Employee Rights During War in Israel: Absence, Pay, and Dismissal Protection

Every few years, sirens change the rules of an ordinary workday in Israel. Home Front Command (Pikud HaOref) restricts gatherings, schools close, and people who never thought about labor law suddenly need to know whether staying home with a seven-year-old will cost them their job. The fighting that began at the end of February 2026, known as "Roaring Lion" (Sha'agat HaAri), brought a new emergency law and a new round of exactly these questions.

Foreign employees get hit hardest. Their HR teams abroad have often never heard of Home Front Command, and many are not covered by unemployment insurance at all.

1. The Law That Protects Absent Employees

The base rule sits in Section 2 of the Protection of Employees in Emergency Law 5766-2006 (Chok Haganat Ovdim BeShe'at Cherum). An employer may not dismiss an employee because the employee was absent from work during a period when Home Front Command instructions restricted going to work, and the employee's absence followed those instructions.

The instructions themselves come from the Civil Defense Law 5711-1951. Under Section 9C, the government or the Minister of Defense can declare a "special situation on the home front." A ministerial declaration lapses after 48 hours unless the government extends it, and a government declaration needs approval from the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. Once a declaration is in force, Home Front Command publishes activity levels by region: full activity, limited activity, or essential activity only.

Employees tend to get these points wrong:

• The protection follows the instructions for your area. If your home region was under "essential activity only" but your office region was open, look at where the restriction actually applied and whether you could lawfully travel.
• Nationality does not matter. The law applies to every employee working in Israel, including foreign workers on B/1 visas, caregivers, and employees of foreign companies' Israeli branches.
• Fear alone is not covered. Staying home from a workplace that was allowed to open and has a protected space falls outside Section 2.

2. Staying Home When Schools Close

The harder situation is when the workplace is open but the schools are not. The 2006 law, as amended, extends dismissal protection to a parent who stays home to supervise a child up to age 14, or up to age 21 for a child with special needs, while the educational institution is closed under Home Front Command instructions.

Employers do check the conditions:

• The child must live with the employee.
• In a two-parent household, the protection generally applies to one parent at a time. If the other parent is on reserve duty, in other statutory service, or unable to supervise the child, the employee's claim is strong. If the other parent is not working and could supervise, the employee may have to explain why they could not.
• A single parent, or a parent with sole custody, is protected without having to show anything about the other parent.

Separate legislation covers the spouse or co-parent of a reservist. A law passed in May 2024 bars employers from dismissing, or placing on unpaid leave, the partner of a reservist during the partner's service and for a short period afterward unless a Ministry of Defense employment committee grants a permit. The 2026 emergency law widened this for parents supervising children while the other parent serves.

3. Will You Be Paid for the Days You Missed?

This is where most people get a surprise. The 2006 law protects your job, but it says nothing about paying you. There is no general legal duty to pay wages for days an employee did not work because of Home Front Command instructions or school closures.

Employers handle it in different ways:

• Many keep paying full wages. This is common in technology, finance, and larger companies, partly because the state reimburses part of those wages (see Section 7).
• Some charge the days to annual leave. Under the Annual Leave Law 5711-1951, the employer sets vacation timing after consulting employees, and Ministry of Labor guidance issued during the emergencies says an employer who imposes more than seven vacation days should give at least 14 days' notice.
• Others agree on remote work or a reduced schedule, paid in proportion.
• The last option is unpaid leave (chufsha lelo tashlum), which brings in the unemployment rules in Section 4.

Sick days cannot be used for security closures unless someone is actually sick. A collective agreement or written policy promising pay during emergencies is binding, though.

4. Unpaid Leave and Unemployment Benefits in 2026

Normally an employee on unpaid leave can claim unemployment benefits (dmei avtala) from the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi, NII) only after at least 30 days of leave initiated by the employer, and only after a qualifying period of 12 months of work in the previous 18 months. Each round of fighting has produced temporary laws that relax these rules.

