On 24 December 2023, Law No. 3494-IX of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Granting and Use of Leave and Other Issues" dated 22 November 2023 ("Law") came into effect, detailing and amending certain provisions of the existing legislation on granting leave to employees.
Key changes
- The maximum duration of unpaid leave due to family circumstances and for other reasons has been increased from 15 to 30 calendar days per year
- Regardless of the above limitation, employers may grant unpaid leave for the period of an epidemic or a pandemic spreading, if an employee must self-isolate in cases established by law, or in case of threat of an armed aggression, or an emergency of a human-caused, natural, or other nature
- Employees dismissed from military service due to the end of a special period or demobilization are entitled to unpaid leave of up to 60 calendar days
- Paid leave of up to 14 calendar days is granted to a close family member within three months from the birth of a child
- In the event of a call-up for military service, the employee, at their request and on the basis of an application, is to be paid monetary compensation for all unused days of annual leave, as well as for additional leave for employees having children or a child with childhood disabilities of Subgroup A, Group I
- During the period of martial law, employers that are designated as critical infrastructure facilities, are producers of defence products, or have a contract for a mobilisation order may refuse to grant any types of leave (with certain exceptions) to those employees who are directly involved in the relevant production process
We recommend that employers in Ukraine take the above legislative changes into account and update their leave policies and practices as may be needed to comply with this Law.
