Dismissal and Changes During Protected Periods: Checks Before an Employer Decides

Closing a role, falling revenue or performance difficulties may justify considering organisational change. Where an employee is protected, the first questions are what action may be considered, when and through which process. A business reason does not replace a required permit, and a hearing does not remove a special prohibition.

Israel has no single “protected period”. Pregnancy, fertility treatment, childbirth and parenthood, reserve duty and illness involve different arrangements. Sometimes a permit is required; sometimes no dismissal-permit route exists during that period; sometimes the focus is discrimination or workplace adjustments. This article offers an assessment sequence, not a timetable or approval to act in a particular case.

Start with a decision file, not a termination letter

Before approaching the employee, define what is actually being considered: dismissal, non-renewal of a fixed-term contract, reduced pay or hours, unpaid leave or a role change. Each may have a different significance; calling a change “temporary” does not remove the need for assessment.

Collect service with the employer and at the workplace, relevant dates, absences, notices and certificates supplied, and the business reason and alternatives. Collect sensitive information only as necessary and with authorisation. Do not seek medical or family information indiscriminately to “cover every possibility”.

Pregnancy: service matters, but it is not the whole assessment

Under section 9(a) of the Employment of Women Law, dismissal of a pregnant employee before birth and parenthood leave, after at least six months with the same employer or at the same workplace, requires a permit. The Minister cannot permit dismissal considered related to pregnancy. Coverage also requires assessment for temporary and agency employment. Employment of Women Law, section 9

Less than six months is not “permission to dismiss because of pregnancy”. The permit requirement under this provision and discrimination are separate questions. Within its scope, the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law prohibits pregnancy discrimination in conditions and dismissal. Its scope has qualifications, including for employers with fewer than six employees, subject to its provisions. Contractual duties and good faith still require assessment where that statute does not apply. Sections 2 and 21 · National Labor Court in Hatama–Haputa: good faith

Record the proposed reason and supporting data and assess them without assumptions about pregnancy or parenthood. Investigating who knew what and when does not replace examining the protection.

Childbirth and parenthood: distinguish leave, return and additional absence

During and after birth and parenthood leave

The Law prohibits dismissal during birth and parenthood leave and certain specified absences. Do not treat each situation as an ordinary application that can necessarily be approved. The Ministry of Labor's service page expressly distinguishes cases with a permit route from cases where a dismissal permit cannot be obtained. Ministry of Labor: available and unavailable permits

In the 60 days following birth and parenthood leave under section 9(c)(1a), permission to dismiss is particularly restricted. The statutory conditions are cumulative, including no connection with childbirth or leave and cessation of business or the specified insolvency circumstances. Eliminating a role alone is not presented as equivalent to closing the business. This is one route, not the rule for every parental absence.

Additional absence and counting the period

Childbirth-related medical absence, parental unpaid leave and other statutory absences require precise identification of the provision, conditions and end date. Some situations also concern fathers, adoptive parents and other parenting arrangements on the Law's conditions. “Parenthood” does not mean every parent receives identical protection for an identical period.

Unpaid leave does not always affect the protection period in the same way. Temporary provisions enacted in 2025 and 2026 provided that, on specified conditions, employer-initiated unpaid leave would not count towards particular 60-day protection periods following leave or absence under the Law. The 2025 framework concerns the events of June 2025; the 2026 framework was amended in May that year. A special permit route was also provided, subject to the statutory conditions, where dismissal is unrelated to childbirth or leave and 60 days have elapsed since the leave or absence ended. The applicable temporary provision, unpaid-leave conditions and permit route must therefore be identified; the end of protection cannot be calculated simply by adding 60 days to an assumed return date. Statute Book 3448 — sections 4, 6 and 9 · Statute Book 3513 — sections 3 and 6 · Statute Book 3525 — section 15

Fertility treatment: do not merge two routes

Section 9(e) distinguishes employees absent for fertility treatment or IVF under the statutory arrangement from employees who were not absent. Coverage conditions differ: absence, certificates, employer notification, service, treatment dates and the periods or limits governing each route.

Where protection applies, permits and the connection between dismissal and treatment require assessment under the relevant route. General knowledge of treatment does not dispense with its conditions, but no absence does not automatically mean no protection. Discrimination restrictions also require separate consideration within their scope. Section 9(e)

The employer needs a precise chronology rather than a formula based only on the “last treatment date”. This article does not prescribe notification or certification deadlines for every case.

Reserve duty: the Law, the extension and the committees' roles

Statutory protection differs from the order's additional protection

The Discharged Soldiers (Reinstatement in Employment) Law prohibits dismissal because of reserve service, a call-up or anticipated service, including frequency or duration. Separately, dismissal during service requires permission from the employment committee at the Ministry of Defense. For service exceeding two consecutive days, permit protection also applies during the 30 days following the end of service. Restrictions on reductions in hours or income and the calculation of advance notice must also be examined. Ministry of Defense: employment committees

The extension order published on 29 April 2026 adds dismissal protection in the 30 days following those first 30 days for an employee with at least 60 cumulative reserve-duty days in a calendar year and at least seven consecutive days of service, subject to the order's coverage. Its accumulation definition also includes previous-year service continuing into the relevant year, under its definition of continuity. This is not automatic 60-day protection for every reservist. During the additional period, dismissal is restricted to special reasons unrelated to service and requires the committee process prescribed by the order. Order: definitions and schedule sections 5–7

Identify the arrangement governing the business. The order excludes employers and employees covered, or to be covered, by the specified public-sector collective agreement dated 26 March 2026. This does not establish one route for everyone described as a “public-sector employee”. The order's general commencement is 1 January 2026, without a fixed end date, but the section 5 dismissal extension takes effect on publication, 29 April 2026.

