Labor Law Attorney
Deterioration of conditions and resignation as dismissal
As is well known, dismissal is a situation in which the employer is the one who fired the employee, but labor law also recognizes a situation called resignation as dismissal. As part of this, the employee may leave the workplace on his own initiative, and his departure will be considered a dismissal and not resignation. The Dismissal Compensation Law establishes a closed list of grounds for which a resignation will be considered a dismissal, the most common of which is a tangible aggravation of work conditions.
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Resignation as dismissal
Having the option to resign and for that resignation to be considered as a dismissal has two major implications for the employee: First, he will be eligible for full severance pay, as if he had been fired. This It is significant if only 6% of the pension fund is set aside for compensation components, Instead, of 8.33%. Dismissal and resignation as dismissal are the only events which entitle an employee to full compensation, while resignation does not entitled to full compensation. The second implication of a resignation being considered as a dismissal, is that the employee will be entitled to unemployment benefits from the National Security Institute immediately and will not be required to wait 90 days as required so when resigning.
The various causes
The various causes
The Dismissal Compensation Law enumerates several causes of resignations dismissal, and we will present below four of the most common ones:
- Resignation due to health problems : An employee may resign due to his or her family member’s health condition, when there is sufficient reasoning for resignation in the medical findings and working conditions. The term family member is very broad and includes spouses, children, parents, grandchildren and more.
- Resignation due to relocation of residence : relocating due to marriage, to a locality of spouse, or moving to an agricultural or development municipality, when they meet the additional conditions specified in the regulations, can constitute grounds for resigning that can be considered a dismissal.
- Resignation for the purpose of caring for a child : This section includes various situations in which a parent can resign for the purpose of caring for his child. For example, an employee can resign from his job within 9 months from the date of birth of his child, in order to take care of the child and this resignation will be considered a lawful dismissal.
- Tangible aggravation of conditions : This cause is one of the main reasons for the recognition of resigning as dismissal, and covers a wide range of situations in which an employee may resign and his resignation will be considered a dismissal.
Tangible deterioration of conditions
Section 11 of the Dismissal Compensation Act deals with the resignation of an employee due to a tangible deterioration of conditions. The circumstances for which an employee can resign and be covered under this section are many, among them: reduction of the employee’s salary, damage to the scope of his job, harassment at work, transfer of the workplace, etc. In this regard, there are two important points to empathize: one, that these changes must be made unilaterally, because if the employee agrees to the change, it is not a matter of worsening conditions. Second, the circumstances specified do not automatically constitute a worsening of conditions and each case must be examined according to its circumstances. For example, if the employer runs into financial difficulties and is forced to reduce the scope of the employee’s job as a result, while allowing for severance pay, there is no deterioration of conditions.
Giving notice to the employer
All the grounds for resignation as dismissal described above, require the employee letter of resignation, in which he will state the reason for the resignation and attach a relevant reference. If so, he will be entitled to full severance pay. However, with regard to tangible deterioration of conditions, the law requires the employee to take a preliminary step before he can resign for this reason and be entitled to compensation. He must give the employer notice, in which he clarifies to him what is the deterioration that occurred in his terms of employment and he must allow the employer an opportunity to correct the deterioration. If the employer did not do so, then and only then, will his resignation be considered a dismissal. An employee who resigns due to a worsening of conditions, without providing an adequate opportunity for the employer to correct the deterioration, is exposed to the denial of the right to compensation.
The labor law division of the law firm Mor & Co. specializes in the legal representation of employers in Israel with full compliance with the requirements of the law.
We understand the importance of protecting the legal status of employers. In the field of labor law, claims related to worsening working conditions present a great challenge.
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