What is the main occupational safety and health law in Israel and who enforces it?

Israel has no single OSH act. The core is the Work Safety Ordinance [New Version] 5730-1970, which sets the technical rules, and the Labour Inspection (Organisation) Law 5714-1954, which creates the inspectorate and the workplace safety organisation. Both are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labour through regional labour inspectors.

Short answer

• Work Safety Ordinance [New Version] 5730-1970 (פקודת הבטיחות בעבודה [נוסח חדש], התש"ל-1970): technical safety, health and welfare rules and the power to make regulations.
• Labour Inspection (Organisation) Law 5714-1954 (חוק ארגון הפיקוח על העבודה, התשי"ד-1954): inspection powers, safety and improvement orders, safety committees, trustees, the safety officer and the national OSH institute.
• Accidents and Occupational Diseases (Notification) Ordinance 1945: notice of accidents and occupational diseases.
• Enforcer: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (מינהל הבטיחות והבריאות התעסוקתית) of the Ministry of Labour (משרד העבודה), led by a chief labour inspector, with regional labour inspectors in districts.
• Supporting bodies: the Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene (IIOSH), the Ministry of Health (occupational medicine) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection (hazardous substances permits).

How the Israeli OSH law is built

The Work Safety Ordinance is a 1970 consolidation of the Factories Ordinance of 1946 from the British Mandate period. It is detailed and prescriptive: guarding of machinery, lifting equipment, pressure plant, explosive dust, fire escapes, welfare facilities, construction and notices to the inspector. Section 173 lets the minister make regulations to prevent or reduce exposure to "risk factors", and most modern duties sit in those regulations.

The Labour Inspection (Organisation) Law adds the organisational layer: the inspection service and its powers, the safety committee (from 25 workers), safety trustees, the power to require a safety officer, the safety management programme, worker information and training, and the Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene. Key regulations made under it include those on safety officers (1996), the safety management programme (2013), information and training of workers (1999, amended in 2026) and safety committees and trustees (1960).

Unlike the UK Health and Safety at Work Act or EU Directive 89/391/EEC, the Israeli OSH statutes contain no single general duty clause covering everything "so far as reasonably practicable". Duties are specific, so compliance means checking the Ordinance, the Law and every regulation that applies to the work.

Who enforces it and with what powers

The inspection service is made up of a chief labour inspector (מפקח עבודה ראשי), a deputy and regional labour inspectors (מפקח עבודה אזורי). Today it operates as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labour, which drafts the safety rules and inspects construction sites, industry, agriculture, lifts and radiation installations; the current Training Regulations refer to the Administration "in the Ministry of Labour", and the IIOSH 2025 activity summary describes four districts. The Administration's 2023 activity report records about 17,300 inspection visits in construction, industry and agriculture up to 7 October 2023 and a national investigations unit set up that year.

Inspectors may enter any workplace at any time, inspect plant and processes, investigate accidents, question people, take samples and photographs and demand documents. Their main tools are:

Practical tips for employers and contractors new to Israel

Example: A European engineering contractor sends a team to commission a plant in Israel. Before work starts it should identify the "occupier of the workplace" responsible under Israeli law, confirm whether construction notice (within seven days of starting) is needed, check which regulations apply (construction, work at height, lifting, electrical work, noise and chemicals), make sure every worker receives a written risk summary in Hebrew and a language they understand by the first day, and plan yearly training. The legal texts are in Hebrew only, so a Hebrew-reading OSH professional or the plant's safety officer is essential.

Common mistakes

• Looking for a single "OSH Act". The Ordinance, the 1954 Law and the regulations work together.
• Assuming EU directives apply. Israel is not an EU member; the EU is a reference only where Israeli law adopts it, as the Hazardous Substances Law will from 2027.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Israel: law, authorities and employer duties
• What are the penalties for breaking occupational safety rules in Israel?
• Must an employer in Israel appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?
• The EU framework directive 89/391/EEC explained

Standards and further reading

• Work Safety Ordinance [New Version] 5730-1970, official gazette text, Knesset.
• Labour Inspection (Organisation) Law 5714-1954, official gazette text, Knesset, as amended, including Amendment No. 10 (2016) on construction stop orders.
• Ministry of Labour, OSH Administration, activity report 2023 (Hebrew).
• Israel Institute for Occupational Safety and Hygiene, about IIOSH and 2025 activity summary.

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.