Employment Relations During Martial Law: Practical Steps for a Store

During martial law, a store must formally hire employees before they start work, inform them about changes to their working conditions, and correctly identify the grounds for each absence. This determines whether the time must be paid, whether annual leave days accrue, and when the employee must return to work. Martial law alone does not allow an ordinary store to impose a 60-hour workweek on all sales assistants or force them to take unpaid leave.

Before making an HR decision, an employer must establish the facts, check the relevant provision of the Labour Code of Ukraine (the Labour Code) and the special rules of Law No. 2136-IX, prepare the required documents, and notify the employee in the proper manner. If a store temporarily closes, first determine whether there are grounds for downtime, whether the employee is requesting leave, or whether armed aggression has made it impossible for both parties to perform the contract.

How to hire a sales assistant before their first shift

Under Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX, during martial law the employee and employer agree on the form of the employment contract. At the same time, Article 24 of the Labour Code remains in force: an employee may not be allowed to start work without a contract formalized by an order or directive and notification of the hire in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers.

If an entrepreneur hires a sales assistant, the process can be organized in this order:

1. The employee provides an identity document, a paper employment record book if available, or employment history information from the register of insured persons. Education, health, and military registration documents are provided in the cases required by law.
2. The parties agree on the position, duties, workplace, start date, schedule, pay, and form of contract. A written contract can be used to record the terms they have agreed.
3. The employer issues an order or directive for the hire and submits the hiring notification before allowing the employee to start work.
4. Before work begins, the employer informs the employee of the details required by Article 29 of the Labour Code and arranges any required safety briefings.

Before their first shift, the sales assistant should know where and from what date they will work, their duties, the equipment they will use, their start and finish times, their pay, and the length of their annual leave. The employer also informs them about their rights and duties, internal work rules, and procedures for notice of contract termination. The employee must be informed of any hazardous or harmful factors that have not been eliminated and their potential effects, and must acknowledge this information by signing.

Illustrative example. A store needs a sales assistant to replace an employee who is temporarily absent. Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX allows a fixed-term contract for the replacement period. The contract and order can specify whom the new employee is replacing and how the term of their employment is determined. This helps align the HR paperwork with the store’s actual needs.

Legal basis: Articles 24 and 29 of the Labour Code, Article 2 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to change a schedule or pay

Under Article 32 of the Labour Code, material working conditions may be changed due to changes in the organization of production and work, provided the employee continues working in the same specialty, qualification, or position. These conditions include, in particular, the work schedule, the pay system and amount, and the introduction or cancellation of part-time work.

During martial law, notice must be given before the new conditions take effect. The special rule in Part 2 of Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX replaces the usual two-month notice period for changes to material working conditions and pay terms. However, the shorter notice period does not remove the need for lawful grounds for the change.

If a store reduces working hours because it is changing how it operates, the order can describe the reason, the specific new conditions, and their effective date. Before that date, the employee must be told which hours they will work and how their pay will be calculated. To document notice, it is advisable to keep the employee’s signature or evidence of the exchange of documents through an agreed electronic method.

Under Article 56 of the Labour Code, the parties may also agree to a shorter working day or week. Pay is then proportional to hours worked or based on output, and the employee’s scope of labour rights is not restricted. At the request of a pregnant woman; a woman with a child under 14 or a child with a disability, including a child under her guardianship; or a woman caring for an ill family member on the basis of a medical opinion, the employer is required to set part-time hours.

Illustrative example. A sales assistant and employer agree to reduce the workweek from 40 to 20 hours. If the illustrative salary for the full standard hours is UAH 20,000 and the employee works all of the agreed half of the monthly standard hours, pay based on salary will be UAH 20,000 × 0.5 = UAH 10,000 before deductions. Allowances and other components of pay must be accounted for separately under their applicable terms.

