Essential Information / Q & A

According to the Emergency Labor Service Law 1967, health and hospitalization services are defined as existential services.

Therefore, the Minister of Welfare and Social Services has the authority to order the provision of health and hospitalization services during Special Situations on the Home Front or Emergency Situations, as well as The Emergency Labor Service Law 1967, requires all doctors (as well as all other workers who provide existential or essential services) working in medical institutions, defined as essential facilities or establishments providing publish instructions thereof.

Existential services, to report to their workplaces. This pertains to all those who have not yet reached retirement age, except for soldiers (in regular or reserve service), police officers, pregnant women or women who have not yet completed one year from giving birth.

The law repeals several protective laws like the Annual Leave Law, the Hours of Work and Rest Law, the Women's labor Law and more. Therefore, upon the publication of the above mentioned ordinance, it is possible to:

• To detain the employees of a medical institution (to whom the law applies) individually or comprehensively ("Internal Recruits"). It is also permitted to recruit to the essential enterprise or the facility that provides an existential service, employee who does not work there during routine (”External Recruits”).    
• To cancel vacations.    
• To employ workers in extended shifts. Thus, workers can be employed in 12-hour shifts regardless of the scope of their duties during routine (and this, of course, also applies to employees to whom the Hours of Work and Rest Law does not apply).

Furthermore, following the Ministry of Health’s CEO Directive, trips abroad of health system employees were halted, and Department Managers issued instructions for the return of medical teams currently staying abroad.
 

As stated according to the law, and since a special situation was declared on the home front as of October 7, 2023, the Minister of Labor issued a specific order that allows the provisions of Chapter 4 of the law to be activated as detailed above.

By order of the Ministry of Health's Emergency Division, when Detaining Orders are issued to all institutions and organizations that provide medical services in an area that has been declared a "special situation on the home front," all employees in these institutions can be detained at the discretion of the organization's manager. That means that refusing to work while under a detaining order is grounds for dismissal.

As mentioned, according to the Emergency Labor Service Law 1967, it is impossible to call up for labor service or recruit: a soldier, a policeperson, a pregnant woman or a woman who gave birth less than one year ago, and also men or women who of retirement age or older.

The volunteer is covered for any damages that may be caused to him, if the body where he volunteers, regulates this in accordance with the Social Security Law and Social Security Regulations (Volunteers), 1978.

In order to receive the payment/s, each institution must draw up an orderly list of volunteers by filling out a volunteer referral form (confirmation of volunteer’s insurance at the Social Security Institute). It should be noted that the coverage provided under the Social Security Regulations (Volunteers) is identical to the rights of work accident victims and is not subject to a negligence examination.

Volunteers who will be harmed as a result of a war or terrorist event are also treated by the Social Security Institute according to the Compensation Law for Victims of Hostilities.

This arrangement applies to all physicians regardless of the identity of their employer.

According to the Annual Leave Law and labor courts rulings, setting a schedule of dates when employees may take vacations is one of the employer's powers, which must be exercised in consideration with the employee’s needs and coordination thereof.

The purpose of the annual leave is to give employees an opportunity to go on vacation in order to replenish their strength, without losing their salary.

The Annual Leave Law states that the start date of the leave shall be set at least fourteen days in advance. The law also requires that the leave will be continuous, unless the employee and the employer have reached a different agreement on this matter.

Given all the provisions detailed above, sudden instruction on annual leave for an unspecified period during wartime, shall not meet the provisions set forth by the law and the spirit of the law which attributes meaning to the nature of the leave.

However, one must remember that the provisions of the Annual Leave Law apply only to leaves granted by virtue of that law, and not to excess leave granted by virtue of the Civil Service Regulations, the Labor Constitution or other collective and individual agreements.