February 23, 2014: Been fired from your job in Israel - or concerned you're about to be laid off? Do you know your rights to prior notice, a hearing and severance pay? Knowing your power as an employee can ensure you get what you deserve - and sometimes even prevent the loss of your job.
This article is also available in Arabic, Amharic, Hebrew, and Russian.
· Have you had a hearing prior to your dismissal?
The employer is required to conduct a hearing for the employee prior to the dismissal so as to honestly and seriously consider the dismissal. Therefore a consideration such as this cannot be made on the same occasion of the hearing, but rather afterwards with a level head as stated. In the hearing you, as a candidate for dismissal, are required to raise your claims against dismissal such as: a difficult economic/marital status and you must also bring documents to substantiate these claims and/or you have the option to raise alternatives to dismissal such as: transfer to another role in the company, insofar as there is a role which you are suited to. It should be clarified that the courts do not hesitate to award damages against employers who have not granted a right to a hearing for their dismissed employees and/or who acted contrary to the procedure.
If you are not a native Hebrew speaker, assert your right to get an interpreter for the hearing who speaks your language. A hearing without understanding its content does not fulfill the rationale underlying the hearing as stated above. From experience in previous cases, it is recommended to record the hearing held between you and your employer. You can use your smartphones for this purpose. It may not be palatable for you to record the conversation but remember: this recording can refute their claim and help you win the case.
· Have you been given prior notice for the hearing?
The employer must give you an invitation in advance to the hearing and you must arrive at the hearing with legal representation and various documents, so that you will be able to substantiate your claims against the dismissal and defend yourself properly.
· If it was decided to dismiss you, have you received a letter of dismissal?
The employer must give you a letter of dismissal specifying the dates of your employment commencement/termination and the reason for terminating your employment. This letter is important and relevant so that you can receive unemployment benefits at the national insurance offices. If you have not received it go to your former employer and request such a letter of dismissal therefrom.
· Have you been paid severance pay?
An employee who was dismissed after a year and/or close to a year is eligible to receive severance pay. What does “close to a year” mean? The law does not define this, but case law stipulates that a dismissal close to a year includes a dismissal after 11 months and even after 10 months as long as it is possible to prove that the employer dismissed the employee and at the same time recruited a replacement employee in an attempt to evade the granting of severance pay.
· Were you dismissed with the claim of ‘cutbacks’ in the Company?
If your employer claims that he was forced to dismiss you because of economic downsizing in the Company, do not accept that as a fait accompli. That is, sometimes the line of thinking is thus: if the employer claims that there is no money for the Company to pay me my wages then surely there’s nothing to be done and I cannot change my fate to be dismissed. This is not the case! An employer must give a concrete reason for dismissal excluding the reason that there are cutbacks in the Company, because the economic reason is not sufficient in and of itself. Furthermore, downsizing dismissals must be supported by facts, i.e. documents such as: Company’s protocol, reports etc. which attest to the Company’s decision to implement downsizing dismissals for economic reasons. Saying “cutbacks” is not sufficient because this is not a magic word in itself and it must be paired with a real reason for dismissal.
· Have you and your work colleagues been dismissed together?
In the case of collective dismissals, when the rights of a number of dismissed employees have been violated, in whole or in part, it is possible to claim as follows:
1) as part of a group claim (a number of employees who hire the services of one lawyer)
2) as part of a class action lawsuit (one dismissed employee claims on behalf of the other employees. However, for the purpose of submitting a class action lawsuit a number of conditions must be fulfilled and the class action lawsuit must be approved in a court).
*All of the above is stated without any thorough reference and examination of the circumstances of a specific case and its facts and it does not and shall not constitute legal advice or a substitute for legal advice and it does not and shall not constitute any recommendation to initiate proceedings such as these or others or to avoid them. Anything relying on the above in any way whatsoever does so at its own risk and the responsibility for any consequence, direct or indirect, due to reliance on the above, shall apply thereto only. For legal advice dial: 02-6222335 or contact us by email: Adi@lawfirmwolf.com