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Most of us are working people. Every weekday we wake up before dawn, crawl through traffic jams in our own car or in a stuffy public transport to then spend the whole day at work and, in the end, return to your condominium only to relax before a new working day. And, of course, we really want that for this work, for these daily identical days, which seem like torture to many, we receive a normal stable salary, and perhaps even bonuses with bonuses, so that employers take us into account and we have at least some - freedom.
However, this does not happen, and employers shrug their shoulders at all non-compliance with the Labor Code - they say, what did you want, our Labor Code is almost half a century old. That is why all workers were so looking forward to adopting the new Labor Code of Ukraine 2017, which stands for Labor Code. And this “miracle”, if, of course, you can call it that, is about to happen - the draft Labor Code of Ukraine 2017 in Russian is already circulating on the Internet. And, in general, if you wish, it is quite possible to get acquainted with what will change in the Labor Code itself and whether to rejoice at the changes in it.
Features of the new TC
It was planned to adopt the new Labor Code in our homeland at the beginning of this century. This is because the Labor Code, which is in force until the first days of January 2017, was adopted many years ago, under the USSR, in 1972. However, the market economy has already undergone millions of changes, but the Labor Code has remained the same, absolutely not reflecting the economic reality of our homeland.
The new project was supposed to consolidate a fundamentally new approach to labor relations, making a compromise between the interests of those giving work and those receiving work. You can get acquainted with the new Labor Code of Ukraine 2017 with comments in the next section.
What changed?
Compared to the previous Labor Code, new project has significant differences. Among them, for example, is the complete absence of such a thing as an employment contract. There will be no more of them, the new project abandoned such temporary contracts “with reservations” and completely switched to long-term employment contracts. Although, of course, if desired, the director will be able to conclude an “employment contract”, but from now on it will be called a “fixed-term TD”. Also, employers will no longer be able to “add” new conditions for dismissal.
The new Labor Code says no to salaries in envelopes. Job givers will be required to enter into a written employment contract with each new employee. According to the government, this change is made for workers first and foremost. The employee will initially be in writing is aware of the rights and responsibilities and what the employer owes him. So employers will have to spend the remaining 16th year concluding written agreements with employees, if they do not already exist.
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As mentioned above, it will be possible to conclude urgent TDs. But if before the 17th year this type of agreement was of a vague, general nature, then from now on it will be concluded on certain period and only for the reason that takes place in a specially compiled list of reasons. There are only twelve such reasons in the Labor Code, but it is still quite possible to choose from them.
The Labor Code of Ukraine 2017, as amended, presupposes the possibility of collecting information about the applicant. That is, before concluding a contract, the employer has the right to request all information about the “work history” of the applicant and even, including the reasons for dismissal from that place of work.
Trade unions are an outdated concept that has no place in the new labor code. No, of course, some trade unions will remain, but their role will be ridiculously minuscule. And employers will no longer be required to provide information about their decisions to trade unions.
Also, the employer may not fire the employee, but suspend them for a number of reasons.
According to the Labor Code of Ukraine 2017, dismissal can now occur for a number of new reasons not included in the old Labor Code. Among them, for example, are unforeseen circumstances such as natural or military actions. The employer can terminate cooperation with a minor worker, if parents insist on it. From now on, the employer can fire single mothers if they do not cope well with their responsibilities. If a state or commercial secret is disclosed, an employee may also lose a “warm” job.
According to the new draft Labor Code, it is now possible to notify about a layoff not within a month, but even in a shorter period of time, but this only applies to the case in which there will be no debts to employees, that is, wages will be paid.
Many of us were assigned overtime, but from now on, if you work more than 120 hours of overtime in a year, you are required to pay triple the amount for the time exceeding the limit.
Also in the new Labor Code appeared the new kind penalties for discipline - warning. Previously, the only types of this penalty were dismissal and reprimand.
As you can see, in the new Labor Code draft the government tried to accommodate the common people – job seekers and workers – by significantly facilitating employment and working conditions for them. True, whether to rejoice is unknown, because the law has not yet been officially adopted, and only a draft exists.
Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on issues social policy, employment and pensions agreed on a new edition of the Labor Code for the second reading. The document may be accepted in just a few months. What innovations can working Ukrainians expect?
About vacations and holidays
Now, for each month worked, the employee receives two days of vacation, and he has 24 calendar days per year. IN new edition The Labor Code proposes to add four more days. Thus, the duration of annual leave will be as much as 28 days. In this case, the minimum duration of the main part of the vacation must be at least 14 days.
Additional days off are not reviewed. But things can still change. After all, in Verkhovna Rada A bill from the Institute of National Remembrance has been registered, which proposes to reduce the number of holiday weekends (make March 8 and May 9 working) and cancel the transfer of weekends if they fall on Saturday or Sunday (except for Easter and Trinity weekends).
About the probationary period
The probationary period should be no more than three months, and for blue-collar occupations - one month. During this time, the employer can fire the employee, but this must be notified at least three days in advance.
Without probationary period must hire minors, demobilized from military service, winners of a competition for vacant position, those for whom this is the first time after studying workplace. Also, pregnant women and mothers of children under three years of age do not need to undergo a probationary period.
About working from home
"At the conclusion employment contract or later the parties may agree that the employee performs work at home (home work) if he has the means to do so. the necessary conditions, meeting labor protection requirements, fire safety and sanitation,” the bill says.
A Ukrainian working from home has the right to demand compensation from the employer for wear and tear of equipment, the cost of electricity, etc.
About dismissal
At the employee's initiative. According to the new version of the law, an employee must give notice of his dismissal in just three days. Moreover, the application can be sent by mail. In this case, the employer is obliged to accept the employee’s request to relieve him from his position. But within three days after submitting the application, the employee can withdraw it and continue working.
Dismissal due to staff reduction. If there is a trade union in the organization, the employer must consult with its members three months before dismissal. In this case, the trade union may recommend not to dismiss a particular employee or to postpone and reconsider the terms and conditions of the reduction. And the employer is obliged to consider these requirements.
Warning that an employee will be laid off must be given at least two months in advance and in writing. Moreover, if there is vacant place in the state, it must be offered to the reduced employee. After warning about upcoming changes, the employee has the right to look for a new position, go to interviews, and so on. But this cannot affect the size of his salary.
Dismissal for deception. If it turns out that an employee was given a job that he could not perform, he may be fired. “If a violation of the hiring rules was due to the fault of the employee, he may be dismissed by the employer for this basis regardless of the possibility of transferring him to another job,” the document says.
Within the walls of the Ukrainian Parliament, the draft Labor Code of Ukraine (No. 1658), adopted back in 2015, is being prepared for a final vote. In case of a positive decision in the relevant parliamentary committee, the new Labor Code Ukraine will go to vote at the end of June.
What does the new Labor Code imply and what significant innovations does it provide for?
The current Labor Code (LLC) was adopted back in 1971 and thousands of changes have been made to it to adjust labor relations to market economy. The new labor code of 2017 included the best developments of the old code, but also a number of innovations.
Innovations of the Labor Code of Ukraine 2017
Increasing annual leave to 28 days
The duration of annual leave is increased from 24 to 28 days. Transfer of leave is possible only with the written consent of the employee. If an employee has a voucher for sanatorium-resort treatment, then he has the right to receive annual leave, even if he has been working at the company for less than six months. Extended leave is provided to forest industry workers (59 days) and underground mining workers (69 days).
The length of service will now be counted as length of service when the employee did not actually work, but his place and position continued to be retained, although the salary was not paid.
Remote work
Remote work is a long-existing phenomenon, says Berezovaya, and the law will finally streamline it. “Candidates today often say that they would like to work outside the office,” she says. “Bosses will have to clearly formulate what the result should be and in what time frame. There are programs for monitoring work from a distance: the boss receives reports on how many hours they worked on the project ".
But, perhaps, some remote workers will be left without social guarantees, warns Elena Mikhalchenko - for example, paid sick leave and vacations. “Remote work will be paid based on tasks actually completed or products produced,” she says. “Currently, such employees are paid civil contracts, according to which they are not subject to labor laws."
