Haifa Court Fines Factory 140,000 NIS for Unlawful Wartime Firing
A Haifa labor court ordered a company to pay 140,000 NIS to an employee fired shortly after taking leave to care for her children during her husband's reserve duty.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, while her husband was called up for reserve duty under a Tzaw 8 emergency order and she was left at home with their two young children, a quality control worker at a northern factory also lost her job. Now, about three years later, the Regional Labor Court in Haifa has ruled that the dismissal was illegal and ordered the company to pay her significant compensation.
The employee began working in September 2023 as a quality control inspector at Sini Technologies, earning 35 NIS per hour. She had worked there for only about a month before October 7, when her husband was mobilized for reserve duty and the educational institutions in Karmiel were closed.
Due to the situation, she missed 11 days of work to look after her children. According to her testimony, she updated the production manager and another company employee in real time regarding the reason for her absence. However, just two days after returning to work, she was handed an immediate termination letter. The official reason provided was "downsizing at the factory."
Rejecting this explanation, the employee filed a lawsuit, claiming that the true reason for her dismissal was the forced absence stemming from her husband's reserve service. She also argued that she was fired without a proper hearing and in violation of the law.
"No Other Employee Was Fired"
The company presented a different version of events, claiming the employee was hired through a manpower agency during a probationary period, had disappeared from work before the war without answering calls, and was subsequently fired due to both cutbacks and professional unsuitability. The company also maintained that a lawful hearing had been conducted.
However, the court rejected most of these arguments. Evidence showed that the employee was actually hired directly by the company, while the placement agency merely referred her to the interview. Attendance logs indicated she worked regularly until the war broke out, and WhatsApp chats supported her claim that she had updated her superiors in real time.
The downsizing claim also fell apart: the company's owner testified that no other employee was fired during that period. Meanwhile, the claim of professional unsuitability was unsupported by documentation, and the company chose not to summon the production manager, who was her direct supervisor, to testify.
Court: Company Evidence Found to Be "Fabricated"
One of the harshest parts of the ruling concerned the hearing procedure. The court determined that the hearing protocol presented by the company was "not an authentic document," noting inter alia that the summons and the hearing were backdated to days when the employee was not even at the factory. The verdict explicitly stated that evidence presented by the company was found to be "fabricated."
Ultimately, the court ruled that the absence from work was at least one of the considerations that led to the termination. Consequently, the court found that the company violated the provisions of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law and the protections granted to employees during a state of emergency.
The law protects not only those serving in reserves themselves, but under certain circumstances, their spouses as well, when forced to miss work to look after children while their partner is mobilized.
Short Tenure Did Not Prevent High Compensation
The employee's brief tenure did not stop the court from awarding her a substantial sum. The highest compensation, amounting to 50,000 NIS, was awarded for non-pecuniary damage under the Protection of Employees in Emergency Situations Law, with the court emphasizing the need to deter employers.
Additionally, she was awarded 30,000 NIS for discrimination under the Equal Employment Opportunity Law, 20,000 NIS for flaws in the dismissal procedure, 6,370 NIS for one month's lost income, and 5,000 NIS for failing to provide written notice regarding her employment conditions. These amounts were supplemented by sums for prior notice and vacation pay differentials.
Conversely, her claim for wages covering the 11 days of absence, totaling approximately 3,200 NIS, was rejected. The court ruled that the extension order regulating payment for these days only entered into force in March 2024 and does not apply retroactively.
In total, the court ordered the company to pay the employee approximately 137,000 NIS, which, combined with attorney's fees, pushed the total amount the company was mandated to pay past the 140,000 NIS threshold.
"WhatsApp Chats Sealed the Outcome"
Atty. Eyal Tzuraf, founder of the Tzuraf & Co. law firm, which represents employers in labor law matters, explains that the ruling holds broad significance for employers during periods of reserve mobilization.
"The ruling clarifies that the protection under the Protection of Employees in Emergency Situations Law applies not only to those serving in the reserves themselves. It also applies to their spouses who stay home with the children. When an employee is absent to care for children while their spouse serves under a Tzaw 8 order, an employer who fires them shortly after returning to work must prove the dismissal is unrelated to the absence. It is sufficient that the absence was one of the considerations, even if not the sole one, for the dismissal to be deemed illegal."
According to him, the case also underscores how critical documentation is from both sides of the employment relationship. "The lesson for employers is that they must document everything. Claims of cutbacks or professional unsuitability will not hold up without documents, relevant witnesses, and a genuine hearing. An employee's short tenure does not protect the employer, and the court even increased the compensation to act as a deterrent."
