The election for the 22nd Knesset will be held on September 17, 2019. This is the first time in Israel’s political history that two elections for the Knesset will take place in the same year.
Election Day is a statutory holiday. An employee who has worked at least 14 consecutive days prior to Election Day for the same employer or at the same workplace is entitled to wages for Election Day.
A resolution by the Central Elections Committee for the 22nd Knesset determined that employees may work on Election Day, in such industries as transportation, parking lots, gas stations, communication services, theaters, cinemas, journalism, radio, television, water factories, hospitals, medical services, and more.
Employees working on Election Day are entitled to wages for their work, as well as to special compensation. The compensation amount has yet to be conclusively determined by the Labor Courts and may range between 150–200% of standard wages. Alternatively, employees working on Election Day may be given an additional vacation day. Obviously, employees working on Election Day must be allowed to exercise their right to vote.
Election time always raises questions relating to politics and work. The Employment (Equal Opportunities) Law prohibits discrimination based on opinion or membership in a particular party, including in hiring, employment conditions, promotion, termination, etc.
In addition, case law addresses an employee’s right to express a political opinion on social networks. The rule is that an employee may express an opinion in a public forum without threat to continued employment, even if the employee is associated with his or her workplace on social media. An employee may also ask to use a vacation day to pursue political activity and cannot be prohibited from using vacation for this reason alone.
Having said this, an employer may prohibit use of its facilities for political use. For instance, an employer may determine that it be impermissible to affix stickers (political or non-political) to a company car, as well as prohibit political messaging on official company systems.