If the previous material conditions cannot be maintained and the employee refuses to continue working under the new conditions, Article 32 of the Labour Code provides for termination under Point 6 of Part 1 of Article 36. An employee’s silence alone does not prove such a refusal; a decision requires documents showing that notice was given and recording the employee’s position.

As a general rule, reassignment to another job requires the employee’s consent. Part 1 of Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX allows reassignment without consent only to prevent or eliminate the consequences of hostilities or other circumstances that threaten people’s lives or normal living conditions. The work must not be contraindicated for health reasons, pay must be no lower than the employee’s average earnings in their previous job, and this permission does not cover reassignment to another locality where active hostilities are taking place.

Legal basis: Articles 32, 36, and 56 of the Labour Code, Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to plan a store’s working hours

For an ordinary store, normal working time is no more than 40 hours per week under Article 50 of the Labour Code. The option under Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX to increase it to 60 hours applies to employees working at critical infrastructure facilities. Selling goods essential to the public does not, by itself, establish that this provision applies to a particular store.

For employees at such facilities whose working time is reduced by law, the special limit is 40 hours per week. If working time is increased under Part 1 or 2 of Article 6, pay increases in proportion to the increase in the work norm.

Illustrative example for an employee covered by the special rule only. If the norm increases from 40 to 60 hours, the increase factor is 60 ÷ 40 = 1.5. At illustrative pay of UAH 20,000 for the previous full norm, pay for the full increased norm will be UAH 30,000 before deductions. This calculation does not give an ordinary store the right to impose a 60-hour workweek.

During martial law, the employer sets a five-day or six-day workweek and the start and end times of shifts. The uninterrupted weekly rest period may be reduced to 24 hours. However, rules on increasing working hours and reducing this rest period do not apply to minors.

When preparing next month’s schedule, a store can first allocate shifts within each employee’s working-time norm and then separately record the hours actually worked. The hours a store is open are not the same as the hours each sales assistant works: several employees may be needed to cover a long store day.

Legal basis: Article 50 of the Labour Code, Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to grant leave and determine its pay

Annual basic leave and protected minimum duration

Under Article 6 of the Law on Leave, an employee is entitled to at least 24 calendar days of annual basic leave per working year of service, with the working year counted from the date the employment contract was concluded. During martial law, Part 1 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX allows the employer to limit the annual basic leave granted for the current working year to 24 calendar days. The employer may grant and pay the full duration of basic leave. If the employer applies the limit, unused days above 24 calendar days are carried forward to the period after martial law ends or is cancelled. During martial law, the employer may grant these days without pay, but must ensure that minors and persons with disabilities receive the full statutory minimum of paid basic leave applicable to them. The decision to carry over or grant days must be documented and entered in the leave records.

The statutory minimum paid annual basic leave must be ensured for minors and persons with disabilities: 31 calendar days for employees under 18; 30 days for persons with Group I or II disabilities; and 26 days for persons with Group III disabilities. These minimum guarantees cannot be reduced to 24 paid days with the remainder granted without pay.

In Decision No. 3-r/2026, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine declared unconstitutional the second sentence of the second paragraph of Part 1 of Article 12 only insofar as it fails to ensure that these categories receive paid basic leave for the minimum duration exceeding 24 days. The Court did not repeal all of Article 12: it found the provisions of its third paragraph on other leave beyond annual basic leave to be constitutional.

Illustrative example. A sales assistant with a Group III disability is entitled to 26 calendar days of basic leave for a full relevant working year. If they have used 24 paid days, the remaining 2 days within the statutory minimum must also be paid. The timing must be determined with regard to their right to take leave at a convenient time under Article 10 of the Law on Leave.

Other leave and unused days

Under the third paragraph of Part 1 of Article 12, during martial law the employer may grant other leave without pay if the employee has already used 24 calendar days of annual basic leave. Unused days of this other leave are carried forward to the period after martial law ends or is cancelled. Exceptions are maternity leave, leave to care for a child under three, and adoption leave. This rule does not allow the protected minimum basic leave for minors and persons with disabilities to be bypassed.