Severance pay upon layoff
In the event of a layoff, severance pay will fall on the shoulders of the employer. If its size is significantly increased, only those who will be laid off due to the liquidation of the enterprise will benefit, Valentina Zhuk believes: “In other cases, the employer will try to get out. It is more profitable to transfer workers to 0.5 times the rate than to officially lay off,” she believes. But shortening the probationary period can make it really stressful: “They will probably try to give the newcomer more test tasks to see if he’s suitable,” explains Berezovaya.
Employers are given the right to set a lunch break from 30 to 120 minutes a day, and coffee breaks throughout the day.
Prohibition of discrimination
The new Code emphasizes the prohibition of any discrimination in labor relations depending on race, skin color, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, ethnic, social and foreign origin, age, health status, disability, suspicion or presence of HIV/AIDS, family and property status, etc. It is prohibited not to hire an applicant just because she is pregnant. Moreover, discriminatory demands cannot be put forward at the stage of publishing a vacancy announcement. Also, questions about civil status, personal life and everything not related to professional activity. By the way, the employer will be required to state the reasons why you were not hired in writing, and with this justification, it is theoretically possible to file a claim in court (although it is obvious that the reasons will indicate completely different ones).
The employer will be given a presumption of guilt, explains Yuriy Kuzovoy, director of the social policy department of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine: an applicant or employee only needs to complain about discrimination, and then management will be forced to justify themselves and look for evidence in their defense. Also, according to him, Art. 17 provides that in case of ambiguous interpretation of the rights and obligations of the employee and the employer, the decision will always be made in favor of the former. Ukrainian trade unions are generally as harmless as newborns, and yet Articles 113 and 114 retain their Soviet-era right to prohibit a company from dismissing team members, citing any arguments.
The bill promises expanded social guarantees - for example, standards for the protection of maternity are also expanded to the categories of “workers with family responsibilities,” which include parents, adoptive parents, guardians, trustees, and foster parents. But trying to protect people with guarantees can make them less competitive, Kuzovoy believes.
“Before the interview, it is impossible to find out that the candidate is pregnant. And after the meeting, they will give her a thousand other reasons why they weren’t hired,” says HR manager from Dnepr Valentina Zhuk. “True, if the pregnant woman has a rare qualification and really need, she can be taken with a written agreement that from maternity leave she will return within 2-3 months after giving birth. When making a concession, the employer will want to have some guarantees."
But in general, the problem of discrimination is rather far-fetched, says HR specialist Nadezhda Berezovaya. “Colleagues constantly complain that selecting personnel is a problem; they are ready to hire even without experience, adapt to the candidate, and they certainly don’t look at gender and age. The main thing is that the person simply wants to work,” she says.
Dismissal
At the same time, the bill provides for many discriminatory grounds for dismissing people on the initiative of management.
For example, for evading mandatory preventive vaccination or undergoing a medical examination, they may be fired without warning. This point raises many questions: it is unclear at whose expense and by whom such a medical examination will be carried out and whether the information received will not be used against the employee, says Elena Mikhalchenko, RPR expert, lawyer public organization"Labor Initiatives".
The new Labor Code prohibits dismissing mothers if their children are under six years old. Dismissal of single mothers and fathers is also prohibited, but they can be fired if they fail to cope with their official duties.
In addition, to such reasons for dismissal as drunkenness, absenteeism and theft, were added disclosure of official secrets, failure to comply with safety regulations and evasion of the next medical examination and preventive vaccinations. You can also be fired if unforeseen circumstances arise, for example natural disasters or military action.
A minor employee may be dismissed at the request of his parents.
Employers will also be given the right to control the work process and the performance of duties by employees, including using technical means. “What about privacy? The law does not stipulate either methods or means of control. This can be not only video surveillance, but also, for example, mobile applications, which will allow you to track not only email employees, but also their movement routes,” the expert points out.
Labor contracts are the basis of labor relations
Mandatory written employment contracts are one of the most important innovations of the project, says Kuzovoy. The list of issues regulated by collective agreements will also expand, that is, all working issues can be studied and discussed. "At the same time, the established practice of using labor legislation will be lost, and in its place there will be a vacuum for a long time until all changes are made, errors and inconsistencies in the laws are eliminated, and employers and employees begin to get used to the new requirements. It also takes time to develop a new legal practice for resolving disputes,” explains the director of the social policy department.