Unpaid leave and changed terms have their own provisions

Section 6 also restricts unpaid leave during the additional 30 days. It requires special reasons, no connection with service and employee consent, or a situation where the employee wishes to take unpaid leave, even in connection with reserve duty, and both parties agree. The section 7 process must still be followed.

Section 8 prohibits adverse changes to working conditions, including transfer to another role or adding or removing duties, during its specified periods: service, the following 30 days and the next 30 days. It excludes income reductions arising under legislation or collective agreement, and reductions in output-based pay where the fall in output was not caused by the employer. Sections 6 and 8 do not repeat section 5's 60-day accumulation and seven-consecutive-day thresholds; those dismissal-extension thresholds must not automatically be transferred to these provisions. Order: schedule sections 6 and 8

The supervisory committee does not replace the employment committee

The supervisory committee under the order resolves disagreements about dismissal or unpaid leave within sections 5–6 arising on or after publication. The employer must refer the matter under section 7, including to establish whether disagreement exists. Dismissal or unpaid leave cannot take effect until the committee determines the disagreement or notifies the parties that none exists. Employee agreement does not remove the required notification.

Section 9 preserves the employment committee's statutory powers. If the employer has already applied to it on the relevant matter, its decision must accompany the application under the order. A decision by one committee is not blanket approval for every action or period; the order also preserves other employee remedies. Establish the appropriate route before implementation. Body of the order and schedule sections 7–9

For a reservist's spouse or the other parent of a child, examine rights and protections separately. The order's spouse-related provisions do not automatically transfer the reservist's own dismissal protection. Match legislation, temporary provisions and collective arrangements to the dates and circumstances of each decision.

Illness: accrued entitlement and exceptions matter

Section 4A of the Sick Pay Law prohibits dismissal during absence due to illness within accrued sick-pay entitlement under the Law or a collective agreement, up to the statutory maximum entitlement period. Establish the absence and relevant balance; a certificate alone does not answer every coverage question. Sick Pay Law, section 4A

Exceptions include advance notice of dismissal given before the sickness absence began, permanent cessation of operations and specified insolvency circumstances. This is not a general Ministry of Labor permit scheme.

Exhausting sick days alone does not decide whether dismissal is lawful. Other duties, including fair procedure, equality and adjustments where the condition amounts to disability, require assessment. The timing and conduct of a hearing during illness depend on ability to participate and the circumstances; this article sets no blanket rule.

Discrimination and workplace adjustments are independent checks

Within its scope, the Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law addresses prohibited grounds including pregnancy, fertility treatment, parenthood, age and reserve service. Assess what actually motivated the decision, rather than relying on the label “efficiency”.

For a person with a disability, the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law requires, within its scope, assessment of suitability and adjustments enabling employment without imposing an undue burden. Adjustments can concern hours, role requirements, equipment or procedures. The definition can include temporary disability; not every illness automatically qualifies. Sections 5 and 8

Examine essential requirements, the difficulty and relevant alternatives. This promises neither a newly created role in every situation nor permission to skip consideration because an adjustment requires change.

A hearing, consent and a permit serve different purposes

Before deciding on dismissal or a material change that may adversely affect the employee, provide a genuine opportunity to understand the reasons and respond while the decision remains open. The right to be heard applies in private employment too. National Labor Court in Hatama–Haputa, paragraphs 53–58

A hearing is not contractual consent to a change; neither is an authority's permit. Absence of discrimination does not cure failure to obtain a required permit. In Legami v. Bank Mizrahi Tefahot, the National Labor Court distinguished the causes of action: rejecting the discrimination allegation did not remove the Employment of Women Law breach, and later correction did not automatically erase it. Judgment, paragraphs 47–59

Assess whether and when a notice may be sent, rather than only the last working day. Applying for a permit is not receiving one, and retrospective approval cannot be assumed.

Changes short of dismissal can also be restricted

Section 9A of the Employment of Women Law concerns reductions in hours or income during periods of section 9 dismissal protection and defines exceptions. It distinguishes, among other matters, a temporary hours change requested by the employee for a medical reason supported by written certification, and specified reductions arising under legislation or collective agreement or in output-based pay on statutory conditions. These are specific definitions, not an exemption for every agreed change. Section 9A

For reserve duty too, examine the type of change and governing source. A role change, reduced hours and unpaid leave are different legal actions. If a proposal falls outside a particular prohibition, the agreement, hearing and relevant discrimination restrictions still need consideration.

What can an early decision cost?

Depending on the source and circumstances, breach can lead to compensation, an order or relief affecting continued employment. Some regimes also have enforcement consequences. There is neither a uniform sum nor automatic cancellation for every defect, and no basis to choose compensation in advance instead of complying with protection. Employment of Women Law, section 13A · Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law, section 10

Hypothetical example: a business proposes reduced hours because activity has fallen and one employee is undergoing fertility treatment. Before a final proposal, map the treatment route, notices and dates, the type of change and agreements, and examine permits and the hearing. A business explanation does not conclude the assessment. The example determines no entitlement.

Decide after the protection map is clear

When contacting Menahemov Shpigel & Co., prepare the proposed decision, business reason, chronology and relevant documents. Advice on the decision or representation in a dispute can be assessed within an agreed scope. A permit application or representation before a specific authority would be separately defined only if approved.

Further reading: employment records, responding to a demand or claim and Employer Representation.

General information about Israeli law. Each route requires assessment of coverage, dates and current provisions before action.