Can an Israeli employer deduct money from an employee's wages?

The Wage Protection Law treats wages as money that belongs to the employee and limits what an employer may hold back. Section 25 lists the deductions that are permitted, and the list is closed rather than illustrative. It covers statutory deductions such as income tax and national insurance, agreed contributions to a pension or provident fund, union membership dues where applicable, sums an employer is ordered to deduct under a court or execution order, and a debt the employee has expressly agreed in writing the employer may deduct. Even a consented deduction for a debt is capped so that it does not swallow the wage. Anything outside this framework, imposed by the employer on its own initiative, falls outside the law.

In practice this protects foreign workers and expat employees from common abuses, such as an employer docking pay for a till that came up short, a broken item, or a client who failed to pay. Those are business risks the employer bears, not deductions it can pass to the worker without genuine written agreement or a legal ruling. An employee who suffers an unlawful deduction can claim the amount back in the Regional Labor Court, and a wage paid late or short can attract delayed-wage compensation, which is designed to be a real deterrent. Employees should keep their payslips and employment terms, since the payslip must itemize every deduction and is the first evidence of whether a deduction was lawful.

From the full guide: Employment Law in Israel for Foreign Companies and Expats

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