Israeli workplaces are not monolithic, so in a lot of ways this is an unfair question. Some workplaces are extremely family-friendly and many are much less so. This is not a difference between big or small companies or whether the company is a subsidiary of a foreign company or entirely Israeli. It’s really about the management and the policies that are set forth by the top-level managers. The only way to know if a company is family-friendly is to ask questions in the interview, listen to the way the interviewer talks about the work culture and chat with current employees.
However, Israeli society as a whole is pretty family-oriented and that spills into the workplace, especially since there are laws that delineate the rights of employees in various family situations.
Pregnancy
Rights for pregnant women in the workplace actually start even before pregnancy if a woman is undergoing fertility treatments. She is legally able to use sick days and up to 40 hours a year for appointments, and can’t be fired or demoted while undergoing treatment.
Discrimination against pregnant women in the hiring process is illegal, and a pregnant woman cannot be fired unless the company can prove that the firing is not related to her pregnancy (such as company-wide layoffs). A pregnant woman cannot be required to work overtime and can take up to 40 hours off for appointments (if she’s a full-time employee).
For more information on the rights of pregnant women in the workplace, see Benefits for Pregnant Women.
Maternity leave
A woman who has worked for a company for more than a year is entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave, during which the company must hold her job and can’t fire or demote her. Some of this maternity leave is paid (by Bituach Leumi). A woman who has worked less than 12 months is eligible for 15 weeks, and some or all of this maternity leave is paid. Maternity leave benefits also apply in the case of adoption or surrogacy.
Read more about maternity leave and maternity pay.
Vacation days for new fathers
New fathers are legally allowed to take off the day of the birth as well as five calendar days thereafter. The first three days are considered vacation days, while the other two days count as sick days. The day of the bris (if the baby is a boy) is not a legally required vacation day, but employers tend to be understanding of the need for taking this day off.
Paternity leave
A man may split the parenting leave with the mother of his child beginning from six weeks after the birth. He can also take off a week in parallel to her maternity leave, in exchange for one week less of maternity payment.
Parenting hours
A new mother who works full time is eligible for a parenting hour each day, so she works one hour less for the first four months after her return from maternity leave. This legal right applies even if she started work in a new company immediately after returning from maternity leave. This hour can be split between both parents, if the mother agrees to give up some of her hours.
The parenting hour is usually taken at the beginning or end of the day, but if the employer has no reasonable objection, it can also be taken at a different time of day. It can be used for pumping and the employer must provide a suitable place for a woman to pump if she so chooses.
Vacation days
Aside from national holidays, all employees have legally mandated vacation days. The minimum number of vacation days for a full-time job is 12, but an employee contract can include a larger number of days. These days must be requested from the employer and it is in their discretion to approve or not approve them. Additionally, the employer is within their rights to declare a vacation day for the entire office and deduct that day from each employee’s annual leave.
The time to ask for more vacation days is in contract negotiations before accepting a job or at the annual review some companies hold. It may be easier to get an employer to agree to more vacation days as opposed to a salary increase.
Sick days for family members
A full-time employee is legally entitled to 18 days of sick leave and some of these days can be used in order to care for sick family members. The first day is unpaid leave unless the employee’s contract states otherwise.
Since small children tend to get sick pretty often, parents often split the sick days so that neither employee uses up their sick days too quickly and to stay in the good graces of their employers. If working from home is an option, that can often be a good alternative to taking a sick day for a child.
See Vacation Days and Sick Days in Israel for more details on this topic.
Taking off for family simchas
In most jobs, there is no legal mandate regarding taking vacation days for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs and other family simchas. However, managers are usually willing to allow these vacation days, even if slightly inconvenient to the business. Since these events are planned far in advance, it’s best to give lots of notice about requesting these days off.
Shiva leave
Jewish employees who are sitting shiva and have worked at their place of employment for at least three months are entitled to seven paid days off. Non-Jewish employees are entitled to days of mourning for first-degree relatives according to the customs of their religion, up to seven days. (In some industries, the three-month employment condition is not necessary.)
Army ceremonies, school plays and other miscellaneous family events
Israeli society is rife with events that take place during the work day and are important for family members to attend. Vacation for these types of events is at the discretion of the employer. Some employers will be more generous about these days than others, and they may be more likely to grant days or hours off if the event is the type that they themselves would want to attend.
Balancing work and family
A full-time job in Israel is 42 hours a week in most industries. Israelis work hard, but they also prioritize family in a very big way. Balancing work and family is made easier by the family-friendly laws that the government has passed in order to protect employees. Workplaces can choose to stick exactly to the letter of the law or they can implement policies which promote work-family balance, such as additional vacation days and sick days paid from day one. Some companies go beyond contractual obligations and provide family-friendly services, such as summer camps for kids, family fun days, unlimited vacation days and gifts for simchas.
When choosing a place of employment, if work-life balance is important to you, check out the official company policies and speak to current and past employees to find out what the atmosphere is at the workplace. If you’re a parent, see whether there are lots of other parents at the company or whether you will be the only one. If you can, ask the parents whether they view the company as family-friendly, what they like and what they would change about balancing work and family at this place of employment.