Pre-Dismissal Hearing in Israel: What Employees Must Know Before Being Fired

Employees from countries with at-will employment are often surprised by this requirement. The hearing is not a formality. It is often the only point at which you can change the decision or negotiate better exit terms, and a defective hearing gives you a separate claim later.

1. The Legal Basis: A Doctrine Built by the Labor Courts

No statute sets out a general right to a hearing before dismissal in the private sector. The National Labor Court derived it from two sources:

• The duty of good faith in Sections 12 and 39 of the Contracts (General Part) Law 5733-1973, which applies with particular force in employment relationships.
• The right to be heard (zchut hatiyun), a basic principle of natural justice that originated in public law and was extended to private employers.

The leading case is Gutterman v. Emek Yezreel Academic College (National Labor Court appeal 1027/01, 2003). It described the hearing as a genuine process: the employee must know the grounds and the material against them, have time to prepare, and be heard with an open mind. Public-sector employees and many unionized workers also have hearing procedures in collective agreements or civil-service rules, which can impose stricter steps.

Because the right comes from good faith rather than from a contract term, a clause in your employment contract saying you waive the hearing does not protect the employer.

2. Who Has the Right to a Pre-Dismissal Hearing

• Every employee: full-time, part-time, hourly, salaried, and fixed-term, at small and large employers.
• Employees on probation. The hearing may be shorter and simpler in a genuine early-stage dismissal, but it is still required.
• Foreign workers and expats on any permit type (see section 8).
• Senior managers employed under an employment contract.

A genuine independent contractor has no such right, but a "contractor" whom the court finds was really an employee does; see employee vs. independent contractor in Israel. If you resign voluntarily there is no dismissal and no hearing. If the employer's conduct forced you out, the resignation may be treated as a dismissal; see constructive dismissal in Israel.

3. What the Hearing Must Include

Courts check whether the process was real. The essential elements are:

1. Advance invitation. You must be told before the meeting that dismissal is being considered, with the specific reasons. Vague grounds such as "performance concerns" are not enough. A written invitation is standard practice.
2. Time to prepare. No fixed number of days applies. The time must be reasonable for the complexity of the allegations. A few working days is common, and more is needed where there is a long history or many documents.
3. Access to the material. If the employer relies on complaints, audit findings, reviews or recordings, you should be able to see them in time to respond.
4. An open mind. The decision-maker, or someone who reports directly to them, must hear you before the decision is made, and the decision must not already have been taken.
5. Written arguments and a representative. You can submit a written response. You may ask to bring a representative (a workers' committee member, union official or, often, a lawyer). An unreasonable refusal counts against the employer.
6. A protocol and a reasoned decision. Employers usually record the hearing in a protocol and send a written decision afterwards. If they do not, your own same-day summary email becomes important evidence.

A hearing can be held by video call if the other requirements are met. A "late hearing" held after the decision has been communicated can sometimes cure the defect, but only if it is genuinely open-minded. Courts look at such hearings skeptically.

4. What Makes a Hearing Invalid

Labor Courts have found hearings defective in situations such as:

• A meeting called a "chat" at which the employee is told they are being dismissed, with no advance notice.
• A dismissal letter signed, or the departure announced to colleagues or clients, before the hearing.
• Grounds or evidence raised for the first time at the hearing or in the dismissal letter.
• A hearing run by someone with no influence on the decision, whose notes never reach the decision-maker.
• A hearing conducted in Hebrew for an employee who does not understand it, with no interpreter.
• A meeting of a few minutes about months of alleged performance problems, where the employee barely gets to speak.

5. Compensation When the Hearing Is Skipped or Invalid

A missing or defective hearing does not usually cancel the dismissal. Reinstatement is rare outside the public sector and statutory protections. Instead, the court awards compensation for the procedural defect, which is a separate question from whether the dismissal was justified.

There is no fixed tariff. The court considers the seriousness of the defect, the employee's seniority, age and chances of finding new work, whether a proper hearing could realistically have changed the outcome, and the employer's overall conduct. Awards range from a modest sum to several months' wages. Where the dismissal was also substantively unlawful, for example discriminatory, compensation can be much higher under the relevant statute.

