Working Hours: time tracking

• Maximum: Under Israel’s Hours of Work and Rest Law, the standard maximum working time is 12 hours per day including overtime and 42 hours per week for a standard work week. Overtime is subject to statutory caps and rest requirements.
• • Overtime cap is 16 hours per week
  • In cases of employing employees at night or on the eve of a Sabbath or holiday, employees may be employed for more than 16 overtime hours per week, provided that there is no excess of 58 work hours per week.
• Minimum: There is no statutory minimum number of working hours for full-time employment.

Israel’s standard work week is generally:

• 42 hours per week (full time employees have 9 hours per day, including a break (8.36 actual working hours)).
• Usually spread across 5 working days
• In some sectors, employees may work a shortened Friday schedule or a 5.5–6 day arrangement depending on collective agreements or operational requirements.
• • There are sectors that work 6 days a week, not relevant for Remote employees. in any case the weekly (42 hours) and monthly (182 hours) remain the same. if the employee works on a friday they should work up to 7 hours, and cannot work after Shabbat starts.

The standard workweek in Israel typically runs from:

• Sunday through Thursday
  or
• Monday through Friday noon.

For full time employees, the working hours per day are 9 including a break, i.e. 8.6 working hours per day. The limit is 42 hours per week.

Typical schedules include: 8.6 hours/day over 5 days, capped at 42 maximum hours per week

Israeli labor law does not prescribe a strict statutory definition for part-time work.

• Part-time employment: Any schedule below the employer’s standard full-time hours.
• Working hours are determined contractually between the employer and employee.

Part-time employees generally receive prorated compensation and benefits unless otherwise specified by law or collective agreement.

Note that the maximum hours must be considered for part-time workers as well.

It depends on whether the change affects working days per week or only hours per day.

If an employee moves from full-time to part-time:

• PTO accrual may be prorated proportionally. In terms of the Annual Leave Law, leave days include not more than one weekly rest day for every seven days of leave.
• Existing accrued leave balances are generally preserved unless otherwise agreed.

The exact calculation depends on:

• statutory leave rules,
• collective agreements,
• employer policy,
• and EOR arrangements.

Information on Annual Leave calculations are in the Annual Leave Law 5711-1951.

Employees generally cannot work more than:

• 6 consecutive hours without a break.

Mandatory break requirements include:

• At least 45 minutes of break time during a workday of 6 or more hours,
• including at least 30 consecutive minutes.
• On the day preceding the weekly rest or a festival, the break shall be for not less than 30 minutes.

There must be a break minimum 8 hours between working days.

Employees are entitled to a continuous weekly rest period of at least:

• 36 consecutive hours

The mandatory weekly rest period are:

• Saturday (Shabbat) for Jewish employees,
• Friday, Saturday or Sunday for non-Jewish employees according to religious custom.

Employees generally may not be employed during weekly rest periods.

In order to work during the Shabbat (from Friday noon till Satruday evening) the employer needs to receive a special approval from the relevant goverment office. It is forbidden to work without this approval, that Remote does not have. (this is for sectors that provide services, restaurants, medical facilities etc).

Israeli law does not have a dedicated statute on flexible working arrangements.

Flexible working arrangements are permitted in Israel provided that:

• Maximum working-hour limits are respected,
• Overtime rules are followed,
• Daily and weekly rest periods are maintained.

In practice, common flexible arrangements include:

• Flexible start/end times,
• Hybrid remote work,
• Compressed workweeks,
• Reduced-hour schedules,
• Core collaboration hours.

Remote and EOR employees commonly operate under flexible scheduling frameworks governed by:

• employment agreements,
• employer policies,
• and operational requirements.

• Yes. Israeli employers are legally required to maintain accurate records of employee working hours, overtime, rest periods, and attendance.

This obligation applies under:

• the Hours of Work and Rest Law,
• and related wage protection regulations.

In practice, employers commonly use:

• digital timesheet systems,
• attendance software,
• biometric systems,
• or HRIS platforms.

Israeli law requires employers to maintain accurate working-time records, but does not prescribe a universal submission frequency for employees.

Common employer practice includes:

• Daily time entry,
• Weekly approvals,
• Monthly payroll reconciliation.

EOR providers commonly align submissions with monthly payroll processing cycles.

There is no universal statutory deadline for employee timesheet submission.

Deadlines are typically determined by:

• payroll schedules,
• employer policies,
• EOR operational processes.

In practice, timesheets are usually finalized before monthly payroll cutoff dates.

Working-hour changes or timesheet corrections are generally handled through:

1. Employee correction request,
2. Manager approval,
3. Payroll or HR validation.

Significant long-term changes to working schedules may require:

• contract amendments,
• updated employment terms,
• or revised EOR documentation.

A contract amendment must be issues to employees within 30 days of material changes.

Most employers maintain:

• audit trails,
• locked payroll periods,
• and approval workflows.

• Yes. Employers are mandated to track:
• • regular working hours,
  • overtime,
  • breaks,
  • night shifts,
  • on-call work,
  • and weekly rest periods.

The tracking is done automatically by the T&A softwares, these softwares already have the rest times, days, PH’s inside them. The employee only has to update their working hours and any time off. Overtime hours are updated as part of their regular hours. If someone works over time, they don’t this under overtime. They update their entry time and exit, the software calculates the overtime automatically. This is only on the system. The payslip shows the total worked hours per month, there is no additional pay for this as the salary is a global salary that includes overtime.

• Yes, generally. Employees remain subject to employer payroll, attendance, and compliance policies & statutes while temporarily working abroad.

