Labor Dispute (Tel Aviv) 5587-11-22 Tzala Cohen – Ankori Factories (1971) Ltd.

Judgment

We have before us a claim for compensation for unlawful dismissal in the absence of a cause, in violation of the Women's Employment Law, 5714-1954 (hereinafter – the "Women's Employment Law"), without a lawful hearing, failure to provide notice of the terms of employment, mental anguish, wage differentials and advance notice.

Overview

1. The defendant is a private corporation that operates high schools that are recognized non-official secondary education institutions, as defined in Regulation 1 of the State Education Regulations (Recognized Institutions), 5713-1953 (hereinafter – the State Education Regulations).
2. The plaintiff is a teacher by profession, with a teaching certificate in the Bible and Jewish culture, as well as a bachelor's degree in biblical and Jewish studies and a master's degree in the history of the Jewish people.
3. The plaintiff was employed in one of the schools operated by the defendant in the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa called the Ankori Studio. Core subjects are taught there in parallel with multidisciplinary art studies.
4. The plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a teacher, with a job scope of 83 percent, from September 1, 2021, until her dismissal. The date of her dismissal is in dispute between the parties.

Summary of the plaintiff's arguments

5. The plaintiff did not receive written notice of the terms of her employment at the beginning of her employment.
6. The defendant expressed satisfaction with her work and performance.
7. Shortly after she began her employment, the plaintiff noticed that the pay slips did not contain any details of the components of the salary and benefits paid to her. Her salary is indicated as one gross sum without any distinction, separation or detail. The plaintiff did not know and could not know what her salary consisted of and whether she was receiving the full salary to which she was entitled. She turned to the principal of the school, Mr. Klar, with this poor yen, but he did not know how and what her salary consisted of, he rejected it again and again and tried to evade her with various claims.
8. During the hearing, the plaintiff asked for details of the vague allegations against her, but was rejected on the grounds that at the hearing she was the one who should speak and not the school principal. On May 30, 2022, the plaintiff was summoned to another conversation with Mr. Clark, in which she was told that although she was a very good teacher professionally, it was difficult to continue to employ her in light of "gaps in understanding of the school's conduct" and therefore she was fired and at that time she was given a dismissal letter. At the time, the plaintiff was nine months pregnant. Following her question about whether the Ministry of Labor had granted her a permit for her dismissal, she was given another dismissal letter the next day, stating that "since this requires the approval of the Commissioner for Women's Employment, a copy of our request to the Commissioner will be forwarded to you."
9. The plaintiff was unlawfully fired, during her pregnancy, when the reason for the dismissal was that she insisted on her legal right to receive the details of the components in the pay slip. The plaintiff was fired without the defendant receiving the supervisor's approval, ignoring the provisions of the law.

The Ottoman Settlement [Old Version] 1916