Ministry of Finance estimates a change in the scope of the payment to be given to reservists will save hundreds of millions

The Ministry of Finance is promoting a change in the scope of the payment to be given to reservists and formulated a decision-making proposal that is expected to be discussed in the government.

The proposal states, among other things, that the automatic payment inflation mechanism will be stopped, that reservists will not receive full payment for standby days, and that a full reserve day will only be considered as such if it includes at least 8 hours of service. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the approval of the measures will save hundreds of millions of shekels for the state budget and cut between a quarter and a third of the reserve days.
The proposal of the decision-makers is promoted against the background of the significant costs of the reserve service on the state budget. The Ministries of Defense and Finance originally estimated that the payment to reservists in 2024 would amount to about 20 billion shekels, but in practice, it is expected to reach about 30 billion shekels. The Treasury is promoting the decision, among other things, following allegations of poor personnel management in the various units in the IDF where there is a culture of abusing the resource of reserve days (Reserve Days).
The Finance Ministry's move is expected to affect mainly soldiers serving in front-line positions, but it may be difficult for it to pass politically in the reality that the reserve officers in the maneuvering units will perform an average of about 200 reserve days this year. The Ministry of Defense estimates that if Israel does not settle the situation in Gaza and the north, the reserve officers will be forced to perform an average of 100 reserve days next year as well.
In the explanatory notes to the decision-makers proposal, it is written that "the economic challenges require budgetary discipline and the reduction of activities that are not necessary." The first section requires that it be written that the Chief of Staff intends to "reduce the phenomenon in which reserve officers receive compensation for reserve days in which they do not serve in the reserves".
Only 8 hours of service will be considered a full day of reserve, and half a day of reserve will be given for 4 hours. Also, an on-call day will be considered a quarter of a reserve day and the number of organization days given after the service will be limited to a maximum of 10 days.
In addition, it is proposed that the Chief of Staff or someone on his behalf submit a weekly report to the Ministry of Finance regarding the full extent of the reserve servants and "including the division into formations, and within each formation the distribution of the length of service as well as the scope of the reserve servants who serve to receive partial compensation". The explanatory notes to this section read Because this is promoted because "there is a widespread phenomenon of compensation for reserve days even when the servant is not present. Thus, for example, in cases where the reserve servants perform several reserve days a week but receive compensation for a whole week. In these cases, the reservist receives, through the employer, compensation from the state budget in the amount of his full salary for days in which he does not serve in the reserves."