labor_laws

Employee sexually discriminated against

Moshe

The municipality of Petah Tikva started a project for police patrol service via a security company. The service was to operate 24/7 via foot-patrol and motorized patrol.

Noa was invited to an interview and accepted to this position along with 16 others. She was the only female in the group. Noa was slotted in to do only the foot patrol on all her watches. She asked the person in charge of scheduling the shifts to put her on some motor-patrols as well, but was turned down, according to Noa “because people don’t want to see a woman driving a jeep…”

She was requested to pass an internal driving test to show she is capable of “navigating in the area” before she would even be considered for a motorized patrol, even though none of the other employees were required to do so.

Noa submitted a formal complaint to the labor court against her employer demanding 100,000 sh in damages pertaining to non-compliance with the equal opportunity in employment law, loss of income and tarnishing her good name and aggravation.

The labor court issued the following verdict:

The equal opportunity in employment law clearly states in section 2a that it is forbidden to discriminate due to sex, among other things, in accepting a candidate for employment, in training a candidate, in firing an employee, etc.
The law passes over the responsibility to the employer to prove their was no foul play and discrimination in his decision.

The court found that Noa wasn’t scheduled for motorized patrols simply because she is a woman. Also the fact that she was required to take extra tests as opposed to the men. Noa also submitted  taped conversations between herself and her employer to back her claims. The court ruled that this is indeed invalid discrimination and although no monetary damage was proved, the court still believed that this type of behavior needs to be curbed harshly and therefore fined the employer 55,000 shekels.

Section 14 of the Severance pay law

Moshe

 

The severance pay law (1963) is the law that defines the employee’s right to severance pay at the end of employment.

On a side note, there are criteria specifically defined in the law that determine under which circumstances an employee is entitled to severance pay. But, that is not what this blog post is about. However, there are 2 basic criteria that determine eligibility for severance pay in regular cases: An employee worked for at least one year and he was fired. If the employee resigns he forfeits the right to severance pay. (There are exceptions, but we won’t get into that right now).

Section 14 of the severance pay law is titled “severance and benefits” and it deals with cases in which both the employer and employee made contributions (via the payslip) towards pension or savings plans. According to section 14, the monies accumulated in the “severance pay” portion can be substituted for severance pay. Or in other words, by releasing the severance pay portion to the employee, the employer would then be exempt from paying any severance pay !

In 1998, the Minister of Labor signed an order enabling employers together with their employees to agree on enforcing section 14 at the place of employment. In this case, they do not need the Minister’s signature to enforce it. However, there are certain criteria that must be met in order to enforce section 14:

  1. The payments to the pension plan/ savings plan need to be the % defined in the general permit (including insurance coverage).
    This means only full pension and not mandatory pension
  2. There needs to be explicit agreement in writing between the employer and the employee, prior to start of employment.
    This means that it is part of the work agreement and known in advance.
  3. The employer needs to forfeit explicitly return of severance pay to him if the employee resigns.
    This means that employee leaving employ for whatever reason would receive the severance pay that has accumulated in the pension plan and nothing more.
  4. The monthly payments need to be paid on-time  !
    This means that the deductions from payroll need to be deposited into the pension plan by the 15th of each month. If the employer writes the check to the pension plan on the 15th and sends it via mail – that doesn’t count. One can easily see the date of deposit on the semi-annual statements the pension plan companies are required to send to the employees.

All of the above conditions need to be met in order for this to be legal.

The above is a risk for both sides: for the employee, forfeits his right to full severance pay, even when fired. On the other hand, the employer forfeits his right to reclaim severance pay from the fund in case of resignation.

The aforementioned permit from 1998  allows for retroactive enforcement provided it be in writing and within 3 months of starting the pension plan for the employee, no later.

So if your employer wakes up one day and decides that section 14 should apply to all employees – not so fast !

Employers who give Mandatory pension plan only – the law which came into effect starting Jan 2008 at lower rates than full pension plans are not eligible foe section 14 of the severance pay law.

 

 

Minimum wage update – Oct 1st 2012

Moshe

Great news for all salaried employees who earn minimum wages. After the govt. raised the v.a.t. and the latest price hikes in almost everything we buy, The minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Shalom Simchon announced today that the minimum wages will be raised from October 1st, 2012. This is the last update according to the last labor agreement signed two years ago between the Histadrut Haklalit and the Israeli Government and the Industry Union. The last update of the minimum wage was in July 2008.

The new hourly rate will be 23.10 sh (prev. 22.04)

The new monthly rate will be 4,300 sh (prev. 4,100)  – a 4.9% increase.

This also effects the hourly rate for youth, as follows:

up to age 16 – 3,010 sh

up to age 17 – 3,225 sh

up to age 18 – 3,569  sh

 

This notification was issued early, prior to the Jewish new year (Rosh Hashana) and according to the Central Bureau of Statistics will effect about 600,000 employees in Israel.

