Every year from 15 June to 31 August, employers may not have staff working outdoors in direct sun between 12 noon and 4 pm. The rule is Ministry of Labour Decision No. 5 of 2026, which replaced the older 2013 decision.
What the employer must do
- Put up a daily working-hours schedule where every worker can see it, so Ministry inspectors can check it on site visits.
- Re-plan outdoor jobs so nobody is in the sun during the banned hours.
Who is exempt (only for the work that truly needs it)
- Oil and gas sites.
- Staff running public government utilities that cannot stop.
- Emergency maintenance, as long as the employer tells the Ministry of Labour straight away.
- Guard, monitoring and rescue jobs at pools and beaches, with the Ministry's approval in advance.
- Government projects on fixed deadlines, if the government body gets the Ministry's approval.
Where an exemption applies, the employer must protect workers from heat: shorter hours or shifts and rotation, a shaded rest area with more breaks, and enough drinking water.
Enforcement: the Ministry of Labour inspects sites during the ban hours and sends violations to the courts. In summer 2026 it reported over 30,000 inspection visits.
The catch: the ban covers only work in the open under the sun. Indoor or shaded work is not covered, and outside the 15 June to 31 August window the rule does not apply even on very hot days.