UKRAINIAN LABOUR LAW

Apart from the Constitution of Ukraine, which proclaims major labour rights and guarantees, the Labour Code of Ukraine (LCU) has remained the main source of Ukrainian Labour Law since 1972, the year when it came into effect. It has been adjoined by innumerous acts and subordinate legislation.

The LCU provides for the conclusion of an employment agreement between an employer and an employee as the basis of their employment relations. An employment agreement shall contain the following: the employee’s application and the relevant employer’s administrative order on employment; the execution of a written agreement by the parties and the actual start of work by the employee.

Ukrainian law distinguishes between an employment agreement and an employment contract. The latter is a particular form of the former that can provide for additional terms and conditions (e.g., additional grounds for employment termination and liabilities of the parties) as compared to the statutory requirements. Employment contracts can only be concluded with employees strictly specified by the law: as a rule, for private companies this refers only to a chief executive.

As basic work conditions the following major requirements are to be observed by an employer: the monthly wage of an employee shall not be less than a minimum wage established by law; the working week shall not exceed 40 hours;

overtime work is permitted only (1) under the circumstances provided for by the law, (2) upon the prior consent of a trade union (if any), (3) with a limited duration, and (4) with payment at double rates; the basic annual paid vacation of an employee shall not be less than 24 calendar days; transfer to another job, work at another company or in another location can be carried out only with the consent of an employee; changes in material work conditions (modification of the system and amount of labour remuneration, benefits, work regime, etc.) can be introduced upon provision of 2-months prior notice to an employee, etc.

Employees are entitled to join the trade unions. Ukrainian law vests trade unions with significant powers, namely: to conclude a collective agreement on behalf of the employees; to consider issues on introduction, revision and change of work norms, labour remuneration, additional payments and benefits; to consider the need for overtime work, issues on the dismissal of employees at the demand of the employer; to control the performance of employer’s obligations with regard to labour and labour protection law, etc.

In 2003 the Parliament accepted the new draft Labour Code as a basis. The bill is still being worked on. The latest draft determines the borders of extension of the labour law to relations with foreign participation, stipulates the rules of succession in employment relationship, the terms and conditions of employment of a chief executive, etc.

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