This compensation is in addition to your other entitlements:

• Severance pay under the Severance Pay Law 5723-1963, generally one month's salary per year after one year of employment; see severance pay in Israel.
• Notice or pay in lieu under the Advance Notice of Dismissal and Resignation Law 5761-2001; see notice period in Israel.
• Vacation redemption and other final-pay items; see annual leave in Israel.

Claims are filed in the Regional Labor Court for the area where you worked. The general limitation period under the Prescription Law 5718-1958 is seven years. Do not sign a release letter before you have checked what you are giving up; see release letters in Israeli employment.

6. Protected Employees: Additional Requirements Before Dismissal

For some employees, a hearing is not enough. Dismissal during a protected period either needs an advance permit from the relevant authority or is prohibited outright:

• Pregnant employees with at least six months' seniority cannot be dismissed without a permit from the Ministry of Labor's Commissioner for Employment of Women (Memuna) under the Employment of Women Law 5714-1954, which also protects employees during maternity leave and for 60 days afterwards. See pregnancy dismissal protection.
• Employees undergoing fertility treatment are protected under the same law during treatment-related absences and for a period afterwards.
• Employees in reserve duty are protected under the Reserve Service Law 5768-2008 during service and for a period after release (30 days under the basic rule, and longer under temporary wartime provisions); dismissal in that period needs approval from a statutory permits committee. See reserve duty employment rights.
• Employees on sick leave may not be dismissed during the period for which they are receiving sick pay, under the Sick Pay Law 5736-1976.

Where a permit is required, the authority usually hears both sides and examines whether the dismissal is connected to the protected status. Even with a permit, the employer must still hold its own hearing. Dismissal in breach of these protections can lead to reinstatement or substantial statutory compensation. See protected employees in Israel for details.

7. How to Prepare for Your Pre-Dismissal Hearing

Before the hearing

• If the invitation gives too little time or the grounds are vague, ask in writing for a postponement and for particulars.
• Ask in writing for any documents the employer relies on.
• Prepare a written response that addresses each ground. Attach supporting emails, reviews and figures.
• Decide whether to bring a representative, and tell the employer in advance.
• If you might be in a protected group (pregnancy, fertility treatment, reserve duty, sick leave), say so in writing.
• Think about what you want if the dismissal goes ahead: a longer notice period, a reference, the timing of your departure, or the release of pension and severance funds. The hearing is often where these are negotiated.

During the hearing

• Hand over your written response and ask for it to be attached to the protocol.
• If new material is presented, ask for time to respond in writing.
• Take notes, and stick to the stated grounds.

After the hearing

• Send a same-day email summarizing what was said, and ask for a copy of the protocol.
• Wait for the written decision. Do not sign any settlement or release before getting advice.

Recording: under the Wiretapping Law 5739-1979, a participant may record a conversation they take part in, so recording your own hearing is not unlawful wiretapping, and Labor Courts have generally admitted such recordings. Telling the employer you are recording avoids arguments about good faith.

8. Foreign Workers and Expats: What Is Different for You

The hearing right applies to every employee in Israel regardless of nationality or visa. For foreign nationals, three things make it more important:

• Your permit is tied to the job. B/1 workers, experts and caregivers usually have permits linked to a specific employer or sector. When employment ends, there is a limited window to move to a new employer or leave Israel, and its length depends on the permit type. The hearing may be the only point where you can negotiate an end date that gives you time. See transferring a B/1 permit.
• Language. You may ask for the invitation, the hearing and the decision in a language you understand, or for an interpreter. A hearing you could not follow is a strong ground for a defective-hearing claim.
• Leaving Israel does not end your claim. You can sue later through an Israeli lawyer acting under a power of attorney. Foreign workers should also make sure the deposit fund (pikadon) and final pay are settled; see the foreign worker deposit.

Expats employed by an Israeli company under a foreign-law contract generally still benefit from the hearing requirement for work done in Israel, because it rests on mandatory good-faith principles. Expats employed abroad and only seconded to Israel should get advice on which law governs their dismissal. See Israeli employment law for foreigners.