Trends of Layoffs in the Draft Labour Code of Ukraine

Iryna Shlyakhovska, senior associate at Legal Alliance Company

Rabota.ua

As for today, the draft Labour Code has been prepared for the second reading by the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy, Employment and Pensions, and is on the agenda of the next session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

What innovations does the draft Labour Code of Ukraine prepare for us regarding termination of labour relations?

New grounds for dismissal

Thus, the draft Labour Code of Ukraine stipulates a number of new grounds for the termination of an employment contract at the initiative of employer, namely:

• in case if the employee discloses state secret, commercial or other information protected by law, provided that he has signed a confidentiality agreement;
• in case head, members of executive body of a company violate rights of its founders (participants);
• in case the employee avoids medical examination or mandatory preventive vaccinations against infectious diseases;
• in case the employee is absent from work and there is no information on the reasons for such absence for more than two months.

Labour relations can be terminated due to emergency circumstances that impede the continuation of labour relations (military action, disaster, acts of God, epidemic or other extraordinary circumstances).

An employment contract with a minor employee can be terminated at the request of his parents, persons who replace them, and the relevant state bodies if the continuation of the employment relationship threatens health or is against the interests of such an employee.

Read also: 5 important changed in the Labour Code

Redundancy

The draft Labour Code of Ukraine lays down the employer's duty to provide a reasonable statement of the reasons for the upcoming dismissal, the number and categories of employees who may be affected by the dismissal, timing of the dismissal, criteria for selecting employees to be made redundant and other measures not later than two months before the planned layoffs to the elected body of the primary trade union (trade union representative).

The employer is obliged to notify the employee of the forthcoming redundancy in writing not later than two month, and the employer which is small business - not later than a month before the layoff. By agreement of the parties to the employment contract, a two-month warning period can be reduced to one month. In this case the employer is obliged to pay monetary compensation to the employee who has not worked before the expiration of the two-month warning period in the amount of the average monthly salary.

The employee may be made redundant within four months after the warning, but not later.

Within the period of warning, an employee, at his request, may be given free time from work for finding a new job on his own, but not more than one working day per week. The salary in this case is preserved.

By agreement of the parties to the employment contract, a warning about the forthcoming redundancy may be replaced by monetary compensation in the amount established by the collective agreement. Such compensation should not be less than two monthly salaries.

Read also: Problematic dismissals: 3 cases and solutions

Dismissal of the head

The draft Labour Code of Ukraine allows for envisaging in the employment contract concluded with head of a legal entity additional grounds for the termination of employment relations as compared with the current Code. This provision can be beneficial for business owners.