Kyiv, 6 Ivana Dracha St., of. 15
Your power to winLabour disputes
The development of a business is inextricably linked to the recruitment of qualified employees, including on the basis of labor relations in accordance with the norms of the Labor Code. However, it is well-known that the Labor Code was introduced during the socialist era, leaving many aspects of modern employer-employee cooperation unregulated.
This lack of regulation, along with other factors (e.g., insufficiently detailed discussions regarding legal status and scope of work during hiring, personal motives, etc.), can lead to conflicts and, ultimately, labor disputes. If a conflict between the employer and employee cannot be resolved through negotiation, one party may turn to the court to protect their rights and interests. It is crucial for the employer to develop an appropriate legal strategy and prepare strong arguments early in the labor dispute process.
As business attorneys, we have extensive experience in protecting the rights and interests of clients both before and during court proceedings in labor disputes. This allows our clients not only to save time and money in practice but also to significantly minimize reputational risks and issues with regulatory authorities.
We have a proven track record of successfully resolving labor disputes of varying complexity, including:
- Signing, amending, disputing, and terminating employment agreements and contracts;
- Recovering wage arrears, compensating moral damages, recovering compensation for forced absenteeism, delays in wage payments, and more;
- Cases of unlawful dismissal;
- Labor disputes with employees;
- Imposing disciplinary liability;
- Transferring employees to another position or workplace with changes to working conditions;
- Reinstatement at work, amending the date and reason for termination;
- Compensation for damage caused to an employee's health;
- Compensation related to workplace injuries;
- Other disputes.
A business entity has the right to deny access to officials of a controlling authority if the state supervisory body conducts a repeated unscheduled inspection based on the same grounds as the previous inspection.
An employee cannot start work without a signed employment contract formalized by an order or directive from the employer or their authorized representative and without notifying the fiscal service about the hiring in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Thus, when concluding an employment contract, regardless of its form (oral or written), the issuance of an order or directive is mandatory.
An employee is entitled to additional paid annual leave for education in a higher education institution, postgraduate education institution, or graduate school, or for trade union training, only if they provide the employer with an official notice from the educational institution.
Foreign nationals and stateless persons who arrive in Ukraine for employment for a specified period are hired by employers based on a work permit for the employment of foreigners and stateless persons.
The suspension of employees from work by the employer or an authorized body is permitted in cases such as: appearing at work under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or toxic substances; refusal or avoidance of mandatory medical examinations, training, instruction, or testing on occupational safety and fire protection, and similar situations.
An employee can file a claim to resolve a labor dispute directly with the district, city, or district-in-city court within three months from the date they became aware or should have become aware of their rights being violated. For disputes concerning dismissal, the claim must be filed within one month from the date the dismissal order was handed over or the labor book was issued. If dissatisfied with the decision of the labor dispute commission, either the employee or the employer (or their authorized body) may appeal the decision to a court within ten days of receiving the extract from the commission's meeting minutes or its copy. It is important to note that an employee has three months to file a claim in court regarding a labor dispute concerning the recovery of average wages for the entire delay period until actual payment upon dismissal and compensation for the moral damages caused. This period starts from the date the dismissed employee became aware or should have become aware that the employer, responsible for the delay in payment of all amounts due upon dismissal, had actually settled the payment.
In case of a violation of wage legislation, the employee has the right to file a claim in court for the recovery of wage indexation amounts and compensation for the loss of part of the wages due to late payment, as components of the wages due to the employee, without any time limit and regardless of whether such amounts were accrued by the employer.
Timeframes are calculated in years, months, weeks, and days. A timeframe calculated in years ends on the corresponding month and day of the final year of the period. A timeframe calculated in months ends on the corresponding day of the final month of the period. If the final month does not have the corresponding day, the timeframe ends on the last day of that month. A timeframe calculated in weeks ends on the corresponding day of the week. When timeframes are defined in days, they are calculated starting from the day following the day the timeframe begins. If the last day of the timeframe falls on a holiday, weekend, or non-working day, the end of the timeframe is considered to be the next working day.