“Employment contracts are still provided for now, but at the request of the parties. Therefore, we practically did not use this norm, we will not master it right away,” Valentina Zhuk also admits.
According to the authors of the new code, this norm will attract foreign investment to Ukraine and make the labor market flexible. For this purpose, the employer is given the unlimited right to draw up short-term employment contracts, the expiration date of which can be determined by the employer. “At first glance, this is attractive, but it undermines stable employment and can have a negative impact on the consumer market,” says Elena Mikhalchenko. “In fact, simplifying the dismissal procedure does not always encourage employers to hire more workers. Even International organization Labor in the technical comments to the draft Labor Code emphasized that the use of such agreements should be limited."
It will become mandatory to conclude an employment contract when hiring: this will clearly establish the rights and obligations of the parties and there will be fewer grounds for labor disputes in future. The contract will need to indicate guarantees on the part of the employer to ensure adequate safe and healthy conditions labor, sanitary and living conditions, indicate the terms and conditions of payment. In this way, they intend to fight illegal labor, which is currently covered up by civil law contracts. In the future, pay black wages and hire people for one-time or short term work Without formalization it will not be possible - only through fixed-term employment contracts. They, according to Art. 62 of the draft Code give the parties the same rights and obligations as the parties to an employment contract concluded for an indefinite period. But changing the terms of the document, demanding work beyond the norm or work that is not part of direct duties without the consent of the employee is prohibited.
Salary
Living wage and minimum wage, according to the candidate economic sciences, Associate Professor of KNU named after. T. G. Shevchenko Anna Kharlamova must cease to be guidelines for remuneration. "It is better to replace them with a decent minimum hourly pay for relevant types of work from simple to complex mental and pay depending on the qualifications of the employee. Then we will get a standard like in developed countries,” she says.
Theoretically, a similar system operates in our country, notes Mikhalchenko. But the difference between us and Europe is the coefficient between tariff categories.
"Pay ratio between 1 and 25 tariff category in Ukraine it is 4.51, and in Europe - 10. This decrease in the coefficient leads to the fact that the difference between the salary of a qualified employee and a low-skilled one is very small, explains the RPR expert. “And because the minimum wage is tied to UAH 3,200, we have a situation where specialists and unskilled workers can receive the same amount.”
The question is not even about payment, but about the fact that the share of wages in the cost of production in Ukraine is about 10-12%, while in Europe it is up to 50%, says Mikhalchenko, and this is one of the lowest figures in Europe. “This means that if a worker produces products worth $100, then in Ukraine he will be paid $10-12, and in Europe - $50,” she gives an example.
Innovations also include a 30% increase in pay for work in night shift from 22:00 to 6:00, but overtime work will be paid triple
Results
The current draft is too prescriptive and does not leave room for collective negotiations, says Elena Mikhalchenko. “In many European countries, the USA and Canada, the state establishes only minimum standards regarding the conditions of employment, which are relied upon when drawing up collective agreements. Such regulation allows the parties to accept flexible solutions, explains the expert. “This is important, because the system of collective agreements should coordinate interests so that the parties do not resort to extreme measures - strikes and layoffs.”
However, what worked in the West will not necessarily take root in our country, the RPR expert admits: given the frequency of violations labor rights and lack of a culture of seeking protection, the right to association must first be guaranteed and a strong civil society. And now we need to adopt a new labor law that would balance the rights of all parties and protect the most weak side labor relations- employee.
State intervention in matters of wages should be minimal, says Anna Kharlamova, and mainly in the field of regulating the hourly minimum wage and the tax system. And companies should determine wages based on social partnership between them, the team and government agencies.
"We need a mechanism for individualizing salaries. In countries Western Europe it means differentiation of employment conditions, contracts with personally agreed upon nuances of cooperation are widely used,” explains the economist. And most importantly, in her opinion, rewriting the Labor Code without changes to the long-outdated Classifier of Professions is ridiculous - without this base, the Labor Code remains cosmetically renovated.
