Last updated on August 22, 2024.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Israel

Vacation (Annual Leave) Quota

At least 12 days

Regular employees in Israel are entitled to at least 12 days of paid vacation per year for a standard workweek of 5 days. Employees working a 6-day work week are entitled to 14 days of paid vacation. (For employers who want to follow the accrual rate: Days of vacation leave accrue every month and are determined by the following calculation: base pay divided by 21.67 days per month, then multiplying the result by 10 or 12, depending on the duration of the employee’s workweek.)

Part-time employees can also take advantage of vacation leave benefits, either on a pro-rated basis or at a rate of 70% of full-time wages.

An employee qualifies for vacation leave benefits after 3 months of employment.

Increase in Vacation Days Throughout Years of Service

The exact number of vacation days an employee must receive depends on factors such as their length of service, the period of engagement within each working year, and the number of working days per week.

General guidelines for seniority are:

• During their initial 5 years of employment, employees are entitled to up to 12 days of paid vacation.
• In the sixth year, 14 days.
• In the seventh year, 15 days.

After seven years, employees earn one day of vacation per year of employment, up to a max of 20 days.

Additional Info

A leave during public holidays, due to army reserve military duty, or maternity leave does not count as vacation days. If the vacation days include a weekend, one day of the weekend is counted as part of the vacation.

An employee is required to submit an advance written notice at least 14 days before their absence from work due to vacation leave.

Vacation leave is paid at the normal rate of the employee’s salary.

Carry Over

Allowed, up to 4 years.

Employers must guarantee that all full-time and regular employees take at least 7 days of vacation leave each year.

An employee may carry forward unused days of vacation leave to the next year, and this account must be settled after each three years of service. The law forbids employees from accruing more than four years’ worth of vacation days.

PTO Payout at the Termination

Legally required.

Employees are entitled to receive payment for all unused days of vacation leave from the last 4 years of service upon ending employment.

Sick Leave in Israel

Sick Leave

1.5 days of paid sick leave per month

An employee is entitled to accumulate sick leave of one and a half days per full month of employment, and up to a total maximum of 90 days of sick leave. The entitlement for payment during sick leave is as follows: for the first day of absence the employee is not entitled to any payment; for the second and third days of absence the employee is entitled to receive 50% of the salary he would have received if he had worked on those days; from the fourth day of absence onwards, the employee is entitled to 100% of the salary he would have received had he worked on those days.

Parental Sick Leave

8 days of paid leave per year

Employes are entitled to 8 paid parental sick-leave days a year, in the case of the illness of a child under the age of 16. In the case of a child’s terminal illness, the employee is entitled to 30 sick leave days.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Israel

At least 15 weeks

Employers are required to give women, a 15-week paid maternity leave. A maximum of six weeks may be taken by the woman prior to giving birth and the remaining weeks can be taken after the birth. 

The woman can also choose to take all the maternity leave after the birth. 

If the woman was hospitalized during pregnancy she may extend the leave to up to 16 weeks. If the baby is hospitalized, the maternity leave may be extended to a maximum of four additional weeks.

Paternity Leave in Israel

Legally required. The duration depends on combining with maternity leave.

An employee whose wife gave birth is entitled to use up to six weeks of maternity leave. The prerequisites for such leave are that: the employee’s wife is entitled to maternity leave, she utilized at least six weeks of leave after birth, and she waived her right to the remaining weeks.

Bereavement Leave in Israel

Up to 7 days.

Employees of any religion are entitled to receive full pay if they were absent from work due to the death of a first-degree relative (parent, child, spouse, or sibling).

The paid mourning period may be up to 7 calendar days.

Eligibility is dependent on the accumulation of seniority of at least 3 months working in the place of employment, excepting certain cases where the entitlement is not dependent on seniority.

Part-time employees are eligible for wages only for the days on which they were to be working and for which they missed work due to the mourning.

Jury Duty Leave in Israel

Jury duty leave is not specified by law.

Military Leave in Israel

Legally required.

Under the law, employees serving on reserve duty must still be paid by their employer. Military service is mandatory in Israel.

Voting Leave in Israel

Voting leave is not specified by law.

Public Holidays in Israel for 2024

• March 24 – Purim (Jerusalem only)
• March 25 – Shushan Purim (Jerusalem only)

In addition, applicable law also provides that non-Jewish employees have the right to choose between the Jewish holidays as their days of rest or other days, according to their own religion.

The law provides that those employees who are paid on a monthly basis shall not be entitled to any additional payment for such public holidays, but rather that their regular salary shall not be reduced during months when such holidays occur. In addition, such holidays shall not be deducted from these employees’ entitlement to annual leave. Employees paid on an hourly or daily basis shall be entitled to separate reimbursement for such public holidays, subject to certain conditions.

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/israel

2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Israel, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/israel/

3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Israel, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/Israel

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.