Employment
A 1971 Labour Code with a wartime suspension mechanism
The Labour Code of 1971 still governs employment, heavily amended and supplemented by the 2022 wartime law which allows suspension of the employment relationship where work is impossible because of hostilities. Simplified regimes apply to small employers.
Key rules
- Employment may be suspended by either party where hostilities make performance impossible.
- Notice of dismissal for redundancy is two months, reduced to ten days under martial law.
- Annual leave is at least 24 calendar days, with wartime limits on carry-over.
- Overtime and weekend work limits are relaxed for critical infrastructure during martial law.
Governing law
- Labour Code of Ukraine (1971)KZpP, extensively amended.
- Law on the organisation of labour relations under martial law (2022)Law 2136-IX.
- Law on leave (1996)
In practice
Suspension is not dismissal and does not end the contract, but pay obligations shift to the aggressor state as a documented claim, which is why the paperwork on each suspension order matters.