What workplace safety duties does an Israeli employer have?

Enforcement runs through the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health at the Ministry of Labour. Labour inspectors may enter a workplace without prior notice, take samples and measurements, and issue improvement notices or orders halting a machine, a process or an entire site. The Safety Officers Regulations 5756-1996 set the thresholds for appointing a certified safety officer, commonly from 50 employees in industrial workplaces, with separate thresholds for construction and other sectors. Employers must also maintain a documented safety programme, provide training, and report serious accidents and fatalities both to the Administration and to Bituach Leumi. National Insurance work injury benefits are paid regardless of fault, which is a separate track from any question of employer negligence.

Two points matter particularly for foreign employers and foreign workers. First, the duty applies regardless of nationality or permit status: a worker employed without a valid permit is still owed a safe workplace and can still bring a claim, a principle Israeli labor courts have applied consistently. Second, National Insurance benefits do not extinguish a negligence claim against the employer, so employer liability insurance is not optional in practice. Training has to be delivered in a language the worker actually understands, which is a live compliance issue in construction and agriculture, and the training register is the first document an inspector or a claimant's lawyer asks for. See the guide to work injury claims in Israel for how a claim proceeds after an accident.

From the full guide: Workplace Health and Safety in Israel: A Complete Legal Guide for Foreign Employers and Workers

← Browse all Q&A