Labor Law

Are employees in Israel entitled to a paid day off on election day?

Q: Are employees in Israel entitled to a paid day off on election day?

Knesset election day is a statutory paid day of rest under Section 136 of the Knesset Elections Law [Consolidated Version] 5729-1969. An employee who has worked for the same employer for at least fourteen consecutive days before the election is entitled to the day off on full pay, and the employer may not charge it against the annual leave balance. Businesses permitted to operate that day may require attendance, and those employees receive their pay plus payment for the hours worked or a substitute rest day. The entitlement is framed around employees who hold the right to vote, and that is the point which catches foreign staff.

      Knesset election day is a statutory paid day of rest under Section 136 of the Knesset Elections Law [Consolidated Version] 5729-1969. An employee who has worked for the same employer for at least fourteen consecutive days before the election is entitled to the day off on full pay, and the employer may not charge it against the annual leave balance. Businesses permitted to operate that day may require attendance, and those employees receive their pay plus payment for the hours worked or a substitute rest day. The entitlement is framed around employees who hold the right to vote, and that is the point which catches foreign staff.
    

Election day sits outside the ordinary holiday framework. It is not one of the Jewish festival days handled under the Hours of Work and Rest Law 5711-1951, and it does not come out of the entitlement under the Annual Leave Law 5711-1951. The Elections Law simply declares the day a day of rest and requires wages to be paid as though the day had been worked. Polling stations open early and close in the evening, and an employer in a sector permitted to operate must still arrange matters so that staff can vote. Municipal elections are treated in a comparable way within the relevant local authority under the Local Authorities (Elections) Law 5725-1965.

A foreign national working in Israel should not assume the day is automatic. Because the statutory right is tied to voting eligibility, an employee who is not an Israeli citizen has no independent claim to the paid day under the Elections Law, and whether they receive it depends on the employment contract, a collective agreement, a sectoral extension order, or the employer’s uniform practice. Employers that close entirely normally pay everyone, and treating citizens and non-citizens differently on a day when the workplace is shut invites a discrimination claim. Anyone asked to work should confirm in writing whether they are receiving the extra payment or a replacement day.

⚖ In Practice

Governing law: Section 136, Knesset Elections Law [Consolidated Version] 5729-1969; Local Authorities (Elections) Law 5725-1965 for municipal elections
Competent authority: Central Elections Committee (Va’adat HaBechirot HaMerkazit); wage enforcement by the Regulation and Enforcement Administration (Minhal HaHasdara VeHaAchifa) of the Ministry of Labour
Qualifying period: employment with the same employer for at least 14 consecutive days before election day
Pay: a full day’s pay, and the day may not be deducted from the annual leave balance
Working that day: employees in businesses permitted to operate receive their pay for the day plus payment for the hours actually worked, or a substitute rest day
Foreign employees: the statutory entitlement is tied to the right to vote, so a non-citizen’s claim usually rests on the contract, a collective agreement or a sectoral extension order

From the full guide: Annual Leave, Sick Leave and Public Holidays in Israel: Complete Guide

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Are employees in Israel entitled to a paid day off on election day?

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