Is an employee in Israel entitled to sales commissions earned before termination but paid afterwards?

Because commission is wages, the protections of the Wage Protection Law attach to it. Wages are due by the ninth day of the month following the month in which they were earned, and after that delayed-wage compensation begins to accrue under Section 17, a deliberately punitive figure designed to stop employers using unpaid salary as free credit. Statutory employment rights cannot be contracted away, so a commission plan can define how a commission is calculated and when it is considered earned, but it cannot convert a right that has already vested into a discretionary payment. Where the plan is silent or ambiguous, the Labor Courts read it against the employer who drafted it.

Practical protection starts before the dispute. Keep a copy of the signed commission plan, your own record of closed deals with dates and values, and any emails approving them. If the plan makes payment conditional on the customer paying, confirm in writing when each invoice clears rather than relying on the employer to volunteer it. Commission also affects the exit numbers: for an employee paid wholly or partly by commission, severance pay is calculated on the average wage over the final twelve months, so weak commission months just before departure reduce the payout. The full framework appears in the guide to sales commission rules in Israel.

From the full guide: Sales Commission in Israel: Legal Rules for Employees and Employers

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