Labour law6 min read8/30/2026

You Left Without Working During the Notice Period in Israel: How Much May the Employer Deduct From Your Wages?

In Israel, “working during the notice period” is not a separate penalty, but rather a period of written advance notice of resignation. If the employee did not work during the required period, the employer may deduct the regular wages for the missing period, but may not unilaterally deduct any alleged damage.

Numbers and facts

•One month of advance notice—after one year of monthly salaried employment
•18.5 days—after 11 full months of monthly salaried employment
•14 days plus an addition—the second year of employment for an hourly employee
•21 days plus an addition—the third year of employment for an hourly employee
•50 × 100 hours = 5,000 shekels in wages for purposes of the calculation

First, Determine the Type of Wages and Length of Service

The period is determined by the Advance Notice for Dismissal and Resignation Law, 5761-2001, and must be calculated according to calendar days rather than working days. During the first 6 full months of employment, a monthly salaried employee gives one day of notice for each month of employment; afterward—an additional 2.5 days for each full month of employment beyond the first six months. For example, with 11 months and one week of service, only the 11 full months are taken into account: the period will be 18.5 calendar days. After one year of employment, a monthly salaried employee must give one calendar month’s notice.

A Different Scale Applies to Hourly Employees

During the first year of employment, an hourly or daily paid employee gives one day of notice for each month of employment. During the second year of employment, the period is 14 days, plus one day for every two months of employment during the second year; and during the third year—21 days, plus one day for every two months of employment during that year. Beginning with the fourth year of employment, one month is required. One common mistake is to apply the scale for a monthly salaried employee to an hourly employee, or to count only the shifts actually worked.

What Exactly May Be Deducted

Under Section 7 of the Law, an employee who stopped working without giving lawful advance notice must pay compensation in an amount equal to the employee’s regular wages for the portion of the notice period not given to the employer. The Ministry of Labor states that this amount may be deducted from the sums owed to the employee as part of the final settlement. Regular wages may include base wages and fixed supplements taken into account when calculating severance pay; payments contingent on a special condition are not automatically included in the calculation base. In the example provided in the sources, an hourly employee earned 50 shekels per hour and worked an average of 100 hours per month, so the monthly wages for purposes of the calculation were 5,000 shekels.

Business Losses Are Not an Automatic Penalty

The employer may argue that the sudden departure disrupted a project, required finding a replacement urgently, or caused other damage. Nevertheless, the employer may not unilaterally deduct from the final wages an arbitrary value for such losses: the automatic deduction applies to compensation for the missing notice period. Additional compensation for breach of the duty to act in good faith may be possible only in appropriate circumstances, but it cannot simply be imposed in the final settlement payslip. Deductions labeled “penalty,” “damage to the company,” or “replacement cost” may therefore be challenged if they have no separate legal basis.

When Work May Be Stopped Immediately

The employee may refrain from reporting to work during the notice period if the employer agreed to immediate termination or waived the employee’s presence. If the employee gave lawful advance notice and the employer required the employee to leave immediately, the employee is entitled to payment in lieu of notice for the period during which the employer waived the employee’s work, as well as payment for unused vacation, if days had accrued to the employee’s credit. Section 10 establishes an exception in special circumstances in which the employee cannot be required to continue working; the material gives, as an example, an illness that makes the person unable to work. A deterioration in working conditions does not, by itself, cancel the obligation to give advance notice.

Three Months in the Contract: The Dispute Has Not Yet Been Resolved

The employment contract may establish a period longer than the one prescribed by law, for example, three months instead of one month. The Regional Labor Courts have issued differing rulings: according to one position, a resigning employee may be required to provide only the minimum prescribed by law; according to another position, a mutual and reasonable contractual term binds both parties. In case SaSh 28016-02-19, the Regional Labor Court supported enforcing the longer period, provided that it is mutual and reasonable. The National Labor Court has not yet issued a binding decision on the issue, so a deduction for “contractual” months beyond the statutory period remains a genuine matter of dispute.

FAQ

May the employer deduct the entire final wages?

The employer may deduct compensation equal to the regular wages for the portion not provided out of the required notice period, including from final-settlement sums. However, this does not grant the employer the right to reduce all payments to zero without a calculation or to add arbitrary penalties and estimated damages.

Are working days or calendar days counted?

The notice period is calculated in calendar days, including weekends and holidays. For a monthly salaried employee after one year of employment, this means one calendar month and not necessarily 30 days.

Must the employer be notified in the event of a deterioration in working conditions?

Yes. According to the Ministry of Labor, the advance-notice obligation also applies to a resignation due to a deterioration in working conditions, even if the circumstances may confer entitlement to severance pay.

What should be done if the manager personally said not to come in anymore?

It is important to retain written confirmation that the initiative to stop the actual work immediately came from the employer. If the employee gave lawful advance notice, the employer’s waiver of the employee’s work generally leads to payment in lieu of notice, rather than a deduction from the employee.

Can a deduction for three months specified in the contract be challenged?

Yes, especially if the law required a shorter period, the term was not mutual, or its reasonableness is in doubt. The rulings of the Regional Labor Courts are not uniform, and the National Labor Court has not yet established a binding precedent.

What to do next

Before leaving, it is advisable to document in writing the date on which notice was given, the last working day, the method of payment, and the full length of service, and then compare the calculation with the law and the contract. In the final settlement payslip, it is advisable to examine separately the regular-wage base, the number of missing days, and all additional “penalties” or “damages.” In the event of a dispute over immediate departure, special circumstances, or a contractual period beyond that prescribed by law, the correspondence, attendance reports, and payslips should be retained for an individual review.

Sources

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