The Court also declared unconstitutional the provision that extended the possibility of granting carried-over leave days without pay after martial law ended or was cancelled, until those days were actually used. Therefore, an employer cannot include this post-martial-law restriction in a decision to carry leave forward.

Article 12 allows an employer to refuse to grant unused annual leave days. At the same time, the employer must take account of the Constitutional Court’s conclusions on ensuring the minimum paid basic leave, including the longer minimum for minors and persons with disabilities, and must not apply a refusal in a way that deprives an employee of this guarantee. Separately, Part 2 of the article allows an employer to refuse any leave to an employee engaged in work at critical infrastructure facilities, the production of defence goods, or the performance of a mobilization assignment. The exceptions are maternity leave and leave to care for a child under three. An ordinary store must check whether these specific conditions apply before relying on this special refusal rule.

When planning annual leave, the employer checks the working year, the duration due, days already used, and periods that do not count toward the length of service qualifying the employee for annual leave. As a general rule, in the first year of employment the right to the full duration of leave arises after six months of continuous work. Before then, its duration is determined in proportion to time worked, except in the cases listed in Part 7 of Article 10 of the Law on Leave. In particular, persons with disabilities and minors are granted the full leave at their request even before completing six months of work. The employer should then agree the period within the schedule, notify the employee in writing of the start date at least two weeks in advance, and formally grant the leave. If leave is split at the employee’s request, one uninterrupted portion must be at least 14 calendar days.

During martial law, public holidays and non-working days count toward the duration of annual leave because the exception in Part 2 of Article 5 of the Law on Leave does not apply. Leave pay is paid before the leave starts unless legislation, an employment contract, or a collective agreement provides otherwise. On termination, the employer pays compensation for unused days under Article 24 of this Law.

Legal basis: Articles 6, 9, 10, 12, 21, and 24 of the Law on Leave, Articles 6 and 12 of Law No. 2136-IX, Constitutional Court Decision No. 3-r/2026, paragraphs 6.4–6.5 and the operative part.

When unpaid leave of up to 90 days is granted

Under Part 4 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX, an employee who has left Ukraine or acquired internally displaced person (IDP) status may apply for unpaid leave. The employer must grant it for the period specified in the application, but no more than 90 calendar days, subject to the special option to refuse under Part 2 of Article 12 for the types of work specified there.

The basis is the employee’s application. The employer cannot unilaterally send a sales assistant on this leave because sales have fallen or funds are unavailable. This leave does not count toward service for annual basic leave.

If an employee requests this leave, their application can state the grounds, start date, and number of calendar days. A document confirming IDP status or evidence of leaving the country can be attached to substantiate the right. The order should state the specific legal basis and period, and the leave record should show the duration used.

Part 3 of Article 12 provides another option: at the employee’s request, the employer may agree to unpaid leave without the time limit set by Part 1 of Article 26 of the Law on Leave. Granting it requires the employer’s decision, and this time also does not count toward service for annual basic leave.

Illustrative example. A sales assistant with IDP status requests 45 calendar days of leave under Part 4 of Article 12. For an ordinary store where she does not perform work specified in Part 2 of that article, granting the leave is mandatory. If she later needs a longer absence, the employer must check the days already used on this basis and, if necessary, agree to another lawful basis.

Legal basis: Parts 2–4 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to distinguish downtime, leave, and suspension of a contract

Illustrative downtime situation. A store temporarily cannot trade because there is no electricity, while its sales assistants are ready to work. To formalize downtime, the employer can record the cause and period of the stoppage, identify the employees affected, and set out attendance arrangements and pay. If an employee discovers downtime that does not cover the whole store or unit, Article 113 of the Labour Code requires them to notify the employer or the relevant official.

