Remember the opposition to the DST extension due to it causing a problem with davening times and people needing to get to work? A possible solution had been presented to allow employees adversely affected by the DST change to arrive half an hour late to work.
Well, it is official now. The State of Israel is mandating that the need to daven is a valid excuse to arrive late to work, under certain conditions, and such an employee cannot be punished for it.
Minister of Commerce and Trade Naftali Bennet has sent out a notice of new instructions to employers instructing them that on days when sunrise is later than 6:30 AM, any employees whose work shifts begin between 7 and 8 AM will be allowed a davening break prior to work instead of during work hours (as is the normal law).
In order to not harm employers while looking out for the employees, the employee will have to make up that time either at the end of the day or at another time during the month (as per the employers decision).
I checked the law regarding the need to provide prayer time during work hours. the wording of the law is a bit complex, but basically it says that an employee who wishes to pray due to his religious, time must be allocated for the employee to be able to do so. However, that time is not deducted from the employees work hours. The employer can give 30 minutes or 45 minutes, or whatever, but he does not have to pay for that time - assuming the employee wants to not have this time deducted from his salary, and the employer wants a certain amount of work done, and time spent working, the employee can spend time praying, but must make up the work hours at other times. And that is being applied in this new situation as well - the employer will have to accept that the employee is late due to religious prayer, but that time will need to be made up at some point.
It is good to see Israel protecting both the employee and the employer and being considerate for the needs of the religious.
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