Salary and special payments
11.07.2022
Salary payment. According to Ukrainian law salary must be paid to employees at least twice a month within the specified deadlines. There are no legal exceptions from such rule due to martial law, provided that the employee continues working.
If the company continues to operate, while an employee is not working without applying for vacation or notifying on other circumstances that give right to receive the wage, the employer has a ground not to accrue and not to pay salary.
At the same time, many companies or individual entrepreneurs have to interrupt work. Many employees cannot get to work or are forced to leave their homes and move to other regions of Ukraine or abroad due to armed hostilities or their threat.
In such situation, the employers have the following options to optimize the employment relations or cut the payroll costs:
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Introduction of remote work, where possible
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Introduction of part-time work with payment pro rata to the time worked
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Announcement of downtime with payment of at least 2/3 of salary
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Granting annual and social paid vacations or unpaid vacations, upon agreement with employees
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Termination of employment relations (e.g., by mutual agreement of the parties, due to staff redundancy)
To implement these options, the general procedures and deadlines prescribed by the law must be followed. It is not allowed to force the employee to resign, to apply for part-time work, salary decrease or unpaid vacation.
If there is no objective possibility to pay wages due to military aggression of Russia and the introduction of martial law (e.g., difficulties with wire transfer, hostilities preventing access to the company or the bank), this may be a reason for the release of the employer and its officials from liability. However, it does not discharge them from the obligation to pay employees in full as soon as possible.
If a company is unable to pay salaries due to armed hostilities, such payments may be postponed until it recuperates to perform its main activities.
According to the law certain provisions of the collective agreement may be terminated on the employer's initiative for the period while the martial law remains in effect.
Special payments. Starting from May 2022, the living allowance shall be provided to
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internally displaced persons who moved from the termoparily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol City, territorial communities located in the area of hostilities (combat), or stay in the temporarily occupied, encircled (blockaded) territory;
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internally displaced persons whose houses are destroyed or unfit for habitation due to damages, and who applied for the compensation of relevant losses before 20 May 2022, in particular, through the Unified state e-services web portal, or if they submit the document issued by local government which proves that the damage / destruction of the immovable property was caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.
The list of territorial communities which are located in the area of hostilities (combat) or temporarily occupied, encircled (blockaded) are made by the Ministry of Reintegration and updated on a regular basis.
The allowance is provided on a monthly basis in the following amounts:
• for disabled persons and children - UAH 3,000;
• for other persons – UAH 2,000.
