Last Updated on November 19, 2021
Israel’s Workday & Working Hours
Hebrew: שעות עבודה בישראל
The Israel Labor Law
The Israel Labor Law provides for a 43 hour work week. This can be divided up into 2 categories:
- A 5 day work week – workers who work 5 days a week, work 9 hours per day.
- A 6 day work week – workers who work 6 days a week, work 8 hours per day.
It should be noted that some work agreements stipulate a 45 hour work week.
Actual Working Hours
Some factories operate from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. – broken down into shifts
These days most offices start work anywhere between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
Mostly shopping centers open their doors at 10:00 am and are open all day until 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. – broken down into shifts.
Some small, privately owned shops and establishments (not in malls) close between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. They then remain open until 7:00 p.m.
Banks have their own hours, all work in the morning. You may be required to work afternoon shifts as well.
If you are in the public sector, you could finish as early as 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m.
Emergency services; hospitals, fire, police and ambulance services work 24/7 broken down into shifts.
The building trade: on-site laborers generally work from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Self-employed tradesmen can choose their own hours, but are generally available between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Real flexi-time is not common in Israel however your employer may be slightly flexible with your starting and ending times.
Many hi-tech industries dealing with the American of Eastern markets require their employees to start work later in the day – around 11:00 a.m. Companies dealing with forex and financial markets often require their employees to work shifts which may start at 8:00 a.m. and end as late as midnight.
Lunch & Tea Breaks
According to the law an employee is entitled to a 45 minute break during a work day of at least 6 hours. Your employee may break this down into a 10 minute morning coffee break, a 25 minute lunch break and another 10 minute afternoon coffee break. Bear in mind that in some industries competition is rife and employees may choose to work through their lunch break. Before you sign your employment contract you need to clarify your working hours.
Clocking your Working Hours
Your employee may require you to clock-in and clock-out every day. You may be lucky and your employee may offer a small monthly bonus for adhering to strict working hours. This is not common however.
If you do not have a clock-in, clock-out system, be sure to keep an accurate time sheet of regular and overtime hours worked
Overtime Hours
Overtime hours are dealt with in detail here
