Notice of Resignation/Dismissal

When an employee wishes to resign or an employer seeks to terminate an employee, the initiating party must provide the other with advanced written notice. This applies to both employers (who must notify the employee in writing of termination) and employees (who must notify the employer in writing of resignation). The required notice period, in the absence of an agreement to terms more favorable to the employee, depends on factors such as salary structure (daily, weekly, or fixed monthly) and tenure with the employer.

For salaried employees (paid a salary, on a fixed monthly basis) the notice period is as follows:

• 1 day for each of the first 6 months
• 6 days plus an additional 2.5 days for months 7-12
• 1 month after 12 months of employment

For hourly employees, the notice period is:

• 1 day for each month in the first year
• 14 days plus 2 days for every two months completed in the second year
• 21 days plus 1 day for every two months in the third year
• 1 full month after three years

Employers may require employees to continue working as usual during the notice period or may waive this requirement. However, even if work is waived, the employer must still pay the employee’s full salary during this period.

There are limited exceptions to the advanced notice requirement. Unless advised otherwise by a qualified legal professional, it is important to assume that advanced written notice is required.

Certification of Employment Period

Upon termination—whether due to resignation or dismissal—employers must provide employees with written confirmation of their employment period (including beginning and end dates), including start and end dates, within 14 days of termination or one week from the employee’s request.

The Dismissal Process

Israeli law mandates that termination of employment must be done in good faith, for legitimate business reasons, and without violating legal protections (e.g., termination of a qualified pregnant employee or discrimination). Furthermore, Israeli case law requires that employers provide employees with a Zechut Shimu’ah (right to be heard) before making a dismissal decision. This also applies to non-renewal of fixed-term contracts or a material worsening of employment conditions.

The general procedure for the Shimu’ah hearing, in broad terms, is as follows:

1. The employer must provide the employee with a written invitation to attend the hearing, detailing the reasons for the potential dismissal.
2. Invite the employee to bring someone along to accompany the employee – that could be a relative, friend, lawyer, or other.
3. The invitation should give the employee sufficient time to prepare (typically 2-3 days notice). The less notice the greater the chance that the employee can allege that his/her rights were violated and the more the notice, the less that particular allegation would prevail. I generally recommend to my employer clients to give at least 3-4 days.
4. The hearing must be conducted in good faith, considering the employee’s arguments.
5. The employer should record/document the internal hearing and provide a copy to the employee immediately.

Failure to provide this requisite opportunity to be heard may lead to legal challenges and possible damages for wrongful termination, including claims for pain and suffering.

While some unique, mitigating circumstances may dictate termination without strictly following all of the rules for an internal hearing, employers would be well-advised to minimize those occasions, only do so when absolutely necessary, and, in any event, act in good faith.

For parties in Israel, you can record the Shimu’ah hearing even without the knowledge of the other side, and you should assume that the other side is recording the hearing. I recommend that my clients record the hearing.

Severance Pay

Generally, an employee terminated after one year of employment is entitled to severance pay from the employer, calculated at the rate of one month’s regular salary for each year of employment.

Since the implementation of mandatory pension plans under Section 14 of the Severance Pay Law, all or most severance entitlements are deposited directly into the severance component of the employee’s pension account. Upon termination of employment—whether through resignation or dismissal—the pension plan will generally be transferred to the employee. This system reduces the distinction between resignation and dismissal in terms of severance pay, except for the potential waiting period for unemployment compensation. This shift has minimized the differences in severance entitlements that previously existed between voluntary resignation and involuntary dismissal.

This article is informational and is not to be considered a legal opinion. For legal advice, we suggest that you contact legal counsel directly.

Russell D. Mayer is a senior partner at the Jerusalem-based law firm of Livnat, Mayer & Co. (www.LMF.co.il). If you have any comments or questions with respect to this article, feel free to contact him at [email protected].

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* Last updated on November 21, 2024 *

This article is not to be considered as a legal opinion. For legal advice, we suggest that you contact legal counsel directly!

Russell D. Mayer is senior partner at the Jerusalem-based law firm of Livnat, Mayer & Co. (lmf.co.il) If you have any comments or questions with respect to this article, please contact Russell at [email protected] | All rights reserved © 2024