A person with a disability is wanted

Many employers have heard about the regulations on the employment of people with disabilities. Regardless of the form of ownership, if you employ more than 8 people, you will need to find and hire at least one person with a disability. In this article, we will discuss how to comply with the "disabled" standard and avoid fines.

When does the obligation to employ a person with a disability arise?

The obligation to employ persons with disabilities is enshrined in the Law "On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine". It states that 4% of the average number of full-time employees (NTE) for the year must be held by persons with disabilities.

To calculate the average annualized headcount, you need to divide the number of all employees in a year by 12 months. The resulting number is rounded up or down according to the mathematical rules. If you have 1 to 8 employees, you are not required to employ a person with a disability. If the number of employees is from 8 to 25, you must employ 1 person with a disability.

Also, keep in mind that only those employees who are employed at your main place of work are eligible to fulfill the "disabled" quota. At the same time, a person with a disability may work part-time, but this does not affect the "disabled" standard.

What to do if there is a need for a person with a disability, but there is no person?

Very often, employers face a stalemate: they need to hire a person with a disability, but there is no suitable person for the position.

So, in order to avoid fines for failure to comply with the "disability" standards, you must first allocate a workplace for the employment of a person with a disability. To do this, it is enough to designate vacant positions for which such persons will be hired. Also, in the staffing table, you can allocate separate positions intended specifically for persons with disabilities.

Once you have identified the vacant positions, you can start looking for such people on your own or by contacting the employment center.

To search through the employment center, you must submit form No. 3-PN "Information on the demand for labor (vacancies)". In this form, you need to make a note that you want to hire a person with a disability.

In this form, you need to specify all the requirements you are looking for in an employee for the position you need. For example: what kind of education the candidate should have, what languages they should speak and at what level, what kind of work experience they should have, what professional qualities they should have, etc.

Why should you submit such a request to the employment center? If you do not receive the required number of suitable employees for your vacancy, or if the candidates do not meet your company's requirements or refuse the position offered, then no penalties for failure to comply with the "disabled" standard will be applied to your company. This is because you, for your part, have made every effort to find the right person. The responsibility for finding such employees in this situation lies with the state employment center.

Reporting in the form No. 3-PN is submitted once. Further, the obligation to check the relevance of this vacancy falls on the employment center, and they will independently contact you at least 2 times a month to confirm the relevance of the information.

How else can you meet the standard for the employment of people with disabilities?

There are two other ways to avoid fines for failure to comply with "disabled" standards:

1. To place an order for goods or services at an enterprise where the number of employees with disabilities exceeds 50% of the SLS. But there is a catch: the amount of annual labor costs for such persons at the enterprise from which the order is placed must be greater than the amount of the administrative and economic fine for failure to comply with the standard.
2. Prevent the annual payroll from exceeding the minimum allowable norms. To do this, you can hire employees not at their main place of work, but as part-time employees, or enter into a contract of employment with employees. Although we do not recommend using this option, as it may result in an audit by the State Labor Service.

What are the penalties for failure to comply with "disabled" standards?

The amount of the fine will depend on the number of employees in your company and the number of positions intended for persons with disabilities but not occupied by them. For example, if you were supposed to employ one person with a disability but failed to do so, the fine will be equal to half the average annual salary of a full-time employee if the company employs 8 to 15 people; the average annual salary of a full-time employee if the company employs 15 or more people.