Downtime pay must be determined based on the actual circumstances. Under Article 113 of the Labour Code, the employer preserves average earnings for downtime if, through no fault of the employee, a production situation arose that is hazardous to the life or health of that employee or people around them and to the natural environment. Therefore, for an interruption due to an air raid alert, establish what happened and why work stopped before determining the arrangements and pay.

Legal basis: Article 113 of the Labour Code, Articles 12 and 13 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to formalize suspension and return to work

Suspension under Article 13 of Law No. 2136-IX is possible when armed aggression makes it impossible for both parties to perform their obligations. A drop in revenue or an employee’s unwillingness to come to a shift does not establish this condition. Suspension does not terminate the employment relationship and cannot be used as disguised punishment.

Unilateral suspension is capped at 90 calendar days in total throughout martial law, including any extensions of martial law. The employer must add up periods of unilateral suspension, as each new order does not create another 90 days. When reviewing earlier orders, the employer must also account for Point 1 of Section II of Law No. 4412-IX: the rule on the aggregate 90-day limit came into force nine months after that Law took effect. By agreement, the parties may extend the suspension beyond 90 days, but not beyond the end or cancellation of martial law.

If grounds for suspension exist, the employer can proceed as follows:

1. Gather evidence of how armed aggression makes it impossible for the employer to provide work and for the specific employee to perform it.
2. Check how much of the suspension period has already been used and determine its end date.
3. Issue an order stating the reasons, explaining why both parties cannot perform their obligations, and specifying the period, method of exchanging information, and conditions for restoring the contract. The order must also state the number and categories of employees, their full names, and tax identification numbers or passport details permitted by law.
4. Notify the employee by the agreed method and keep proof. If an extension beyond the lawful unilateral limit is needed, record the agreement of both parties.
5. Track the restoration date and whether contact with the employee is possible.

If an order sets a suspension period longer than the lawful unilateral limit, it becomes invalid on the day after that legal limit is exhausted, unless the parties have agreed to an extension. Once the permitted period ends, the contract is fully restored. If it is still impossible to perform the contract, a statutory ground for termination is required; the end of the suspension period does not automatically dismiss the employee.

If the employer decides to cancel the suspension before martial law ends or is cancelled, or before the period specified in the order expires, the employee must be notified of the need to return to work 14 calendar days before the contract is restored. The notice should state the return date, and the employer should keep proof that it was sent by the agreed method.

For the suspension period, the employer is not required to pay wages, guarantee or compensation payments, grant or pay for leave, or fulfil the other obligations listed in Article 13. The exception is amounts owed to the employee on the day of suspension. The Law assigns compensation for the relevant payments during this period to the aggressor state; it does not determine when the employee will actually receive the funds.

The employee, or a trade union acting on the employee’s authorization, may challenge a suspension order before the State Labour Service of Ukraine (Derzhpratsi) or its territorial body. After reviewing the order and the grounds for issuing it, that body may, in coordination with the military administration, issue a directive to cancel the order or remedy the violation in another way. The employer must comply within 14 calendar days of receiving the directive and may appeal it to a court within 10 calendar days.

Legal basis: Article 13 of Law No. 2136-IX, Point 1 of Section II of Law No. 4412-IX.

What to do if a sales assistant does not show up or explain why

Point 8-3 of Part 1 of Article 36 of the Labour Code provides for termination if both the employee’s absence from work and the lack of information about the reason for the absence continue for more than four consecutive months. Two weeks without a reply is not enough for this ground. If the employer receives information about the reason, the situation must be assessed in light of that information.

If a sales assistant does not show up for a shift, the employer can first record the absence, check applications, messages, and formally documented periods of absence, and then contact the employee using the known contact details. If a decision under Point 8-3 is being considered, it is advisable to retain attendance records, requests for the reasons for the absence, proof they were sent, any replies, and information about the length of the continuous period. A missed call does not prove that all required conditions are met.