Additional considerations may include:

• tax residency,
• immigration compliance,
• social security,
• permanent establishment risks,
• and EOR approval requirements.

Employees generally do not record active working hours during:

• annual leave,
• sick leave,
• maternity/paternity leave,
• or public holidays. Employees are prohibited from working on public holidays unless with special permit from the Minister (info here).

When absent their should not be any hours updated. PH’s are not allowed to be worked, just like the Shabbat.

Instead, absences are recorded through:

• leave codes,
• holiday entries,
• or payroll absence categories.

Leave registers must be kept by employers, in accordance with leave laws (ex. the Annual Leave Law and Sick Pay Law).

Overtime generally applies after:

• 8–9 working hours per day, depending on the workweek structure,
  or
• after weekly standard hours are exceeded.

The statutory limits on daily & weekly work hours, which includes overtime, must be respected.

Typical overtime limits include:

• no more than 12 hours per day, includsive of overtime,
• and generally no more than 16 overtime hours per week.

Additional restrictions may apply under collective agreements or sectoral rules, Subject to specific permit from the Minister.

Under Israeli law, overtime is generally compensated as follows:

• 125% of regular pay for the first 2 overtime hours,
• 150% of regular pay for additional overtime hours thereafter.

Additional premiums may apply for:

• weekly rest days,
• holidays,
• night work,
• or collective agreement arrangements.

Note: the working day is limited to 7 hours for night work, and also on the day before weekly rest and the day before a festival/holiday on which the employee does not work.

• Sometimes, yes, if permitted by:
• • collective agreements,
  • employer policy,
  • or contractual arrangements.

However, statutory overtime compensation requirements generally still apply unless lawful compensatory arrangements are specifically authorized.

TOIL is restricted to, in terms of the Hours of Work and Rest Law, 5711-1951, Sections 4, 16, and 17, the following employee categories:

• Agricultural employment or employment directly connected with the care of animals
• Employment in places for the care of the sick, pharmacies, convalescent homes and institutions for the care of the aged or of children
• Employment in restaurants, hotels and cafes
• Non-industrial employment in the service of the State or local authorities deemed essential to the public
• Monthly employees in private domestic service (not part-time)

Typical overtime approval procedures include:

1. Manager pre-approval,
2. Logging overtime in the time-tracking system,
3. HR/payroll validation,
4. Payroll processing.

According to the government information here: “payment for overtime hours – no later than the end of the month in which the work was performed”

Unless the Minister has issued a special permit as outlined in the government guidelines here, no work on public holidays. may be permitted.

In the Hours of Work and Rest Law, “working hours” are defined as the period during which an employee is available for employment, including additional short breaks.

Employees must still receive mandatory:

• daily rest periods,
• weekly rest periods,
• on call/standby is deemed working time, with the employee being available to work.

If on-call work substantially interrupts rest periods, compensatory scheduling adjustments may be required to maintain legal compliance.

• Yes. Israeli law contains specific protections for:
• • night work,
  • weekly rest work,
  • and holiday work.

“Night work” is defined in the Law as work during a period of which at least 2 hours are between 10:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.

Night shifts involve:

• reduced maximum working hours (limited to 7 hours),
• in shift work, night work is limited to one week in every two weeks,
• transport, rest place and hot drinks (outlined here).

Work during weekly rest periods or public holidays require:

• permits,
• premium pay (subject to valid permit),
• or substitute rest days (subject to valid permit).

Employees employed nights are entitled to a rest of at least 12 hours between one working day and the next, unless the employee has agreed in writing to a shorter break, and provided that the break is not shorter than 8 hours.

Common shift structures in Israel may include, but is not detailed in Isreali law:

• Standard day shifts,
• Rotational shifts,
• Split shifts,
• Night shifts (at least 2 hours between 10:00 p.m. and 06:00 a.m.),
• Hybrid remote schedules,
• Compressed workweeks.

The applicable structure depends on:

• industry,
• operational requirements,
• collective agreements,
• employment contracts,
• and employer policy.

All working hours are subject to the maximum hours prescribed in Israeli law.

Standard daytime hours are generally paid at:

• the employee’s regular contractual hourly or salary rate.

Additional compensation applies in case of overtime work, and considering that being available to work constitutes working time.

Overtime compensation rates remain applicable:

• For the first two additional hours on the same workday, the employee is entitled to at least 125% of his regular salary,
• and for each additional hour after that, to at least 150% of his regular salary.

Working hours are the period of time during which employees are available for work, whether at the workplace itself or at another location where employees are required to be at the request of the employers.

Treatment of business travel time depends on:

• whether the employee is required to be available to perform work during travel,
• the timing of travel,
• and employer policy.

Common practice is:

• ordinary commuting time is not treated as working time,
• • Note: employees who need transportation to reach work may be entitled to employer participation in travel expenses under an extension order applying to all employees in the economy, subject to exceptions.
• business travel during normal working hours is generally treated as working time,
• passive travel outside normal working hours may be treated differently depending on circumstances.

Israeli labor law does not provide extensive standalone statutory rules specifically governing working hours related to international business travel.

Cross-border work may also raise local-law, immigration, tax and work-authorization issues (ex. regulations by the Israel Tax Authority or Ministry of Foreign Affairs) outside the working-time rules.

In practice, these situations are usually addressed through:

• employer travel policies,
• EOR policies,
• reimbursement frameworks,
• and employment agreements.

Employers commonly address:

• rest periods,
• travel allowances,
• accommodation,
• expense reimbursement,
• immigration compliance,
• tax implications,
• and work authorization requirements.