Yeshiva
Beit Midrash
- Sections
- Chemdat Yamim
- P'ninat Mishpat
Case: The plaintiff (=pl) was a valued saleswoman for the defendant (=def), a storeowner, for over a year. During work two days before Rosh Hashana, she informed def that she would be unable to work the next day. Def said that she was not excused, and a heated dispute with threats by def ensued. Pl asked def if she would be fired for not coming in, and def said it would not be considered his firing but her quitting. Pl did not come in and did not contact def in the days after Rosh Hashana. Pl is now suing for severance pay (just over 5,000 shekels – her monthly salary) and for various other employee rights she claims to deserve. These include: payment for not giving sufficient warning of termination; payment for termination without an employer/employee hearing; making up missed payment for an extra day and hour of work. Pl claims that she could not come in the next day because of her child’s illness. She also claims that according to the contract, she is not required to work on Fridays and that Erev Rosh Hashana is equivalent to Fridays. According to def, she had admitted that she was not coming in because she wanted to cook for Rosh Hashana.
P'ninat Mishpat (835)
Various Rabbis
478 - Pay for the End of the Employment Period – Part II
479 - Quitting or Firing? – part I
480 - Quitting or Firing? – part II
Load More
Regarding lack of notification, the classical halachic sources do not require it, but the Chazon Ish (Bava Kama 22:2) learns from the need for warning before removing a renter from a home that the same should be done for a worker. However, in this case, where the worker refused to abide by the employer’s decision, there should be no payment. Pl knew her removal was coming, and it was not reasonable to have the sides continue to work together under such a relationship.
There is also no need for payment for lack of a hearing, as what each side had to say on the matter of their dispute, they said. There is not a need for an additional meeting for the sake of a hearing.
Regarding the demand for pay for an extra day and hour, pl is correct, as this is spelled out in the contract. Even though the contract was not signed by one who has the authority to sign for the company, all agree that the terms of employment spelled out in the contract remained the assumptive binding ones. Def’s claim that pl agreed to work the extra time for free is counter-intuitive and unproven, and is therefore not accepted.
[And now for a surprise!] Pl was receiving support from Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) for low-income families and in order to not lose it due to her salary, 85% of her salary was fictitiously attributed to her daughter. Although def agreed to the arrangement, the defrauding of the governmental agency was initiated by and done for the benefit of pl. We note that a large part of the claims here are based on Israeli law. Beit din will not allow pl to have things both ways (use special government employment laws and cheat the system). Therefore, the award in practice will be only in relation to the percentage of her salary that was reported – 15%.
Various Rabbis
Various Rabbis including those of of Yeshivat Bet El, such as Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Binyamin Bamberger and Rabbi Yitzchak Greenblat and others.
Moreshet Shaul Moreshet Shaul: A Crown and its Scepter – part II
Based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 294-5
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: A Contractor’s Leaving the Job in the Middle – part I
based on ruling 84013 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Multiple Agreements and Parties – part IV
based on final ruling of 80082 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
fast navigation
Various Events FOR WHOM NOT TO VOTE
Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook stressed that Israeli politics is G-dly, so I have no problem answering this common question on a Torani blog. Also, Free-Will is a G-d-given right and obligation, to "destine one's fate" (R. Soloveichik, Kol Dodi Dofek, 67), so I obviously don't tell others how to vote. But once not a few (especially young) have already asked, a couple of personal words from experience and thoughts from chazal & Rav Kook which may be of help to others, mainly for whom NOT to vote.
P'ninat Mishpat Fallout from Failure to Install Elevator – part II
based on ruling 85007 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
