Ukraine labor code alternative would narrow parents’ remote work
- Draft No. 16010-1 limits the young-child category to children under one and a half.
- Ukraine’s current Labor Code covers employees with a child under three.
- The draft no longer lists employees with two or more children under 15.
- A Rada committee recommended rejecting No. 16010-1 in favor of government bill No. 16010.
KYIV, UKRAINE — An alternative draft of Ukraine’s new Labor Code would shorten the list of parents who can ask to work remotely because of family circumstances, lowering the young-child threshold from under three to under one and a half. The draft, No. 16010-1, would also no longer explicitly list parents of two or more children under 15 and those caring for a child under six on a medical certificate.
Seven categories become three
The Dnipro City Council’s labor inspection set out the changes, SUD.UA reported on Oct. 21. Under Article 60-2 of the current Labor Code, remote work can be granted to pregnant women, employees with a child under three, those caring for a child under six on a medical certificate and employees with two or more children under 15. It also covers employees with a child with a disability, parents of a person with a subgroup A, group I childhood disability, and people who have taken custody of such a child or person.
Part thirteen of Article 79 of the draft keeps three categories: pregnant employees, employees with a child under one and a half, and employees with a child with a disability. The draft also has no separate guarantee for remote work while a child under 14 is in remote learning, which current law allows by agreement with the employer.
The basic condition stays the same: remote work must be possible given the work, and the employer must have the means.
An alternative to the government’s bill
Bill No. 16010-1 is an alternative to the government’s draft Labor Code, No. 16010, which the Cabinet of Ministers re-registered in parliament on Sept. 2. On Sept. 25, the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights recommended that lawmakers adopt the government bill at first reading and reject No. 16010-1, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Other remote-work changes
The draft would define a remote work contract as a special type of employment contract and let employers set how remote employees’ hours are recorded. It keeps the right to disconnect, with disconnection periods set in the employment contract.
Failure to return employer equipment would be listed explicitly among cases of full material liability.
Employers could dismiss staff absent through temporary incapacity for more than four consecutive months only if they refused offered remote work or their health rules it out.
What it means for employers
For companies employing staff in Ukraine directly or through an employer of record (EOR), the draft points to changes in how remote work is contracted, tracked and equipped. The committee, however, has backed the government’s version as the basis for first reading.
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