The regional Labor Court in Nazareth has ruled that schools cannot force teachers to extend their hours in order to lengthen the school day. A teacher who refuses to teach beyond the standard hours may be sent to work in a different school in the same region following a hearing, the court ruled.
The ruling was made in the case of several teachers from Afula who accused the school that employed them of forcing them to work longer hours than were stipulated in their contracts. The school was chosen to take part in an initiative including more class hours for children, and teachers say they were forced to go along with the program.
The court ordered the school system to pay each teacher NIS 5,000 in damages. The teachers will be required to work only until the time stipulated in their contracts, and the school may not reduce their benefits or change their terms of employment, judges said.
The teachers called the ruling “an achievement for all teachers in Israel.”
In most Israeli public schools, students finish their day in the early afternoon. Under pilot programs and special “long day” initiatives in some schools, studies continue until 3:30 p.m. four times a week.