In current conditions, compliance by businesses with the requirements of "pre-war" labor legislation is increasingly becoming objectively impossible.
To reduce legal risks for businesses and establish more realistic rules for employment relations, legislators have developed Draft Law No. 14385, which proposes, among other things, to supplement the Law of Ukraine of 15 March 2022 No. 2136-IX with a new Article 17 and other provisions.
Specifically, it is proposed that, until the cessation of hostilities, de-occupation, or a change in the business's location, employers be relieved of: fulfilling certain obligations relating to working hours and rest periods, occupational health and safety, workplace certification, medical examinations, maintenance of HR documentation (including military registration records), as well as the investigation and recording of workplace accidents, and so on.
In addition, it is envisaged that from the date of the cessation of hostilities, de-occupation of the territory, or change in the business's location, employers will have up to 6 months to restore HR documents (relating to insurance records and remuneration), and in the event of their loss or impossibility of removal — 1 month to submit a notification in free form to the State Labour Service (from the date of receiving information about the loss/destruction, or from the date the law enters into force if the losses occurred prior to its adoption). Such notification exempts the employer from liability and inspections for the relevant period, and subsequent HR record-keeping resumes from the new date.
It is proposed to grant employers the right to terminate employment relations with employees whose workplaces are located in temporarily occupied territories, as well as an unconditional right to suspend employment contracts tied to the status of the territory — whether active hostilities are being conducted or it is temporarily occupied (with the exception of officials of state bodies and local self-government bodies). In this case, the relevant order may be challenged by the employee only if the territory is not included in the list of territories in which hostilities are being (or were) conducted or which are temporarily occupied as of the date of its issuance.
Separately, employees at the said workplaces are guaranteed the right to terminate their employment contract within the timeframe specified in their application, provided they have not been engaged in socially useful work or work at critical infrastructure facilities.
The draft law also provides for the exemption of employers from legal liability for violations of payroll deadlines where such violations are caused by the objective impossibility of conducting business prior to a change in the territory's status.
