חוק הקפאה והפחתה של דמי הבראה בשנת 2024 לשם תקצוב הטבות לחיילי מילואים, התשפ"ד-2024Law Freeze and Reduction of Recuperation Pay in 2024 for the Purpose of Budgeting Benefits for Reserve Soldiers, 2024 · automatic translation · suggest a correction

Official summary of the law (Knesset)

In order to finance benefits for reserve soldiers due to the Iron Swords War, it was determined that the recreation-day rate for calculating recreation pay in 2024 would be frozen, and that one recreation day would be deducted for all employees entitled to recreation pay in 2024. The provisions will apply both to career service soldiers and to office-holders who are not employees, with adjustments regarding the manner of reducing the amount. For an employee whose average income does not exceed ILS 6,000 and who is entitled to five recreation days in 2024, only half a recreation day will be deducted. The employer shall transfer to the assessing officer, as a withholding tax deduction at the time it was required to pay the employee the recreation pay in 2024, the price of the recreation day thus deducted, plus the mandatory payments applicable to it for National Insurance, VAT, and a training fund, and if the employer is subject to an obligation to update the recreation-pay rate in 2024, it shall also transfer to the assessing officer the amount it saved due to not updating the recreation-day rate in 2024 with respect to the remaining recreation days, and the mandatory payments applicable thereto. Provisions were established regarding the method of calculating the amounts in each of the possible forms of recreation pay payment – as a single annual payment, as part of the monthly or periodic payment, or by way of financing a vacation or an in-kind benefit – and the calculation methods are also detailed for a part-time employee, an employee who works part of the year, or an hourly employee. The Law authorizes the establishment of Regulations regarding the method of calculating the deduction from recreation pay to the extent it is not paid as a separate component. It was further determined that the provisions of a collective agreement signed by the Histadrut regarding the reduction of recreation pay shall apply instead of the reduction provision to the employees covered by it – however, employees who under the Law are entitled to a partial reduction shall be subject to the more favorable partial-reduction arrangement under the Law. At the same time, it was determined that the reduction of recreation pay shall not affect the calculation of entitlement for matters listed in the Law, including, among others, pension payments. Additional provisions were established to prevent circumvention of the fixed payment obligation, including the exercise of powers under the Basic Budgetary Principles Law against a public employer that acts contrary to the provisions of the Law. The Law also established a reporting obligation, by the end of 2026, regarding the execution of the budget for providing benefits to reserve soldiers and regarding the amounts collected by the assessing officer.

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