National Insurance Institute to recalculate benefits: Important ruling issued
The Labor Court ruled that a break in reserve duty caused by an injury during service does not break the continuity of reserve service for the purpose of calculating compensation. The National Insurance Institute is required to recalculate the payment and add 3,000 shekels for legal expenses.
A case that reached the Regional Labor Court in Nof HaGalil-Nazareth involved a reservist who was injured during his service and had to undergo a recovery period and surgery. He received unemployment benefits from June 2023 in the amount of 474.8 shekels per day, in accordance with his previous salary. In October 2023, he was drafted for reserve duty under 'Order 8' and served as a combat soldier until December, and subsequently returned to service in January 2024.
According to the ruling reported in 'Bizportal', during his reserve service in March 2024, the man was injured in an exercise that included the evacuation of wounded personnel. He was diagnosed with a hernia and a muscle tear, went on sick leave, and in May underwent surgery to repair the hernia. The Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense determined that the hernia was aggravated as a result of the reserve service. Until June, Golan received medical treatment benefits from the Ministry of Defense.
In July 2024, he was drafted again for reserve duty, this time for an administrative role, and served for an extended period until March 2026. However, at this stage, the National Insurance Institute paid him a benefit of only 311 shekels per day. This was after the institution determined that a break of more than 60 days between periods of service is considered a 'break in employment', and therefore the benefit must be calculated according to the minimum rate.
The plaintiff argued that the recovery period cannot be considered a regular break, since it was caused by an injury that occurred during reserve service. The court accepted his argument and ruled:
'The break between periods of reserve duty should not be seen as a 'break in employment' that severs the continuity of reserve service for the purpose of calculating benefits, as it is a break in service caused as a result of an injury during and due to reserve service'.
Following the ruling, the National Insurance Institute was ordered to recalculate the plaintiff's reserve benefits starting from July 2024, in accordance with the amount of unemployment benefits he received before the first reserve service, and not according to the minimum rate. In addition, the institution was ordered to pay him 3,000 shekels for legal expenses.
