ISRAEL Law and Practice Contributed by: Tal Keret, Shira Lahat, Neta Goshen Brami, Shira Cohen-Mazor and Shirly Mahlab Hefetz, Arnon, Tadmor-Levy
• claims arising from defamation involving an employee, employer or officer where the cause is in connection with a labour dispute. Class Action The labour courts have the authority to hear class actions related to the first three grounds mentioned above, including: • claims between an employee and an employer based on a labour dispute; • claim arising from negotiations of an employ - ment contract or regarding the contract itself, or the acceptance or rejection of employment by an employer; and • claims between a collective bargaining unit and employers or member of the collective bargaining unit. Representation Representation in the labour courts is not fundamen - tally different from representation in the civil courts. However it should be noted that the labour courts are not usually subject to the rules of evidence and that the court has broad discretionary authority to handle any matters not regulated by the Labor Court Regula - tions (Procedures), 1991, in the manner it deems most appropriate to do justice. The courts have interpreted the rule as directing them to follow the civil procedures used in civil courts. 9.2 Alternative Dispute Resolution Arbitration in labour law is possible in Isreal and is referenced in the Labor Court Law of 1969. Section 28 of the law states that the labour court will have the same powers as a civil court in arbitration matters and the exclusive jurisdiction to hear claims resulting from an arbitration award. However, according to case law, the scope of arbitra - tion in labour law is very limited, and it is not possible to entrust arbitration with resolving a dispute concern - ing rights arising from a cogent provision in law or in a case. For example, arbitrators cannot decide on issues such as: • the existence of an employment relationship;
• the existence or denial of mandatory rights (eg, annual leave, sick leave, minimum wage, prohibi - tion on wage deductions, convalescence pay, pen - sion provisions); • factual decisions that impact statutory rights, such as resignation or dismissal and the circumstances of the resignation. It was also determined that claims concerning the rights granted to an employee by virtue of the Whistle - blower Protection Act or the Sexual Harassment Pre - vention Act are also considered mandatory (cogent) rights that should not be referred to arbitration for a decision. This means that even if a written agreement has been drawn up and signed by the parties stipulating that all or part of their disputes between will be resolved through arbitration, the agreement is not valid in so far as it concerns matters and issues governed by mandatory protective legislation. On the other hand, issues that are not governed by protective legislation, for example, the interpretation of an agreement related to contractual rights that originate from agreements rather than mandatory legal provisions or commercial disputes (eg, regard - ing options), can be referred to arbitration. In such cases, an arbitration clause in the employment agree - ment will be considered valid. Arbitration clauses are generally included in collective agreements, where the parties ‒ the employers and the representative organi - sation ‒ often choose to submit disputes regarding the interpretation of the agreement and its implementa - tion to arbitration. These arbitration clauses are often enforced. The labour courts have the authority to award legal costs, including attorney’s fees, in favour of the par - ty who has won their claim, in whole or in part. The court is granted broad discretion in determining the amount of costs Unlike the regulations applicable to the civil court system, which stipulate that the costs incurred by the losing party shall not be less than a minimum attorney’s fee established by law, the labour court is not bound by a statutory minimum rate. In 9.3 Costs Legal Costs
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