A “protected” employees may be sent to an agreed vacation without pay without a government permit during the Corona virus crises

Israeli law prohibits an employer from harming the terms of employment of an employee who is deemed "protected". An employee will be deemed protected in a number of cases such as pregnancy, fertility treatments period, 60 days after childbirth etc. A pre-authorization of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services is required to harm the terms of employment of a protected employee or to terminate such.
Emergency regulations promulgated April 06, 2020, provide that as of March 15, 2020, and as long as the regulations are in effect (i.e., until the government cancels the emergency state created by the Corona epidemic), an employer may send a protected employee to a leave without pay without first obtaining a permit but only upon meeting several conditions, including: The period of the leave without pay is between 30 and 60 days, the leave is with the consent of the employee, when it comes to a pregnant employee it is not the last month of pregnancy, the leave is due to the damages of the Corona epidemic and the protected employee is not the only employee sent on leave, and a few additional conditions.