Israel Lags Behind Other Nations in Paid Leave Benefits
Translated & summarized from Israel Hayom by baba
Israel offers significantly less paid leave for life events compared to many other nations. While Spain provides 15 days for marriage and Sweden offers 480 days of parental leave, Israel legally grants only one day for marriage and limited paid maternity leave. Other countries like Japan and Taiwan have provisions for menstrual leave, and New Zealand offers paid leave for miscarriage. Although some Israeli tech companies offer more generous benefits, these are not mandated by law.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Spain offers 15 days of paid leave for marriage, while Israel legally provides only one day.
- Sweden provides 480 days of paid parental leave per child, which can be shared between parents.
- Japan and Taiwan have laws offering paid or partially paid menstrual leave for women.
- New Zealand grants up to three days of paid bereavement leave for miscarriage or stillbirth.
- Israeli law provides limited paid maternity leave, with fathers' leave entitlements reducing mothers' paid time.
- Some Israeli high-tech companies offer more generous leave benefits than legally required.
Many countries offer paid leave for significant life events that are not standard in Israel, with only a few Israeli high-tech companies voluntarily providing similar benefits. In Spain, individuals who get married or register as domestic partners are entitled to 15 days of paid leave, according to Spanish employee regulations. This leave period includes weekends and starts counting from the next working day. In contrast, Israel legally grants only one day of paid leave for marriage, with some exceptions for security and cleaning staff who receive three days. Any additional time off must be deducted from annual vacation days.
Sweden provides new parents with 480 days of paid parental leave per child, with 390 days paid at 80% of the parent's salary and 90 days at a lower daily rate. These days can be shared between parents, and up to 45 days can be transferred to a caregiver. Spain extended its parental leave to 19 weeks per parent in September 2025, with two of those weeks usable until the child turns eight, paid at 100% of salary. In Israel, mothers are entitled to up to 26 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, with only 15 weeks paid by national insurance. Fathers can receive payment from the seventh week postpartum, but this reduces the mother's paid leave entitlement. Additionally, a father's absence on the day of birth is considered sick leave, followed by five calendar days of leave, three of which are deducted from annual vacation and two from sick leave.
Regarding menstrual leave, Japan has a law since 1947 allowing women to take leave during their period, though payment is at the employer's discretion, with only about 30% offering paid leave. South Korea mandates one unpaid day per month for menstruation. Taiwan offers women one paid day off per month for severe pain, at 50% pay, up to three times a year. Indonesia's 2003 law grants two days of menstrual leave per month, but enforcement is lax. Spain has proposed legislation for unlimited menstrual leave for women with medically certified severe pain.
New Zealand grants up to three days of paid bereavement leave for individuals and their partners who experience miscarriage or stillbirth, starting in 2021. In Israel, an employee who has a miscarriage is entitled to one week of sick leave. Some companies offer more generous benefits; for example, Indian food delivery company Zomato offers up to 10 days of menstrual leave. In August 2015, Netflix announced up to a year of paid paternity leave, though some employees were excluded. In Israel, data from 2021 indicated that Salesforce offered 12 weeks of leave, ServiceNow offered 12 weeks at full pay, IronSource offered two weeks, and Microsoft offered six weeks for partners.