Israel’s Hours of Work and Rest Law (5711–1951) is one of the oldest pieces of legislation ever passed by the Knesset, and yet in many respects it remains one of the most sophisticated labor frameworks in the world. Enacted in 1951 — just three years after the founding of the State of Israel — the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law has been continuously updated and today reflects a uniquely Israeli fusion of religious tradition, strong worker protections, and modern employment regulation.
When international companies first expand into Israel, one of the most common surprises isn’t the tax code or corporate structure — it’s the workweek. For global companies hiring in Israel, or for Israeli businesses benchmarking against international standards, understanding this law — and how it differs from frameworks in the United States, United Kingdom, and China — is not just academically interesting. It is operationally essential. For a broader overview of how Israeli employment regulation has evolved into 2026, see our companion guide: Israeli Labor Law Changes for 2026: Essential Compliance Guide for Employers.
“Any work beyond the standard hours is overtime — and in Israel, overtime is not a perk. It is a protected right with a price tag.”
The Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law: What It Actually Says
A 42-Hour Workweek — But Not the One You Think
As of April 2018, Israel’s standard workweek is 42 hours — recently reduced from 43, as documented on the Israeli labor law Wikipedia overview. But the structure of that workweek is unlike anything found in the West. Israelis work Sunday through Thursday (with some on a Sunday–Friday schedule), meaning that for global companies accustomed to a Monday–Friday calendar, every Israeli employee is operating on a fundamentally different week.
For a five-day workweek, the standard workday is 8.6 hours. For a six-day week (Sunday–Friday), the workday is 8 hours, with Friday being a half day. In practice, many employers add time to accommodate the legally mandated 45-minute daily rest break, pushing the effective workweek to around 45 hours — but all hours beyond the base 42 are compensated as overtime.
Overtime: Mandatory, Tiered, and Non-Negotiable
Israeli overtime law is among the most protective in the world. According to the ILO NATLEX database entry for the Hours of Work and Rest Law 5711–1951, overtime must be authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs — it is technically illegal to require overtime without a permit. When it is worked, the compensation tiers are clear:
The first two hours of overtime in any single day must be paid at 125% of the employee’s hourly rate. All subsequent overtime hours that day are paid at 150%. This tiered system ensures that employers think carefully before extending the workday, and that employees are meaningfully compensated when they do. A detailed breakdown of how these tiers operate in practice is available from TimeCamp’s Israel overtime law guide.
Shabbat, the Weekly Rest Day, and Religious Pluralism in Law
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Israel’s labor law is the formal role that religion plays in it. The law mandates a weekly consecutive rest period of at least 36 hours. For Jewish employees, this rest period must include Saturday (Shabbat). For Muslim employees, it must include Friday (Jumu’ah). For Christian employees, it may include Sunday.
Employment during weekly rest is prohibited unless the Ministry of Labor grants a specific permit. When employees do work on their designated rest day, they are entitled to a premium of at least 150% of their regular hourly rate. As confirmed in the Lexology employment law guide for Israel, the law also contains explicit anti-discrimination provisions: an employer cannot refuse to hire a person simply because that person’s religion prohibits them from working on their weekly rest day.
This level of religious accommodation is not a soft policy guideline — it is statutory law, codified and enforceable through the labor courts.
Daily Break Entitlements
Under Section 20 of the law, any employee working six hours or more in a single day is entitled to at least 45 minutes of rest and refreshment, including one continuous uninterrupted break of no less than 30 minutes. A permit from the Ministry may allow non-manual workers to take full workdays without breaks, but additional compensatory time is then typically added to the schedule.
The Global Comparison: How the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law Stacks Up
Comparison at a Glance
| Feature | Israel | United States | United Kingdom | China |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work Week | 42 hrs (Sun–Thu) | 40 hrs (Mon–Fri) | 48 hrs max | 44 hrs / 6-day |
| Day of Rest | Saturday (Shabbat) | Sunday (custom) | Sunday (custom) | Sunday |
| Overtime Rate | 125% (first 2 hrs) / 150% thereafter | 150% after 40 hrs/week | No statutory rate | 150% weekdays / 200% holidays |
| Rest Day Premium | 150% mandatory | No federal mandate | No statutory premium | 200% mandatory |
| Daily Rest Break | 45 min (incl. 30 min continuous) | No federal mandate | 20 min (if >6 hrs) | Varies by sector |
| Religion in Law | Shabbat & all faiths protected | Title VII (accommodation only) | Equality Act (accommodation) | Not a factor |
| Weekly Consecutive Rest | 36 hrs (min. 25 with permit) | No federal minimum | 24 hrs per week | 1 day per week |
United States: Freedom Without a Floor
The United States represents the opposite end of the spectrum. American federal labor law — primarily the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) — mandates overtime pay at 150% of the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 per week, but it does not set a maximum number of working hours for adults in most industries. There is no federal mandate for meal breaks, rest breaks, or consecutive days off. There is no statutory right to a day of rest.
Sunday has cultural significance in the US, but it carries no legal weight in employment law. Premium pay for working on Sundays or public holidays is not required by federal law; it is purely a matter of contract or employer policy. Religious accommodation is handled under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious practices — but this is reactive protection, not the proactive architectural design that characterizes the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law.
