Can a non-Jewish employee in Israel take their own religious holidays instead of the Jewish ones?

Israeli rest law is built around religious observance rather than a neutral calendar, which is why it contains an explicit opt-out. A Christian employee can elect Sunday as the weekly rest day and Christmas and Easter as festival days. A Muslim employee can elect Friday and the Islamic festivals. The employer must respect the election once made, and cannot require work on the chosen rest day without a permit from the Minister of Labour, exactly as it could not require an observant Jewish employee to work on Shabbat. The election attaches to the employee, not to the workplace, so a mixed team may run several calendars at once.

The paid entitlement follows the election rather than expanding it. Israeli employees receive nine paid festival days a year under the general extension order, and those nine days are simply allocated to whichever calendar the employee chose. An employee who works on their elected rest day or festival is entitled to the statutory premium plus compensatory rest, the same as for Shabbat work. Foreign workers hold this right in full, since Israeli protective legislation applies by reference to where the work is performed. Read the guide to foreign worker rights in Israel for how these entitlements are enforced.

From the full guide: Foreign Worker Rights in Israel

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