Absence without a valid reason under Point 4 of Part 1 of Article 40 of the Labour Code is a separate ground for termination. During martial law, an employee whose workplace is located in an area of active hostilities cannot be dismissed on this ground for absence. Under Part 3 of Article 5 of Law No. 2136-IX, that time is unpaid and does not count toward service for annual basic leave.

As a general rule under Article 47 of the Labour Code, on the day of dismissal the employer provides a copy of the order, written notice of amounts accrued and paid, and makes the final settlement within the deadlines in Article 116. If the contract being terminated was suspended, under Article 13 of Law No. 2136-IX the employer makes the final settlement and issues the employment record book, if it has retained it, no later than the next working day after receiving the dismissed employee’s written request. If the book is inaccessible or has been lost, the employer must issue a duplicate in accordance with the procedure and within the time limits established by law.

Legal basis: Articles 36, 40, 41, and 47 of the Labour Code, Articles 5 and 13 of Law No. 2136-IX.

How to document the absence of a mobilized employee

For employees covered by Part 3 of Article 119 of the Labour Code, including those called up during mobilization or accepted for military service under contract during a special period, their job and position are retained. This rule also covers employees of individual entrepreneurs (FOPs). The employer retains the job and position until the end of the special period or the date the employee is actually discharged from military service. Separate time limits, described below, apply to employees receiving treatment after an injury, taken prisoner, or declared missing. The cited part does not require the employer to preserve average earnings: monetary support is paid from the state budget.

If a sales assistant is mobilized, the employer can issue an order releasing them from work while retaining their job and position, based on a document confirming military service. The order should state the date and legal basis, and the period should be reflected in the records. A fixed-term contract can be signed with another sales assistant as a replacement. As a general rule, the period of military service identified by the exception in Point 2 of Part 1 of Article 9 of the Law on Leave does not count toward service for annual basic leave. However, the employer counts time when the employee did not work because they were deprived of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression, if this fact is established under the special law, the employee’s job was retained, and wages were not paid. This separate ground is provided by Point 6-1 of Part 1 of Article 9; a notification that the employee is a prisoner of war is not enough by itself to apply it.

If an employee is injured or suffers another health impairment during military service and is receiving treatment in a medical facility, is taken prisoner, or is declared missing, the employer continues to retain the employee’s job and position. Under Article 119, these guarantees apply until the day after the employee is entered on the military register following discharge due to completion of treatment, return from captivity, or reappearance after being declared missing, or until a court declares the employee dead. To determine the return date, the employer must therefore check documents relating to the relevant event and military registration. However, the guarantees in Parts 2 and 3 do not apply to persons whose conviction for military criminal offences during the special period has entered into force. Changes in the employee’s status must be supported by documents.

An employee may request compensation for unused annual leave and additional leave for employees with children under Article 24 of the Law on Leave. The application must be submitted no later than the last day of the month in which the employee was released from work due to being called up. If the employee is in a category listed in Article 24 and submits the application on time, the employer must check the balance of unused days and pay the compensation due.

Legal basis: Article 119 of the Labour Code, Articles 9 and 24 of the Law on Leave.

How to exchange documents and stay in touch

Under Article 7 of Law No. 2136-IX, the parties may agree on alternative methods for preparing, sending, and storing HR documents, as well as an available method of electronic communication. If the store uses email or a messaging app, the parties can agree in writing on specific addresses or numbers, how documents will be sent, and how the employee will acknowledge having read them. This helps establish who received which document.

The duty to remain reachable is mutual and also applies during suspension of the contract. Each party must notify the other of changed contact details without delay and no later than 10 calendar days. An employer that is a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur (FOP) fulfils this duty by updating the relevant details in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Organisations (USR).

The employee sends updated details to the employer’s address or email listed in the USR. If postal service or technical means of electronic communication are unavailable, the law provides for a text message to the employer’s official phone number.

