Newborn (illustrative)
Newborn (illustrative)iStock

The Knesset's Labor and Welfare Committee on Monday morning approved a bill to split maternity leave pay into installments, instead of one lump sum.

The bill was approved for its first Knesset reading, and if passed, will allow women to choose to split the payment into three equal installments.

"This is a simple and modest bill which was born out of the public's requests," said MK Avraham Bezalel (Shas), who initiated the bill.

"The birth of a child brings many expenses with it. Many families find themselves at the start of the third month without money, and find it hard to manage."

The original bill would have changed the payment system so that each woman received her maternity leave pay in three installments. However, MK Israel Eichler (United Torah Judaism), who chairs the committee, vehemently opposed this plan.

"We have no right to interfere in how people spend their money," Eichler said, proposing that the installments instead become an option that women could actively choose.

Under the new bill, a woman who wishes to receive her maternity pay in installments will be able to submit a special request to the National Insurance Institute prior to giving birth. If she does not submit such a request, the maternity pay will be deposited in her bank account in one lump sum, in keeping with the current system.

Legal maternity leave is currently six months, but only 15 weeks - nearly four months - are paid, such that most women return to work at 15 weeks postpartum.

The bill is expected to soon be brought for a vote in the Knesset plenum.