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Monday, February 10, 2025
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Histadrut Deal Boosts Employment Protections for Reservists

The deal with protect reserve soldiers from firing in the 60 days following their return and will provide additional days off for spouses of reservists with young children

חיילי מילואים מתאמנים ברמת הגולן. למצולמים אין קשר לידיעה (צילום ארכיון: מיכאל גלעדי/נ פלאש 90)
Reservists training in the Golan Heights. The individuals in the photo are not related to the report. (Archival photo: Michael Giladi/Flash90)
By Nizzan Zvi Cohen

Histadrut Chair Arnon Bar-David signed an agreement last week with Dubi Amitai, chair of the Israel Business Sector Presidium, extending workplace protections for military reservists and their spouses throughout 2025. The deal is good news for the tens of thousands of Israelis who serve in the reserves. But for the agreement to be implemented across the entire Israeli labor market, Minister of Labor Yoav Ben Tzur will have to sign an extension order.

“This agreement reflects our responsibility to support the best of us, those who have been protecting us for more than 470 days, allowing us to live safely on the home front. It is important to remember that the challenges do not end upon returning from the battlefield,” Bar-David said. “Reservists face many difficulties, both physical and mental, and it is our duty as a society to assist them and reward them for their contribution to the state and the people of Israel.”

Under the agreement, returning reservists will be protected from dismissals for 60 days following their return from service, instead of the one-month period currency required by law. Spouses of reservists who are raising children up to the age of 14 will be entitled to up to eight days of paid leave.

“The continuation of paid absence days for reservist families is essential for maintaining the household when a spouse is on the front lines and for ensuring the resilience of mobilized families on the home front,” Shvut Raanan, head of an organization for reservists’ wives, said. “I want to thank the Histadrut and the Presidency of the Business Sector for providing certainty during a time when it is so critically needed, and I call for the integration and expansion of this framework into law.”

Employees who were unable to use all of their vacation days in 2024 due to circumstances related to the war will be also allowed to carry over their unused vacation days into 2025.

Amitai, chair of the Israel Business Sector Presidium, said that the business sector is working to fully support reservists and their families. “When the war broke out, we were among the first to step up in order to maintain the stability of the economy and its resilience,” he said. “Alongside this agreement, we are also working to ensure that employers in Israel continue to receive compensation for the benefit payments made on behalf of their employees serving in the reserves. This helps reduce the financial burden on employers caused by the prolonged absence of their workers.”

This article was translated from Hebrew by Nancye Kochen. 

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