If a party does not fulfil its duty to update contact information, communication sent by the other party to the last known address, email, or phone number is considered proper notice. If postal service and/or technical means of electronic communication are unavailable using the last known details, Part 4 of Article 7 allows the statutory requirement to notify that party of the creation or termination of employment rights and duties, or of the termination or cancellation of the employment contract, to be waived. The relevant circumstances must be substantiated to apply this provision; a lack of reply alone does not establish them.

Law No. 4412-IX also established a one-off transition period of 60 calendar days from its entry into force for employers to update outdated details and for employees who had been absent for 90 consecutive days or whose workplaces were in temporarily occupied territories to provide their contact details. This period does not restart each time a phone number changes. The time limit for current changes is up to 10 calendar days.

Only employers in areas of active and possible hostilities included in the relevant approved list may independently determine their HR recordkeeping and archival storage procedures under Part 1 of Article 7. They must keep reliable records of work performed and labour costs. This territorial exception does not exempt all stores from maintaining HR documents.

If an entrepreneur arranges remote document exchange, they can keep the order, the agreed communication method, proof of sending, and the employee’s reply together. Time and payment records should be linked to the document explaining the relevant work or absence period.

Legal basis: Article 7 of Law No. 2136-IX, Point 2 of Section II of Law No. 4412-IX.

Recording sales assistants’ working time in Torgsoft

If a store uses Torgsoft, basic time tracking on a PC can record employees’ arrivals and departures and display a text log of registrations. To do this, create an employee card and link it to the program user, selecting registration by badge or by program use. The log can provide data for checking actual working hours alongside the schedule and HR documents.

Automated schedules and payroll calculations require the paid “Payroll Calculation” (“Розрахунок зарплати”) option. Mobile registration, photo capture, and status viewing require this option and the additional mobile app option. To auto-fill the timesheet and calculate pay correctly, the employee’s schedule must be configured in advance. It is not possible to remotely close a shift for another user. These terms are described in the official Torgsoft working time tracking setup instructions.

If the log shows a missed registration or a long break, the responsible person can compare it with the actual circumstances, the employee’s explanation, and any orders. Arrival and departure entries are input data for recordkeeping: the employer determines the legal grounds for an absence and the pay due. The “Absent” (“Відсутній”) status by itself does not prove unauthorized absence, downtime, or grounds for suspending a contract.

What to check before calculating payroll

When closing the monthly records, a store can compare actual hours with schedules and orders, and separately check leave, downtime, military service, and suspended contracts. For each period, establish the documentary basis, pay due, and effect on service for annual basic leave. This enables the employer to explain to the employee how the payment amount was calculated.

Under Article 115 of the Labour Code, the employer pays wages at least twice a month, with no more than 16 calendar days between payments and no later than seven days after the end of the period for which pay is made. If a payment date falls on a weekend, public holiday, or non-working day, wages are paid on the preceding day. The amount for the first half of the month must be at least the pay for time actually worked, calculated using the tariff rate or position salary. Article 10 of Law No. 2136-IX requires the employer to take all possible measures to pay on time. The employer is released from liability for late payment if it proves that the delay resulted from hostilities or other force majeure circumstances. The duty to pay wages remains. If hostilities themselves make timely payment impossible, Part 4 of Article 10 allows payment to be deferred until the enterprise resumes operations.

Legal basis: Article 115 of the Labour Code, Article 10 of Law No. 2136-IX.

Official sources for checking an HR decision

• Labour Code of Ukraine No. 322-VIII — Articles 24, 29, 32, 36, 40, 41, 47, 50, 56, 113, 115, and 119.
• Law No. 2136-IX “On the Organization of Labour Relations under Martial Law” — Articles 2, 3, 5–7, 10, 12, and 13.
• Law No. 504/96-VR “On Leave” — Articles 6, 9, 10, 12, 21, and 24.
• Constitutional Court Decision No. 3-r/2026 on the right to leave — paragraphs 6.4–6.5 and the operative part.
• Law No. 4412-IX on information exchange and suspension of employment contracts — Section II on commencement of provisions and transitional duties.