About

Honourable Judge (ret.) Plitman, former Chief Justice of Israel’s National Labour Court, serves as a special advisor to our firm.

In 1988 Hon. Judge (ret.) Plitman was appointed to the Tel Aviv District Labour Court, and in 1997 was appointed Chief Justice of that court. In 1999 he was appointed judge to the National Labour Court, where he served as vice president from 2011 and as Chief Justice from 2013. 

In March 2018 he retired from his position as Chief Justice and joined our firm’s team of consultants as a special consultant. Hon. Judge Plitman continues to practice mediation, arbitration, and conflict resolution.

Hon. Judge Plitman is also a judge at Israel’s military court of appeals, serving with the rank of colonel. Within this capacity, in 2017 he was appointed and served on the judicial panel for the appeal in the notable Eleor Azaria trial ruling. 

Mr. Plitman began his legal career in 1975 working for the National Insurance Institution, and from 1983 – 1988 served as manager of the National Insurance Institution Legal Office in the Jerusalem and southern districts. 

Milestones as a judge:

• Determining that limiting retroactive payment of survivor’s insurance to a single year is constitutional, adheres to the proportionality conditions of the Basic-Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, and does not injure the insurance recipient’s proprietary right. 
• Determining that the Work and Rest Hours Act does not apply to nursing workers, and therefore does not entitle them to over-hours remunerations. An appeal against this ruling was submitted to the Supreme Court and was rejected by the court. 
• Joined the ruling by then Chief Justice Nili Arad forbidding employers to express an opinion on their workers’ unionization, adding that even if employers think workers have spread false information, they are forbidden from expressing their opinion to the workers, but may inform the worker’s organization or turn to the Labour Court. 
• His final ruling as Chief Justice of the National Labour Court, which was read at his retirement ceremony on March 2018, set a precedent regarding tips given to waiters in restaurants and cafes, determining that such tips constitute salary paid by the employer, who is obliged to provide all accompanying social benefits.

Hon. Judge Plitman gained recognition by ‘The LEGAL 500’ international ranking guide for his activities in the field of Labour Law. 

Hon. Judge Plitman is currently serving as the head of a national committee established by the Minister of Welfare to restructure the National Insurance Institute.

Appointments:

Mediator for collective disputes on labour laws on behalf of the Ministry of Labour.

Education:

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, LL.M., 1980.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, LL.B., 1973.

Bar admission:

Israel Bar Association, 1974.

Languages:

Hebrew, English.