ISRAEL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dafna Shmuelevich, Eran Shoham, Zohar Geva and Ayal Erez, Dafna Shmuelevich & Co
The Evolving Israeli Case Law on Remote Work Unlike in Europe or other democratic countries around the globe, Israeli legislation does not address remote work. This legislative vacuum is particularly prob - lematic in Israel, where the remote work trend has gained momentum due to recurrent security situations that periodically prevent employees from physically attending their workplaces. In the absence of legisla - tive regulation, the Israeli Labour Courts are develop - ing the jurisprudential framework for remote work on a case-by-case basis. Is remote work an employee’s inherent right? One of the key legal questions is whether employ - ees have an inherent right to remote work. Region - al Labour Courts have ruled negatively. It has been established that, as a general principle, employers retain the discretion and prerogative to determine whether to approve remote work arrangements. How - ever, any managerial decision regarding remote work must be based on reasonable business considera - tions. Employers are expected to exercise their dis - cretion in good faith, refraining from discriminatory practices or considerations extraneous to legitimate business interests. After-hours communication: work time or not? Another recurring question in current case law con - cerns employees’ sporadic availability outside stand - ard working hours, particularly when engaging in remote communication (such as sending emails or text messages). Specifically, does such activity con - stitute “work time” that entitles the employee to remu - neration or overtime compensation? In one case, a marketing and sales VP claimed enti - tlement to overtime pay for occasionally responding to messages after work hours and being accessible throughout the day, including weekends. The Israeli Regional Labour Court rejected her claim, noting that Israeli law does not mandate payments for availability alone, especially when the after-hours engagements were sporadic. Furthermore, the Court refused to adopt a blanket rule that any text message exchange outside regular working hours amounts to overtime. Whether mobile phone activity qualifies as compensable “working
• partial payment schemes for forced unemploy - ment, co-ordinated with the National Insurance Institute. This Extension Orders mechanism reflects a more bal - anced approach, built on mutual negotiation rather than unilateral legislation. However, the effectiveness of Extension Orders depends critically on the pace and success of collective bargaining between the parties. Thus, while offering greater legitimacy, the mechanism may lack immediacy unless supported by pre-existing co-ordination and shared priorities. Balancing executive agility and legal restraint The coexistence of unilateral and negotiated mecha - nisms reveals a core constitutional tension: how to preserve democratic proceedings while enabling swift legal action. Emergency Regulations concentrate gov - ernmental authority, often bypassing legislative scru - tiny. To remain legitimate, such norms must be time- limited and procedurally anchored. In contrast, Extension Orders and temporary legis - lation maintain inclusive decision-making and better reflect real-world needs, thus providing the employees and employers with more practical solutions. These instruments align emergency governance with demo - cratic safeguards, enabling calibrated responses that do not undermine institutional checks. Conclusion Through Emergency Regulations, temporary legis - lation, and Extension Orders, the government, the Knesset, and the social Labour partners have crafted a dynamic system that adapts to crises without com - promising core democratic values. However, these tools do not fully resolve the issues that arise in the workplace in real-time during periods of instability. At the initial and most sensitive stage of the emergency, the employer must make practi - cal adjustments to enable employees to perform their duties as closely as possible to the original terms, subject to the operational needs and Emergency Regulations.
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