Labor Court: Shlomo Sixt to pay 4.7 million shekels to employees for rights violations
The car rental company Shlomo Sixt has been ordered to pay millions of shekels to employees after the court ruled it had infringed upon their pension and vacation rights. The court rejected the company's claim that sales commissions do not constitute wages. Shlomo Sixt is considering an appeal.
The Regional Labor Court in Tel Aviv has ordered Shlomo Sixt to pay its employees approximately 4.7 million shekels. The ruling follows findings that the car rental company had infringed upon pension rights and vacation days due to employees for over a decade.
According to the verdict, the company delayed pension contributions for new employees, withholding them until after a probationary period of several months, in violation of the applicable collective agreement. Furthermore, Shlomo Sixt failed to include sales commissions in pension calculations and denied employees the annual "day of choice" vacation day mandated by the industry's collective agreement.
Testimonies presented in court highlighted the impact of these practices:
Meir Sapir, a former driver for the company, testified that his pension rights were violated from his very first month of employment. The court upheld his claim.
Shani Weisblat-Mizrahi, who worked in the business department for nearly a decade, earned a significant portion of her income through sales commissions, yet her pension was calculated solely on her base salary.
The court rejected the company's arguments that the industry collective agreement was no longer valid and that sales commissions should not be considered wages for pension purposes. Additionally, claims that retroactive payments would threaten the company's financial survival were dismissed as unsubstantiated and lacking supporting data.
The 4.7 million shekel figure is an initial estimate. A court-appointed expert will determine the final amount for each individual employee, accounting for the inclusion of those entitled to pension adjustments up to July 2024.
Shlomo Sixt issued the following response: "Upon receiving the verdict, the company issued an immediate report to the stock exchange. As of now, Shlomo Transportation is studying the ruling and examining its implications, including the awarded amount and the possibility of filing an appeal to the National Labor Court."
