On 18 May 2024 (with certain exceptions), Law of Ukraine No. 3633-IX "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Certain Issues of Military Service, Mobilisation and Military Registration" dated 11 April 2024 ("Law") will come into force. This Law, among others, imposes certain new obligations for employers and their employees who are subject to mobilisation.
Key changes
- Individuals who are subject to the military service duty may voluntarily register their personal Electronic Cabinet of a Conscript, Person Liable for Military Service or Reservist ("Electronic Cabinet").
- Within 60 days from the effective date of this Law, individuals who are subject to military service duty must update their personal military registration data as follows:
- If currently in Ukraine — by (i) showing up in person at the Military Registration Office (MRO) where they are registered, at their current place of residence or at the Centre for the Provision of Administrative Services, or (ii) through the Electronic Cabinet
- If abroad — by (i) sending the information to the email address or by calling the telephone number indicated on the official website of the MRO where the individual is registered, or (ii) through the Electronic Cabinet
- All male citizens between the ages of 18 and 60 are required to carry their military registration document at all times and to show it at the request of an authorized representative of the MRO, the police or border guard officers.
- Male citizens aged 25 to 50 must undergo a repeated medical examination if they have been assigned to disability Group II or Group III for the first time after 24 February 2022.
- An exhaustive list of valid reasons for not showing up at the MRO on the date specified in the summons notice has been established.
- A court may restrict an individual from driving a car for failure to comply with the instructions of the MRO (e.g., failure to show up as indicated in the summons notice).
- The basic military service duty (instead of the mandatory military service) is introduced for males aged 18 to 25, which lasts up to three months during martial law. The Law establishes a new obligation for employers to preserve the job positions of the employees called up for their basic military service.
- The employer is obliged to ensure that its employees comply with their military service duties (e.g., to notify employees of their summons to the MRO, to ensure their timely arrival for the appointment, to notify the law enforcement authorities about those employees who evade arriving at the MRO, etc.). Directors and other company officers may be held liable for breach of the above obligations or other provisions of the military registration rules and wider legislation on military duty and military service applicable to the company.
- Ukrainian citizens who have been deregistered from the military register on the ground of leaving Ukraine for more than three months are obliged to register again in the military register within 30 days from the date of entry into force of a Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine that will define the specifics of military registration of Ukrainian citizens who permanently or temporarily reside abroad.
- During martial law, consular acts at Ukrainian foreign diplomatic missions upon application by male citizens of Ukraine aged 18 to 60 will be carried out subject to the simultaneous updating of the personal military registration data of such individuals, if not previously updated in due time.
- Women on the military register may be called up for military service or engaged in wartime defence work on a voluntary basis.
- The list of criteria to be eligible to defer mobilisation is specified. This applies, among others, to: men having three or more children under the age of 18; men who are raising a child (children) on their own, etc.
Recommendations
We recommend that employers in Ukraine consider the above legislative changes when planning or carrying out their business activities.
