Vacation by the Rules: 10 Questions Every Employee in Israel Has

Lawyers explain ten common situations related to employee vacations in Israel: can an employer refuse a vacation, what to do when booking tickets without approval, cancellation of an already approved vacation, rights of those returning from reserve duty, obligation to work in August, the need to answer work emails during vacation, and compensation for working on vacation days.

Lawyers explain ten common situations related to employee vacations in Israel. An employer may refuse a vacation due to high workload or staff shortages, but the refusal must be objective. Booking tickets before vacation approval is a risk: the employer is not obligated to change their decision even if the employee incurred expenses. Cancellation of an already approved vacation is possible only in exceptional cases, considering the damage to the employee. Reserve duty is not considered vacation and cannot be grounds for refusal. An employer may require work in August if objectively necessary, but must provide vacation at another time. An employee on vacation is not obligated to answer work emails, but exceptions may apply for managers. If an employee actually worked on a vacation day, they should be compensated with that day back. The article is based on comments from attorney Limor Argov-Shenhav, partner and head of the labor law department at the law firm "Wexler — Bergman."

Vacation by the Rules: 10 Questions Every Employee in Israel Has