CrossFit Coach Wins Employment Ruling After WhatsApp Firing, Awarded About NIS 110,000

A Tel Aviv Labor Court has ruled that a CrossFit coach who was fired in a WhatsApp message was in fact an employee, not an independent contractor, and is entitled to social benefits and compensation totaling about NIS 110,000. Judge Doron Yefet found that the relationship between the coach and the operator of a gym in Modi'in amounted to employer-employee ties, despite the parties having described it as freelance work for years.

The coach began working with the gym in 2014. Over time, he was also appointed manager of the club while continuing to coach. In June 2022, after about eight years of cooperation, the gym owner sent him a WhatsApp message saying, "You are fired," and accused him of not knowing how to work as part of a team. The coach then sued, arguing that he was an integral part of the club and had never received rights such as holiday pay, vacation redemption, severance pay, or other benefits owed to employees.

The gym operator denied any employment relationship and said the coach was a freelancer, so ending the arrangement was not a dismissal and did not trigger severance or other benefits. Yefet rejected that position, saying the labels the parties used did not determine the legal reality. He cited the length of the relationship, the management role, training conducted on the gym premises, use of the club's equipment and facilities, invitations to social events and staff meetings, and the ongoing treatment of the coach as a regular employee, including holiday gifts and uniforms bearing the club's name and logo.

The judge also noted that the work arrangement lacked the characteristics of an independent contractor and was imposed on the coach, who was paid even when absent from the gym. At the same time, he found the coach was only part-time, so not all claims were awarded in full. He denied compensation for the lack of a dismissal hearing, saying the defendant had viewed him as an independent contractor at the time and therefore was not expected to summon him for such a process. The court ordered payment of NIS 102,748 for the remaining claims, plus NIS 7,500 in legal expenses.