Labour Law

For a long time in Ukraine, labour law issues were limited to labour disputes between employees and employers regarding non-payment of wages, illegal dismissal, etc.

Recently, however, the issue of compliance with labour law has become particularly relevant because of the increased liability of the employer for such violations.

The labour law of Ukraine is the most outdated and not adapted to modern business realities, since the main normative acts governing labour relations in Ukraine are the Soviet Labour Code of 1971 and ratified ILO Conventions since 1921.

The socialist model of labour relations has long been out of tune with the contemporary realities and demands of business, so in practice many questions are raised regarding the enforcement of outdated labour standards.

In addition, the current labour law does not take into account the peculiarities of labour relations, depending on the specifics of the business industry, since labour relations in the IT sector are significantly different from the agrarian sector, but regulation is the same by the Labour Code.

In addition, the existing regulatory framework for employment relations has a significant imbalance between the rights / obligations of employers and employees in favor of the latter. For example, an employee has the right to dismiss at his own request and to leave work within 2 weeks from the date of such request and writing a statement, and the employer is not entitled to dismiss at the request of the employees – only by the agreement of the parties. In addition, many other decisions by the employer have to be agreed by the trade union committee or by an authorized labour body. And there are many more examples.

Therefore, modern labour relations between the management of the entity and employees do not have current legal regulation sometimes, which in practice leads to different interpretation of the rules and behavior of the participants themselves.

Such lack of regulation, and even more so ignorance of current labour standards, can cause in practice not only internal labour conflicts, but also problems with the controlling bodies, in particular, with the bodies of the State Labour of Ukraine and the State Tax Service.

Another unpleasant thing here is the fact that State Labour inspectors have the right to transmit to law enforcement agencies, including tax authorities, information about detected violations, which, in addition to liability for violations of labour law, may result in tax deductions and penalties. Then the client’s favorable outcome of the case depends only on the quality of work of a labour law lawyer.

In addition, according to legislation the employer violation of labour rights of employees entail financial liability (in the form of excessive fines), as well as bringing officials of employers to administrative and criminal liability. However, with regard to criminal responsibility, the Criminal Code of Ukraine does not clearly define what violations can be the basis for liability, and only “gross violation of labour law” which is an evaluative category at the discretion of the judge is indicated.

Therefore, timely legal reaction to risks in the labour relationship, proper maintainance of all necessary documentation, support in relations with the supervisory authorities always helps to minimize financial risks and other liability risks, and also ensures the formation of a reputation of the client as a reliable employer and taxes payer.

For many years, WinnerLex has specialized in protecting businesses and employers in labour relations, and represents the interests of business executives.