What should an employer do during the war?

Recently, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine provided clarifications on labor relations during martial law.

If a company is located in the territory where active hostilities are taking place and cannot conduct its business, can it send employees on unpaid leave?

The answer to this question depends on who initiates the request. If the employee wishes to take an unpaid leave of absence, then it is possible. If the employer wants to send the employee on leave without his or her consent, then it is not possible.
Articles 25 and 26 of the Vacation Law entitle employees to such leave, but do not oblige them to take it. Please note that unpaid leave under Article 25 must be granted to an employee on a mandatory basis, and under Article 26 only with the consent of the employer.

If a company can't operate because of the war, what should it do?

If an enterprise or its branch or structural unit cannot operate due to active hostilities, it is necessary to issue a simple idle time on the basis of Articles 34 and 113 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.

We have already written about how to formalize downtime at a company when the quarantine began. The procedure has not changed since then, and you can read more here.

If the company introduces a downtime, it is worth remembering that wages during such a period must be paid as before, and their amount must be at least ⅔ of the employee's salary.

Will there be fines for failure to pay wages on time if the company is located in the territory where active hostilities are taking place?

The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has certified the occurrence of force majeure. Article 617 of the Civil Code of Ukraine provides for exemption from liability for breach of obligations if such breach occurred as a result of force majeure.
The Ministry of Finance believes that during martial law, this rule applies to labor relations, i.e., there will be no penalties for late payment of wages due to active hostilities.

Can an employer refuse to grant an employee a vacation if the employee wants to travel to another region or country?

As mentioned above, unpaid leave is granted at the initiative of the employee pursuant to Article 25 of the Labor Code and by agreement of the parties pursuant to Article 26 of the Labor Code. In addition, when granting leave, the vacation schedule must be taken into account (Article 10 of the Vacation Law). If an employee wishes to take an annual paid vacation, he or she must agree on it with the head of the company and give two weeks' notice of the vacation.
In addition, there is a priority for vacation time. At the request of the employee, the following categories of employees may take vacation at a time convenient for them:

• persons under the age of 18,
• people with disabilities,
• pregnant women before or after maternity leave,
• women with two or more children under the age of 15 or a child with a disability,
• single parents raising a child under the age of 15 on their own,
• wife or husband of a serviceman,
• labor veterans,
• war veterans,
• parents 一 caregivers of family-type orphanages.

According to the Ministry of Finance, an employer may refuse to grant an employee a vacation if such an employee is involved in the maintenance of critical infrastructure and life support. The refusal in this case must be motivated, i.e., there must be a certain amount of work aimed at maintaining the security and defense capability of the state. In other cases, it is advisable to grant all types of leave upon request.