Employers Cannot Force Unused Vacation Days on Employees

As the High Holidays approach, many Israeli employees find their vacation days depleted from summer breaks. When employers decide to close for holidays, particularly during Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days of a festival), a common issue arises regarding employees with insufficient accrued vacation days.

Employers have the right to dictate when employees use their vacation time, including mandatory group vacations, as long as the employee has sufficient accrued days. However, an employer cannot force an employee to take time off using days they have not yet earned, effectively putting them into a vacation day deficit against their will. If an employee agrees to this, or if a relevant agreement is in place, the situation may differ. But an employer cannot unilaterally deduct future earned vacation days to cover a mandatory closure.

If a workplace closes and an employee lacks enough vacation days, the employer can deduct the available days but cannot compel the use of future days. For the remaining days of the closure, the employer can either allow the employee to work if feasible, pay for the days without deducting them from future accrual, or offer unpaid leave with the employee's consent. A mandatory closure cannot be unilaterally converted into forced unpaid leave simply because an employee has run out of vacation days.

Conversely, an employee who wishes to take an extended break can request to use future vacation days, provided the employer agrees. The key distinction lies in who initiates the arrangement and whether mutual consent is obtained. The same principle applies to unpaid leave; it requires mutual agreement and cannot be imposed by the employer due to a closure.

Employers must provide at least 14 days' notice for mandatory vacations of seven days or more, including weekly rest days. Shorter mandatory vacations require reasonable advance notice. Collective agreements or established practices may offer employees more favorable terms than the legal minimums.

It is important to distinguish between public holidays and annual vacation days. Public holidays are not automatically deducted from an employee's annual leave balance. The timing of holidays this year, with several falling on weekends, affects the number of actual workdays lost. For instance, a holiday falling on a Saturday does not reduce the work week for a five-day-a-week employee. However, days of Chol HaMoed closures can impact vacation balances.

Employees should check their pay stubs to understand their remaining vacation balance before planning extended time off. If an employer mandates a closure and an employee has insufficient days, the responsibility for covering the shortfall does not automatically fall on the employee. The employer's decision to close does not grant them the right to unilaterally create a vacation deficit or impose unpaid leave without consent.