The Economic Assistance Plan Law (Temporary Provision) passed at the end of March 2026 applied retroactively from 28 February 2026. Its main changes for employees:

• Unpaid leave of at least 10 consecutive days qualifies, whether the employer or the employee initiated it.
• The qualifying period drops to 6 months of work within the preceding 18 months.
• The employee does not have to use up accrued vacation days first.
• Unpaid leave in this period does not count toward the 60-day protected period after maternity or parental leave under the Employment of Women Law 5714-1954, so a new mother on unpaid leave keeps her full post-leave protection.

Unemployment benefits are paid only up to age 67, and only to people covered by Israeli national insurance as residents. That second condition matters a lot for readers of this site. A foreign worker on a B/1 visa, or a foreign national employed in Israel without residency, is generally outside the unemployment insurance system. For them unpaid leave means no income at all, so paid alternatives are worth fighting for.

5. Evacuees, Reservists and Their Spouses

Evacuees, reservists, and reservists' partners get stronger protection than the general Section 2 rule. After October 2023, and again under the 2026 emergency law, employees who were absent or could not do their jobs because they were evacuated from their homes are protected from dismissal for three months. Residents of communities near the northern border and the Gaza perimeter relied on this for long stretches.

Reservists have the longest-standing protection. The Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law 5709-1949 bars dismissing an employee during reserve duty (miluim) and for 30 days after release without a permit from the Ministry of Defense employment committee. For employees who served at least 60 days, including a stretch of at least 7 consecutive days, the protected period after release is 60 days, and for 30 days after that the employer cannot worsen their terms or move them to a different role. Our guide to miluim employment rights covers pay and the NII reimbursement process in detail.

For the spouse of a reservist, as explained in Section 2, dismissal or unpaid leave needs a permit while the partner serves.

6. When an Employer Can Still Dismiss

The emergency law does not freeze every job in the country. It bars dismissal because of protected absence. An employer can still end employment for a real reason that has nothing to do with the absence, such as a documented performance problem that existed before the fighting, or a closure of the business line.

Timing works against the employer. A dismissal a week after a protected absence suggests the absence was the reason, and the employer will need pre-emergency records to prove otherwise. The general duties still apply: a proper pre-dismissal hearing (shimua) with written notice of the reasons, statutory notice under the Advance Notice for Dismissal and Resignation Law 5761-2001, and severance where due.

One exception runs the other way. Employees of an enterprise designated as essential (mifal chiyuni) under the Emergency Labor Service Law 5727-1967 can be required to report even when others stay home, subject to exemptions for pregnant employees, parents of young children without care, and others. An employee of an essential enterprise who was called in and refused may not be protected. Ask HR in writing whether your employer holds that designation.

7. For Employers: Reimbursement and Compliance

Foreign-owned employers often assume they carry the full cost of paying absent staff. They do not. The Property Tax and Compensation Fund Law 5721-1961 funds compensation for "indirect damage" to businesses during security events, and the temporary provisions for each round of fighting have included a wage track. Under that track, the Israel Tax Authority reimburses part of the wages an employer paid to employees who were absent under Home Front Command instructions. Employees placed on unpaid leave, or not paid at all, are left out of the calculation.

For the 2026 round, the amended law set qualifying periods around March to April 2026, with an alternative period for businesses reporting on a cash basis. The Tax Authority is expected to pay an advance of 60% of the amount claimed within 21 days of a complete claim. Rates, turnover tests, and deadlines change with each temporary provision, so check the current terms on the Tax Authority's compensation portal before you decide how to handle absent staff.

Log every absence by date and reason, and check whether an employee belongs to a protected group before any dismissal or unpaid leave decision.

8. Enforcing Your Rights

An employee who was dismissed, or had pay withheld, because of wartime absence has two routes, and you can use both.

The first is a complaint to the Ministry of Labor's enforcement administration (the Wage and Labor Rights Enforcement Unit). It is free, you do not need a lawyer, and the Ministry can investigate, impose administrative fines, and refer cases for criminal prosecution under the 2006 law. Complaints can be filed online through the Ministry's website at gov.il.

The second is a claim in the Regional Labor Court for compensation, unpaid wages, and in strong cases reinstatement. Compensation for unlawful dismissal comes on top of severance and notice pay. The evidence that wins is your daily Home Front Command screenshots, your messages to the employer, school closure notices, and payslips.

Foreign workers whose visa depends on the job should also read our guide to foreign worker rights in Israel.