours of his absence from work shall notify the employer, in the prescribed manner, of the study hours in which the youth is obligated and whether he indeed participated in them.
(d)The Minister of Labour may prescribe, by general or classified direction, that the provisions of subsections (a) to (c) shall also apply in respect of a youth who studies at a school or institution listed in section 27b.
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