This is all the more reinforcing in light of Maccabi Netanya's conduct shortly after the termination of Amos' employment contract, and inter alia with regard to the lack of a hearing and material flaws in the process of terminating his employment.
- Hearing - When no hearing was held prior to the non-renewal of the employment contract, Maccabi Netanya was legally obligated to pay compensation to Amos.
- Redemption of annual leave - Maccabi Netanya's claims that Amos used the remaining vacation days during his employment period should be rejected. Maccabi Netanya did not show any documentation or indication of this claim, nor did it maintain a vacation register as required by law or any other orderly record. In addition, the argument that the vacation period should be viewed as a period in which Amos used his vacation days contradicts the argument that his employment contract was for periods of 10 months each season, since insofar as this is the case, during the vacation period he did not receive wages and therefore this cannot be regarded as the use of vacation days.
Maccabi Netanya's claims regarding the payment of wages that include annual leave contradict the provisions of the Annual Leave Law, 5711-1951 (hereinafter – the Annual Leave Law). The provisions of the employment contract to which she refers do not override the cogent provisions of the law that establish the entitlement to annual leave.
- Expenses – It was argued that the expenses do not deviate from the costs ruling in the labor courts, in light of the amount awarded in the framework of the judgment, and in any case the appellate court is not inclined to intervene in the amount of the costs ruling of the trial court.
The Bnei Yehuda Appeal and the Zubas Appeal
Background to the proceeding
- Zubas, a Lithuanian citizen, played as a goalkeeper in Bnei Yehuda from the 2016/2017 season until the end of the 2019/2020 season. The terms of Zubas' employment were regulated in the employment contract signed on August 15, 2016 for four seasons. The appendix to the employment contract detailed the terms of employment, including the base salary for each season, which was divided into ten equal monthly installments (for the months of August until May of the following year), as well as economic allowances for ten months.
- In April 2020, during the last season in which he played for the team and due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zubas signed an appendix to the employment contract in which the parties agreed to a reduction in his salary (hereinafter – the salary reduction appendix).
The Regional Court's Judgment