Bill 7731 on changes to the Labor Code is also called the “law on collaboration.” According to the new regulatory act, employers can punish people for having a family under occupation and act contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine, according to experts from the legal publication.
People’s deputies adopted a number of changes to the Labor Code, which will affect citizens who, for example, have relatives in the occupied part of Ukraine. According to the new law, they can now be fired for this. But not everyone will be fired, but only those who remained silent and continued to work at strategic enterprises. The details of the new law adopted in the Verkhovna Rada were sorted out on the portal of the Judicial-Legal Gazette (JUG).
The portal analyzed the text of bill 7731, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada in September 2022. The adoption of the document was initiated by seven people’s deputies from the Servant of the People party, among them Galina Tretyakova, who is the head of the committee on social policy.
On April 25, 2024, the law was adopted as a whole: “for” – 234 votes, “against” – zero. 185 votes were given by the Servant of the People party, 11 by Holos, the rest by other factions and groups (except for Batkivshchyna and European Solidarity).
Work in Ukraine – details of innovations
The innovations voted for by people’s deputies may offend people who for some reason decided not to talk about contacts (“connections”) in the Russian Federation and in the occupied territories at work. It is not directly stated that they can be fired. Instead, we are talking about an “official inspection” and disciplinary liability (suspension from work), noted the SJG portal.
However, not all is well with these innovations:
- The laws of Ukraine do not indicate the violation of “failure to report relatives in the Russian Federation.” Therefore, there are no clear instructions on how to punish these people. Consequently, the SJG suggests, there may be abuses on the part of employers who will be able to fire people at their discretion;
- In the Labor Code there is no concept of “internal inspection” – therefore it is not clear what it essentially is and how to proceed.
In general, these two problems relate to Part 1 of Art. 19 of the Constitution, which states that “no one can be forced to do anything that is not provided for by law.” That is, if the laws do not clearly state something, but they still do it, then such actions lead to abuses and violations of employee rights.
“It may lead to an unlimited interpretation of this norm in law enforcement practice and a violation of the rights of workers,” wrote the authors of the legal publication.
Work in Ukraine – Article 19 of the Constitution
Photo: Screenshot
What are the grounds for dismissal – what is known?
The new law, which is awaiting signature by the speaker and the president, amends three articles of the Labor Code of Ukraine (LLC). We are talking about articles 40, 46 and 142.
IN article 40 From now on, it will be indicated that employers receive two additional reasons for dismissing an employee. Previously, there were 12 of these reasons: among them were absenteeism, drunkenness, theft, and the like. Now there is an addition:
- dismissal due to a court verdict for a crime against the fundamentals of national security;
- dismissal due to failure to comply with “rules of conduct.”
Work in Ukraine – Article 40 of the Labor Code, new version
Photo: Screenshot
IN article 46 the reasons for removal from work are stated. Previously, it talked about showing up at the workplace under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the like. Now, thanks to the decision of the people’s deputies, a new point has appeared – the suspension for the duration of the “internal inspection”, which will be carried out at a strategic enterprise and at a critical infrastructure enterprise.
Work in Ukraine – Article 46 of the Labor Code, new version
Photo: Screenshot
IN Article 142 — on internal labor regulations (with rules of conduct). Until April 25, the content of the rules was not regulated. From now on, it is indicated that citizens are required to report that they have “connections” with people who live in Russia or in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine.
Work in Ukraine – Article 142 of the Labor Code, new version
Photo: Screenshot
The addition of several new paragraphs to three articles of the Labor Code has led to the fact that employers can fire workers who have “connections” with Ukrainians in the occupation. At the same time, the law does not indicate what kind of “connections” these should be, what an “internal inspection” is and how to punish for a violation, which is not in the law.
Changes to the Labor Code – reaction
On the Facebook page of Galina Tretyakova, who was among the initiators of the law, there are no comments or explanations regarding the innovations in the Labor Code. Also, the People’s Deputy of the “Voice” faction, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, does not comment on the event: he simply reported the voting results.
Alexey Goncharenko from the European Solidarity faction responded to the vote. The politician admitted that the law is called “on the dismissal of employees for collaboration.” In his opinion, this is not about collaboration, but about protecting strategic enterprises.
“But there are many questions about the wording in this bill,” the people’s deputy wrote.
MP from the European Solidarity party Irina Gerashchenko responded to the vote for bill 7731, previously wrote Focus. She noted that during the consideration of the bill in the second reading, people’s representatives ignored proposals that could protect workers from the arbitrariness of the employer. In her opinion, any actions of a citizen can be classified as “violation of regulations” and on this basis one can get rid of him.
