Minimum Wage
General
The minimum wage is 6500 UAH per month. The minimum wage will increase to 6,700 UAH from 1st October 2022.
Payroll
Payroll Cycle
The payroll cycle in Ukraine is bi-weekly and runs twice a month between the 15th and 20th of each month and the 31st and 7th of the following month.
13th Salary
There are no provisions in the law regarding 13th salaries.
Working Hours
General
The standard workweek consists of 40 hours over the course of five days. An employer can also establish a working week for six days of seven hours.
Overtime
Work in excess of the standard weekly work hours is to be paid as overtime and is regulated by the employment contract or collective agreements. When an employee is requested to work overtime or work on holidays, there are maximums in relation to the number of hours allowed. These maximums are 4 hours during two consecutive days and not more than 120 hours per year.
Employees who are pregnant or have children under the age of 3, employees under 18, and employees studying at school or college are forbidden from working overtime.
Employers must receive consent from women who have children between the ages of 3 and 14 and people with disabilities to work overtime.
Overtime may be mandatory in the case of production disruptions due to accidents or to avoid production downtime.
All overtime hours in excess of 40 hours a week are paid at an overtime compensation rate of 200.00% of an employee’s regular hourly rate. The overtime work performed on a rest day can be compensated by another rest day in lieu of payment.
Working Week
Monday-Friday
Leave
Paid Time Off
Employees are entitled to a minimum of 24 days of paid annual leave after completing at least 6 months of continuous employment. The paid leave entitlement may increase for minors and employees with difficult and dangerous jobs.
Public Holidays
There are 12 public holidays.
Sick Days
Employees are entitled to four months’ paid sick leave. The employer compensates the first five days of sick leave and the rest is compensated by the Social Insurance Fund.
The amount the Social Insurance Fund compensates an employee is dependent on the seniority of the employee:
- Less than six months of employment: payment based on minimum wage
- 0-3 years of employment: 50.00% of the employees’ average salary
- 3-5 years of employment: 60.00% of the employees’ average salary
- 5-8 years of employment: 70.00% of the employee’s average salary
- 8+ years of employment: 100.00% of the employee’s average salary
Maternity Leave
The maternity leave entitlement in Ukraine allows an employee 126 paid calendar days of leave, 70 of which must be taken before the estimated due date of the child and 56 after the birth.
Social Insurance Fund compensates maternity leave at 100.00% of the employees’ average salary.
Paternity Leave
There is no paid paternity leave in Ukraine. However, fathers can take two weeks of unpaid leave for the birth of a child. Fathers can also acquire leave from the mothers’ maternity leave if she has returned to work. In order to do this, a father must apply to his employer and provide them with a copy of the child’s birth certificate, a document confirming family ties, and a certificate from the mothers’ place of employment confirming her return to work.
Parental Leave
After maternity leave ends, mothers, fathers, and grandparents can take unpaid parental leave until the child turns 3.
Other Leave
Depending on the collective agreement or the terms of the employment contract, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, on approved between the employer and employee:
- Bereavement: An employee is entitled to bereavement leave of up to 7 days for the death of an immediate family member.
- Marriage: An employee is entitled to 10 days of leave in the event of their wedding.
- Study: Employees are entitled to paid study leave which is compensated by the employer. The length of the leave is dependent on the duration of the exam period.
Termination
Termination Process
The termination process varies according to the employment agreement or collective agreement in place and is based on the type of contract and reason for termination. There are two types of dismissals: regular and extraordinary. Regular dismissal is redundancy due to incompetence or misconduct, whereas extraordinary dismissal is when an employee commits a crime, declines a transfer, and any other such serious breach.
All dismissals must be presented to the employer in writing, and the employee must be given the opportunity to present a defence. In extraordinary dismissals, the termination must be presented in writing and in person.
Notice Period
In Slovenia, the notice period is dependent on the employee’s seniority as follows:
- Up to one year – 15 days’ notice.
- One to two years – 30 days’ notice.
- More than two years – 30 days plus two days for every year served above two.
If the employee has not passed their probation period, the notice period is reduced to 7 days and an at-fault dismissal where the notice period is 15 days.
No notice period is required in the case of an extraordinary dismissal. However, the employer must still provide termination of the notice within 30 days of the incident that led to the termination.
Severance Pay
Employees are entitled to severance pay depending on the employee’s seniority:
- Employees between one and ten years of service receive 1/5 of the employees’ average salary from the previous three months for every year of service
- More than ten years of service 1/4 of the average salary from the past three months for every year of service.
- Over 20 years of service, the severance is 1/3.
Probation Period
In Slovenia, probation periods are outlined in the employees’ employment contract. The probation period can be no more than six months.
Common Benefits
General
Taxable Benefits:
• Bonus
• Medical insurance – for employees and their families.
• Life insurance
• Meal allowance
• Car allowance
• Mobile phone expenses
VISA
VISA
Ukrainian immigration law provides limited options for employers of foreign nationals. Nationals of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Uzbekistan are D visa-exempt. Nationals of North Macedonia are D visa-exempt for specific purposes of stay, including employment and family reunification. Requirements, processing times, employment eligibility, and benefits for accompanying family members vary by the purpose of stay and visa classification.
Business visitors to Ukraine generally require a C visa for a short-term stay unless they are visa exempt based on their nationality. C visas usually permit single, double, or multiple entries. They are granted for six months or a duration corresponding to the intended visit but no longer than five years. Business visitors must limit their stay to 90 days in a 180-day period. They may apply for an exceptional extension of stay for a total stay of six months calculated from the initial entry if they can show compelling reasons and evidence of sufficient funds. The allowable activities under business visitor status are limited.
The main work authorization categories are the Work/Temporary Residence Permit for when the host entity is a Ukrainian company or the Accreditation Card/Temporary Residence Permit for when the host entity is a Ukraine-based representative office of a foreign company. Work Permits can be issued between one and three years, depending on the foreign national’s position, education, and salary, and can be renewed. Accreditation Cards are issued for up to three years and can also be renewed.
VAT
General
VAT is 20% standard rate.
