חוק החיילים המשוחררים (החזרה לעבודה) (תיקון מס' 19 והוראת שעה), התשפ"ד–2024Law Discharged Soldiers (Return to Work) (Amendment No. 19 and temporary provision), 2024 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

This Amendment to the Discharged Soldiers (Return to Employment) Law, 1949, expands the protection currently provided under the Law regarding a person serving in the reserves, so that during the 30-day protection period following the end of reserve duty, it is also prohibited to reduce the scope of his employment or his income without a permit from the Employment Committee at the Ministry of Defense (in addition to the prohibition on dismissal). The same provisions that apply to the prohibition on dismissal, including the possibility of imposing a financial sanction, will apply to a violation of this provision. It is further determined that an employer may not dismiss an employee because of the reserve duty service of the employee's spouse or the other parent of the employee's child, and if dismissed – the dismissal is void, and protection is established for such employees under the Equal Employment Opportunities Law against discrimination as employees or job seekers – due to the reserve duty service of their spouse or the other parent of their child. It is further established, as a temporary provision, that an employer will be required to obtain a permit from the Employment Committee in order to dismiss an employee who has a child up to age 14, during the reserve duty service of the employee's spouse if the service is under an emergency call-up order or lasts at least 21 consecutive days, or in order to place such an employee on unpaid leave, as detailed in the Bill. Eligibility for protection will be conditional on the employee having given notice to the employer regarding the reserve duty service within three days of being notified of the intention to dismiss him or place him on unpaid leave. An employer who dismisses an employee or places him on unpaid leave in violation of these provisions will bear criminal liability and may be subject to financial sanctions. This temporary provision will apply for a period until 31 December 2025 and may be extended for additional periods of up to three years each. For the period until 31 December 2024, it is determined that the protection will also apply during the 14 days following the end of reserve duty service – and this period may be extended for additional periods of up to two years each. Finally, eligibility is established for a one-time grant for employees who have a child up to age 14, whose spouses serve in reserve duty under emergency circumstances pursuant to Section 8 of the Reserve Service Law, or whose expected reserve duty service lasts at least 21 consecutive days, and who meet the other conditions set out in the Law, including that the unpaid leave is for a period of at least 21 days, during the period from 7 October 2023 to 31 December 2024 (even if the employees took unpaid leave on their own initiative). Eligibility for the grant will be for the days during which the employees were on unpaid leave during such reserve duty service, up to a maximum of 30 days. The grant will be in the amount of 70% of the average income as detailed in the Amendment to the Law. This arrangement will take effect on 16 June 2024, but eligibility for the grant will also apply to those who went on unpaid leave before the Amendment to the Law took effect – starting from 7 October 2023. Information regarding the rights arising from the Amendment will be included in the information given to soldiers performing reserve duty regarding their rights, as well as in the information published on the IDF website.

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