 

 

Company officers and executives can be prosecuted !

Moshe

If you are a company executive or officer and your job entails employing workers  this post is for you,

It is your responsibility to be updated, to know and be familiar with the latest laws, regulations and court verdicts in this field.

You must control, oversee and issue directives in order to notify the company where you are employed that they are acting legally or not.

New regulations will be coming into effect on June 19th 2012 which call for closer control and inspection by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Employment for violations of mandatory labor laws in Israel.

Violators will be prosecuted, including company officers or executives, personally ! This is a criminal offense and can be punished with administrative fines of up to 35,000 shekels for each offense or even jail time.

It is your duty to do everything in your power to make sure that the law is adhered to. Do not play around with employee’s rights, it is not worth the risk of the good name of your company.

The Ministry has allocated a special tab on the menu of their website where they will publish the names of all employers who have violated the law !

Potential employees who are searching for a job can check this site to see if the employer is listed – they might get an indication whether they want to work for such an employer or not.

 

 

 

 

 

Tightening of Enforcement of Labor laws

Moshe

Effective on June 19,2012 The Administration of Enforcement & Regulation in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Labor will be stepping up their efforts to enforce labor laws by spot checking employers. Any discrepancy can lead to fines of thousands of shekels for each offense and for each employee. In addition, CEO’s will be held personally responsible for failure to implement the laws. The fine issued to a CEO cannot be paid for by or refunded by the company and in extreme cases can result in criminal charges and even possible jail sentence. The only way a CEO can legally fight the fines and charges in a court are if he has proof of existing policies and procedures and that he has done all in his power to enforce the labor laws.
For example, a company who hires a manpower agency to provide cleaning workers or guards, can be held responsible if the manpower agency doesn’t pay them minimum wage, overtime, allow them to sit or take a break, are tardy in paying. The company needs to check the manpower agency’s calculations and payslips to ensure they pertain to the labor laws.

All employees need to have time-sheets, they can be an actual swipe card electronic clock, a computerized program, via a cash register or an internet time-sheet. It must have start and end times for each day worked and be able to track absences and overtime. The only exception are employees who work outside, on the road, etc in which case the pay slip needs to say “hours not able to be tracked”

 

New court verdict: resigning employee directed to reimburse company for training costs

Moshe

In a recent labor court ruling, an employee who had signed a contract for a commitment period of 12 months (minimum) and actually resigned after 4 months was instructed to reimburse the employer for the cost of training (prorated for the part of the commitment that wasn’t fulfilled – i.e. 8 months)

Garnished Wages – updated

Moshe

As of Jan 1st, 2012 the amounts exempt from  garnished wages have been updated as follows:

single – 2,093 sh

widower/divorced/single parent + 1 child – 3,384 sh

widower/divorced/single parent + 2 or more children – 4,221 sh

couple – 3,139 sh

couple + 1 child – 3,641 sh

couple + 2 or more children – 4,143 sh

 

Notes:

1) The above amounts do not apply to garnished wages for alimony.

2) Should the above amounts be more than 80% of the monthly salary (after deductions for income tax and social security and health tax) the amount exempt shall be reduced to 80% of the actual monthly salary.

 

source: protection of salary law, 1958 update 2012

 

 

2011 Convalescence Pay (Dmei Havra’a) Rates

Moshe

Effective June 2011 the following rates are in effect for Havra’a pay:

Private sector = 365 shekels per day
Public sector = 411 shekels per day

The number of days an employee is entitled to with regard to Dmei Havra’a is according to their tenure with the current employer, provided they have completed at least one full year of tenure. Continue reading “2011 Convalescence Pay (Dmei Havra’a) Rates” →

Youth Employment – Update April 2011

Moshe

As of April 2011 the minimum wage was raised and as a result the youth wages were adjusted accordingly.

Just in time for the summer vacation ! Make sure your teenage kids who found a summer-time job are paid according to the law. The new minimum wages for youth are as follows: Continue reading “Youth Employment – Update April 2011” →

Youth Employment 2011

Moshe

This article was published at the Almost Eden blog.

Just in time for the summer vacation! Make sure your teenage kids who found a summer-time job are paid according to the law. Effective July 2011, the new minimum wages for youth are as follows:

apprentices = 14.22 shekels per hour
up to age 16 = 16.59 shekels per hour
up to age 17 = 17.77 shekels per hour
up to age 18 = 19.67 shekels per hour
from age 18 and up = 22.04 shekels per hour

There are special regulations in effect for employing youth: Continue reading “Youth Employment 2011” →

Lawyers for Mitzvot (and not fees)

Moshe

Well, this just blew me away when I read about it a few weeks ago, so naturally I need to pass it on.

A group of some 2,000 lawyers are members in a project called “sachar mitzvah”, which roughly can be translated to the reward (or payment) is the good deed. There are 43 branches all over Israel. Continue reading “Lawyers for Mitzvot (and not fees)” →