I think that every company, public or charitable organization (NGO) in Ukraine, which worked until 2022 and is working now, at least once faced the question of saving jobs. It is possible to do this during martial law. There are tools in labor law that allow you to save a job if a company is currently unable to operate or unable to perform work in a certain area due to martial law conditions. Let’s consider the tools that are most often used in practice:
- Transfer to remote work
- The layoff is not the fault of the employee
- Leave without pay
- Suspension of employment contracts
Transfer to remote work
In my opinion, this is a fairly effective tool. It can be used if the specifics of the job allow working remotely.
If necessary, both individual employees and entire units can be transferred to remote work.
The layoff is not the fault of the employee
Simply put, layoff is a temporary suspension of work that occurs when, under certain conditions, employees cannot continue to perform their duties.
Let’s give an example that Ukrainians have been dealing with every day for more than two years – air pollution. When workers go down to the shelter and are unable to continue doing their work there, in this case, they should issue a layoff.
Martial law in itself is not a reason for the introduction of layoff. But there are conditions under which it becomes necessary:
- If the enterprise is located in the temporarily occupied territory
- Has undergone partial or complete destruction due to military actions
- If the enterprise is located in the zone of active hostilities
- There is a threat to workers’ lives, for example, during an air raid
Leave without pay
With the introduction of martial law, after a certain time, changes were made to the procedure for granting leave without salary. The conditions for granting such leave have been expanded, in particular:
- Up to 30 calendar days per year in general for all employees. But during martial law, an employee has the right to take more than 30 calendar days a year if needed.
- Up to 90 calendar days – for employees who are internally displaced persons or have left Ukraine. The main condition: such leave is granted once during martial law. For example, if an employee took such leave in 2024 and used all 90 days, then in 2025 he no longer has the right to such leave. By agreement with the manager, the leave can be extended, but only until the end of the period of martial law.
Suspension of employment contracts
Suspension of employment contracts does not mean termination of labor relations. That is, the workplace is saved for the employee. This tool is used when, in a certain period of time and under certain conditions, the employer cannot provide the employee with work, and the employee cannot perform his work.
A practical case
In the summer of 2023, my team was contacted by the financial director of a branch of an international company engaged in maintenance of equipment and provision of other services in the field of oil and gas extraction with a request for consultation.
We held a meeting where the client described the problem as follows: due to the war, the company could not fully carry out its activities and provide work for all employees, but wanted to keep valuable specialists. Most of the works were performed in territories that are already temporarily occupied or are close to the war zone. Since there was a threat to the lives of workers and the threat of destruction of equipment, work at certain sites in Ukraine was stopped. The client wanted to keep jobs until the company fully resumes its activities.
The specialists of my team examined the situation in detail and provided the following recommendations:
- Employees who cannot be provided with work and perform their duties for more than one month, to suspend the validity of employment contracts.
- Employees, who are periodically involved in the performance of work during the month, must issue a simple one for the period of absence from work.
I also explained in which cases it is necessary to issue leave without salary and prepared the necessary document templates.
We offered the client the following solutions that helped solve his problem under these conditions. At that time, the client kept the staff, and the company had the opportunity to find alternative work until it could fully carry out its activities.
If you have encountered such a situation and are looking for a solution, whichTool it is better to use, under what conditions and what documents need to be issued, this will help you determine the personnel service. We recommend involving management specialists in such matters of personnel accounting. Outsourcing of personnel accounting provides an opportunity to receive high-quality personnel administration and consulting on labor law issues.
Vita Voznenko