For American companies setting up Israeli operations through an Employer of Record, the shift from an unregulated default to a highly structured framework is one of the most significant cultural and operational adjustments they will face. If you are weighing whether an EOR or a local legal entity is the right structure, see our detailed analysis: EOR or Local Entity in Israel? A 2026 Cost-Benefit Analysis for Global Companies.
United Kingdom: Caps Without Compensation
The UK’s Working Time Regulations (1998) — derived from the EU Working Time Directive — set a 48-hour maximum average workweek, measured over a 17-week reference period. However, workers can voluntarily opt out of this cap by signing a written agreement, making it more of a guideline than a hard limit in many industries.
The UK does require a minimum 20-minute rest break for shifts exceeding six hours and mandates 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, plus one day off per week. But unlike the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law, there is no statutory premium for overtime — no legal requirement to pay more than the regular wage for additional hours worked, as long as average pay does not dip below minimum wage. There is also no legally enshrined multi-faith rest day framework.
China: High Protection on Paper, Complex in Practice
China’s labor law presents an interesting comparison. The standard workweek is 40 hours over five days with a maximum of 8 hours per day. Overtime compensation rates are clearly defined — 150% for weekday overtime, 200% for weekend work, and 300% for statutory public holidays. In this sense, China’s statutory protections are among the strongest in the world on paper.
However, the infamous 996 culture (9am to 9pm, six days a week) — which is technically illegal — is widespread in the technology and startup sectors. The gap between law and practice is substantial, and enforcement is inconsistent. Israel’s enforcement architecture, by contrast, is backed by a robust network of labor courts, active labor inspectors with broad investigative powers, and the Histadrut trade union federation. The Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law is not merely aspirational; it is litigated.
What Makes the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law Genuinely Unique
The State Itself Is Bound
One of the more unusual features of the law is that the State of Israel is explicitly named as an employer subject to its own provisions. Government employees are treated in the same manner as private sector workers. This is not merely a symbolic gesture — it shapes the culture of the entire labor market.
Collective Agreements Cannot Diminish the Law
In Israel, collective bargaining agreements can improve upon statutory minimums but cannot reduce them. A collective agreement that treated 45–47 hours per week as non-overtime was explicitly annulled within 60 days of the law coming into force. This hierarchy — statute above contract, always — is a defining feature that differentiates it sharply from the US (where contract can often override statutory defaults) and the UK (where opt-out agreements can legally circumvent working time limits).
The Ministry of Labor as Active Regulator
Unlike the passive framework of US federal law, Israel’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs plays an active, ongoing role in regulating work time. It issues general and specific permits for overtime and rest day work, consults with national workers’ organisations before making regulations, and can exercise override powers where employee welfare requires it. Labor inspectors have broad investigative powers and can examine individuals in any workplace they have reason to believe employs workers.
Religious Architecture Embedded in Civil Law
Perhaps most profoundly, the religious architecture of Israeli society is not merely accommodated by the labor law — it is built into it. The Shabbat is not a cultural tradition that happens to affect employment. It is a statutory anchor around which the entire framework of weekly rest is built. And simultaneously, the law’s multi-faith provisions ensure that this is not merely a Jewish privilege but a universal right applied proportionally to each employee’s tradition.
No comparable framework exists in US, UK, or Chinese employment law. All three countries handle religion through accommodation and anti-discrimination frameworks — they respond to religious needs rather than proactively structuring the workweek around them.
Practical Implications for International Employers
For any company employing people in Israel — whether through a local entity or an Employer of Record — the operational implications of the Israel Hours of Work and Rest Law are significant and non-trivial.
The workweek calendar is genuinely different. Systems, payroll cycles, and project timelines all need to account for a Sunday start and a Thursday or Friday end. Companies used to syncing on Monday mornings will need to rebuild their rhythms.
Overtime is a liability, not a flexibility. Unlike in the US where “working late” is culturally expected and often uncompensated for salaried workers, overtime in Israel is a legal cost that must be tracked, permitted, and paid. Senior managers are exempt — but as confirmed by Israeli court clarifications on the Work and Rest Hours Law, the definition of those categories is interpreted narrowly by the labor courts.
Rest day work requires planning. If an Israeli employee needs to work on Saturday — for a client emergency or product launch — the employer needs both a Ministry permit and a budget for the 150% premium. This is not optional.
Religious accommodation is the default, not the exception. The law tells you exactly what each employee’s rest day entitlement is based on their religion. The work is in building HR systems that honor it consistently.
For companies managing international employees with complex salary structures, our guide on Net vs Gross Salary: A Real-World Case Study from an Offshore Expat Hire covers how overtime and rest-day premiums interact with NET vs. GROSS salary agreements under Israeli labour law.
Sources & Further Reading
- Hours of Work and Rest Law 5711–1951 — ILO NATLEX Full Text (PDF)
- Israeli Labor Law — Wikipedia
- Employment & Labour Law in Israel — Lexology
- Israeli Courts Clarify Exceptions to Work and Rest Hours Law — Lexology
- Overtime Law in Israel — TimeCamp Complete Guide 2024
- Israeli Labor Law Changes for 2026 — CWS Israel Blog
- EOR or Local Entity in Israel? A 2026 Cost-Benefit Analysis — CWS Israel Blog
- Net vs Gross Salary: Offshore Expat Case Study — CWS Israel Blog
