Many Israelis serve in the reserve forces on a regular basis as well as during emergencies. A huge percentage of reservists have served for at least part of Iron Swords, and the IDF is considering lengthening annual reserve duty and extending the maximum age for service.
If you serve in the reserves, it’s important to know your rights and obligations.
Informing your employer about reserve duty
When you receive a draft notice, whether it is a regular call-up or an emergency one (Tzav 8), you are required to let your employer know about it in a timely manner. If you received a notice before you started a new job, you are required to inform the employer within a reasonable amount of time before beginning work.
Salary for miluim service
You are entitled to a salary paid for by Bituach Leumi in exchange for your service in miluim, as follows:
| Salary as of 2024 | Daily salary | Monthly salary |
| Minimum | 222.27 NIS | 6,668 NIS |
| Maximum | 1,634.33 NIS | 49,030 NIS |
The salary for an employee is based on the average Bruto (pre-tax) salary for the three months prior to the reserve duty. A business owner’s salary is based on the average revenue for the three months prior to drafting, plus 25%.
Various additional bonuses are given by the army for longer periods of service and these will be taken into account by Bituach Leumi.
Payments for reserve duty in Iron Swords are slightly higher. The minimum (for a soldier who wasn’t working prior to getting called up or was living outside the country at the time) is 310.52 NIS per day or 9,316 NIS per month.
Some soldiers are able to work in between army shifts. If that’s the case for you, you can collect payment both from the army and from your regular job.
If you’re a business owner, you should receive your salary for reserve duty automatically. If the funds were not deposited within three weeks of your release from duty, contact Bituach Leumi. This money is considered part of your annual revenue and income tax, Bituach Leumi and health tax must be paid on it.
Employees are paid after a form is submitted to Bituach Leumi. This form can be submitted by you or by your employer. The employer receives the funds and pays you your salary after withdrawing the usual payments for income tax, Bituach Leumi and health tax.
Additional payments
Your employer is required to continue paying Bituach Leumi, severance and pension during the time you are in reserve duty. Starting in April, Bituach Leumi is reimbursing employers for a portion of this expense.
There are many additional payments which are being awarded to soldiers who served in Iron Swords. If you’re eligible, these payments will be transferred directly to your bank account by Bituach Leumi.
There is additional funding available from Bituach Leumi to those who request it for various other war related expenses such as therapy for family members of soldiers, canceled (non-refundable) vacations, delayed studies, etc.
Protection from firing
Soldiers who serve in miluim for at least two days running (regardless of whether they were called up or volunteered for service) are protected from firing for the 30 days after their service ends. During Iron Swords, this law was expanded to protect soldiers who served for 60 days or more, so they cannot be fired for two months after their return from the army. Even if a soldier was in the process of being fired, this process is stalled by the miluim and the same protection applies.
There are some exceptions to this protection. If a business is closing or laying off workers, if the employee’s position is no longer existent or if there was a major disciplinary issue, the employer can request permission to fire said employee.
Unused vacation days
If you were unable to use up your vacation days for 2023 because you were in miluim (for at least 5 days), these days are rolled over and can be utilized in the next two years.
Spouse’s vacation days
The spouse of a soldier who served more than 30 days of reserve duty will be eligible for extra vacation days if she has children under 14, a chronic illness and children up to 18, a sick parent or first-degree relative with a disability.
These days are in addition to the legal or contractual vacation and sick days that the spouse gets from her employer:
- 31-60 days of miluim – 2 days
- 61-90 days of miluim – 4 days
- 91-120 days of miluim – 6 days
- 121 days or more – 8 days
These days can also be used in hourly increments, if the employer agrees, in order for the spouse to take care of errands and appointments which can’t be done outside of work hours.
In addition, spouses of soldiers serving 5 days in a row or more, who have children under age 13, are able to work one less hour a day starting from the first day of miluim.
Fight for your rights
If your rights were impinged upon, either because of ignorance or unscrupulous behavior on the part of your employer, consult a labor lawyer about what steps to take to correct the situation.