Israel maternity leave calculator

How long is maternity leave in Israel

In the Women's Employment Law, 1954, maternity leave is called birth and parenting leave. It is 26 weeks for an employee who worked at least 12 months for the same employer or at the same workplace before the leave, and 15 weeks with less service (section 6(b)). Each additional baby from the same birth adds 3 weeks (section 6(c)). During this period the employer may not employ her (section 6(a)). The rules apply to every employee in Israel, including olim and foreign residents working for an Israeli employer.

Bituach Leumi (the National Insurance Institute) pays maternity pay for only part of the leave, based on the qualifying period: the months in which contributions were paid before you stopped working. In the common cases:

Full maternity pay is 15 weeks if contributions were paid for 10 of the last 14 months or 15 of 22. Partial is 8 weeks with 6 of 14 months. The table assumes the leave starts on the birth date.

When the leave starts and when you go back

The employee chooses whether to start the leave up to 7 weeks before the due date, or on the birth date. Weeks before the birth count inside the leave, and the rest are after the birth (section 6(b)(1)). With 12 months or more of service she can shorten the leave, but not below 15 weeks plus her extensions, and after she gives notice the employer cannot delay her return by more than three weeks (section 6(b)(2) and (3)).

Example

The due date is 15 February 2027. The employee has two years with the employer and full maternity pay, and starts her leave two weeks early, on 1 February 2027:

• The leave, 26 weeks, runs until 1 August 2027.
• She is back at work on Monday, 2 August 2027.
• Bituach Leumi pays 15 weeks, from 1 February 2027 to 16 May 2027. 11 weeks are unpaid.
• Protection from dismissal lasts until 30 September 2027.

If the baby was born on a different date from the due date, enter the actual birth date too.

Maternity pay: how many weeks and how much

• How many weeks. 15 weeks (105 days) or 8 weeks (56 days), depending on the qualifying period (section 50 of the National Insurance Law). Each additional baby adds 3 weeks to full maternity pay and 2 weeks to partial (section 51).
• From when. From the day you stopped working, but full maternity pay not earlier than 53 days before the birth, and partial not earlier than 28 days before it (section 52 and the Bituach Leumi website). So with partial maternity pay, if you start the leave more than four weeks before the birth, the first days are unpaid. The calculator takes this into account.
• How much. The daily amount is the higher of two calculations: your salary in the three full months before you stopped working divided by 90, or your salary in the six months divided by 180. From 1 January 2026 the maximum is ₪1,752.33 a day, up to ₪183,994.65 for 105 days, before income tax and National Insurance deductions.

A self-employed woman is also entitled to maternity pay from Bituach Leumi, based on the income she paid contributions on, but she has no employer granting leave, so the dates in the calculator are mainly relevant to employees.

Protection from dismissal before and after the birth

• During pregnancy. A pregnant employee with at least 6 months with the same employer may not be dismissed without a Ministry of Labor permit, and no permit is given if the dismissal is connected to the pregnancy (section 9(a)).
• During the leave. No dismissal, and no notice that takes effect during the leave (section 9(c)(1)).
• 60 days after the leave. Dismissal only with a permit, given only if it is unrelated to the birth and the business stopped operating or the employer went bankrupt (section 9(c)(1a)).
• Unpaid leave after maternity leave. The employee may stay away for up to a quarter of the number of months she has worked, and no more than 12 months from the birth, minus the weeks by which her maternity leave exceeded 15 weeks (section 7(d)(1)). During that time and 60 days after it, dismissal also needs a permit (section 9(c)(2)).

These periods do not count towards the notice period (section 9(c)(3)), and not renewing a fixed-term contract of 12 months or more counts as dismissal (section 9(g)). Under a temporary provision in force until 31 March 2027, unpaid leave the employer put her on during a period set in the law, of at least 10 consecutive days, or 5 consecutive days starting on 28 February or 1 March 2026, does not count towards the 60 days (section 9(c)(2c)).

Extensions the calculator does not include

• Mother hospitalised for more than two weeks during the leave: extended by the days in hospital, up to 4 weeks (section 6(b1)).
• Baby hospitalised for more than two weeks: extended by the days in hospital, up to 20 weeks, and the leave can be split (section 6(d)).
• Toddler with a complex disability recognised during the leave: 5 more weeks (section 6(d3)). Bituach Leumi pays for them from 1 April 2026.
• All these extensions together are capped at 20 weeks (section 6(d2)), and depend on notice to the employer and approvals.
• The partner.Under the conditions in section 6(h), the partner can take part of the leave after the first six weeks, or one week inside the mother's leave if she gives up maternity pay for the last week. The calculator works out the mother's leave only.

After the leave, a full-time employee is entitled to a parenting hour every day for four months, with no pay deduction (section 7(c)(3)). Leave days do not harm rights that depend on seniority (section 6(i)), and they do not count as annual vacation days (section 5 of the Annual Leave Law). To work out annual leave, use the vacation days calculator.

The dates are calculated under section 6 of the Women's Employment Law, 1954, and the paid period under the National Insurance Law and Bituach Leumi publications. Extensions for hospitalisation or a child's disability depend on approvals and notice to the employer and to Bituach Leumi. Only Bituach Leumi decides entitlement to maternity pay, and the calculator does not replace an eligibility check. A collective agreement or personal contract can give more. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

• Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute): maternity insurance
• Bituach Leumi: maternity pay amounts, including the maximum from 1 January 2026 (Hebrew)
• Women's Employment Law, 1954: sections 6, 7 and 9
• National Insurance Law: sections 48 and 50 to 54 (maternity pay)
• Annual Leave Law, 1951: section 5