Almost anyone who had ever been employed (namely, all of us) felt at some point that his or her rights as an employee had been violated in one way or another. This relates not only minor or simple employees. The rights of employees in senior positions are also regularly violated. Sometimes these are “small” violations such as non-payment for the travel to work, overtime, and waiters’ tips, but over time those tend to accumulate into significant sums. In other times these are more serious violations, such as non-payment of severance pay, failure to pay pension provisions and/or to allot promised shares, and so on.
Many workers simply relinquish their rights, doing so from rather obvious reasons – in many cases the employee does not want to confront or oppose the employer, usually due to a desire to maintain good relations with the later. It is not always pleasant, convenient and wise to go enter a conflict with the party who pays your salary, however, sometimes there is simply no choice. One of the most prominent cases in which workers decide to act to realize their violated rights is when the employer-employee relationship ends, i.e. in the event of dismissal, resignation or retirement.
In such a case, the worker has the option to file a legal claim to the Labor Court and to demand that the employer pay him all the amounts due to him as a result of the employment relationship. In certain cases, it is further possible to demand to return to work. When the labor relationship ends due to an employer’s violation of the law, such as in cases of sexual harassment or dismissal due to pregnancy or discrimination, the worker is entitled to additional special compensation.
Our firm helps workers to defend their rights, both by providing counsel before labor relations begin (e.g. at the stage of preparing the contract) and during the labor relations, namely both during negotiations with the employer over the employment contract and in filing a claim to the labor court. The firm’s lawyers have extensive experience in court appearances, in protecting employees’ rights and in drafting employment contracts.
Our firm also advises employers on how to ensure that they act in accordance with the law, in order to avoid future claims, for example in cases of employing foreign workers, and also to employers who seek permission to employ foreign workers or experts in full accordance with the law.