How to formalize employment relations during martial law?

Since the beginning of the war, the legislative authority has made some adjustments to the rules and procedures for hiring employees during martial law and has enshrined them in Law No. 2136. One of the key points is the possibility to conclude an employment contract in a form that will be agreed upon by both parties to the labor relations.

Let's look at the features of concluding and formalizing labor relations, and the changes in labor law and social security.

Features of employment for IDPs during martial law

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are employed under general terms. If the person continues working at their main job and does not quit, they have the right to take another position or work for another employer only on a part-time basis.

For official employment, an agreement must be concluded between the employee and the employer. As before, such a document can be:

• temporary, i.e., concluded for a specific term of the labor relations;

• permanent, when the contract is concluded for an indefinite period.

According to Order No. 159, the employer can receive compensation for expenses related to the payment of wages for the employment of IDPs due to military actions in Ukraine.

To receive such compensation, the employer must apply to the regional employment center with the relevant request. The employment center, in turn, must send the request to the official platform of the Information and Analytical Center of Electronic Verification and Monitoring. Only institutions that carry out state payments have access to this platform.

The system then checks the compliance of the information provided by the employer, processes the request, and either confirms or rejects the application if the data did not pass the verification.

How is compensation provided for the employment of IDPs?

Financial compensation is provided to the employer:

• for the first 6 months, but if the internally displaced person has a disability;

• for the first three months from the date of hiring an employee with IDP status.

Financial compensation can be received by both legal entities and sole proprietors. The main condition is the employment of an IDP.

State compensation is not provided if the employee and employer have entered into a gig contract, i.e., a contract of service.

Employment of persons with disabilities during martial law

According to Order No. 172-N, the procedure for determining persons with disabilities who can be employed by an enterprise has been approved.

The State Employment Center receives information about such persons and transmits it to the Centralized Database of Disability Issues (CDBDI). The platform processes the received data automatically. This information is duplicated in the Electronic Cabinet of a person with a disability.

When such a person is employed by the enterprise, the employer must create a regular or special workplace that meets their individual needs. This means that a person with a disability can be employed either in a regular workplace or in a specially adapted one, taking into account the specifics of their condition.

Employment of foreigners during martial law

The Law of Ukraine "On Employment" provides that an employer may hire foreigners, but only if such a person has a valid work permit.

To obtain such a document, the employer must submit:

• a statement in the approved form: it must specify the position of the foreigner and confirm that the future work at the enterprise is not related to access to state secrets;

• copies of the stateless person's passport, which must be translated into Ukrainian and certified by the appropriate diplomatic mission;

• color photographs of the worker;

• a copy of the labor contract.

The document package must be submitted to the central executive authority.

If the employer hires a stateless person who does not have the appropriate work permit in our country, the following responsibility may apply:

• a fine of 20 times the minimum wage for each person working at the enterprise under a labor contract but without a permit;

• a fine of 10 times the minimum wage for each person when other conditions specified in the permit are violated.

Mandatory actions of the employer when hiring an employee during martial law

Actions the employer must take:

• notify the tax authorities about the employment of a person at the enterprise;

• check for the presence of military registration documents;

• send information to the Territorial Center for Recruitment (TCR);

• conduct briefings and explain the rules for military registration;

• notify TCR about changes in the employee's registration data no later than seven days after the order on employment is signed.

However, these rules do not apply to the employment of foreigners.

Probation during employment under martial law

At the employer's discretion, probation can be set during the employment process. However, Law No. 2136 emphasizes that it is the employer's right, not their direct obligation. Therefore, if the employer is confident that the employee meets the requirements for employment and has the necessary qualifications, they may not set a probationary period.