What must employers consider in their benefits package?
Considered the second-largest country by landmass in Europe, Ukraine is home to a rich culture with a history chronicling back thousands of years. The nation is also known for its low cost of living. Ukraine has great perks for employees, here is what employers need to know when hiring within Ukraine.
Maternity Benefits
Pregnant employees are entitled to maternity benefits before, during, and after their pregnancy.
Eligibility
- Maternity leave is mandatory 70 days before the estimated arrival of the child and 56 after birth
Benefit
- 126 days of paid maternity leave (Can be up to 140 in some cases)
- Financial compensation of 100% of employee’s average salary during maternity leave
Paternity Benefit
A recent update of the Ukrainian Labor Code allowed fathers to have paid paternity leave.
Benefit
- Paid paternity leave of up to 14 calendar days (not including holidays or non-working days)
- Additional of ten days for fathers with two or more children within the age of 15 below.
A sole parent has the benefit of transferring the paternity leave to any family member.
Ukraine has a national minimum wage. Effective January 1st of 2021, the monthly minimum salary is UAH 6,500.
Overtime Pay
Overtime pay is used only during extraordinary cases (an example is an operation that cannot afford to cease due to its processes and failure of employee replacement during the said procedure)
Eligibility
- Not surpassing four hours of overtime pay for two continuous days
- Annual maximum of 120 hours for each employee
Benefit
- Financial compensation of double the hourly rate
Working hours are different according to their age:
- 40 hours a week (Above 18 years old)
- 36 hours a week (Aged 16 – 18 years old)
- 24 hours a week (Aged 15 – 16 years old and students aging 14 – 15 years old working throughout their holiday)
Vacation Leave
Each employee is entitled to a minimum of 24 calendar days of leave (31 for individuals aged 18 years below).
Public Holidays
There are a total of 11 public holidays in Ukraine. Each holiday, workers still earn their salary.
On paper, individuals do not need to pay for any medical expenses since citizens and residents in Ukraine have the privilege of free healthcare. In practice, however, the insufficient funding for healthcare can only provide individuals basic procedures and services for free.
A more popular option in Ukraine is availing group medical insurances provided by the employer. These lessen employee expenditure since it divides the cost by the group size. The benefits also vary by the medical plan chosen by the employer.
Eligibility
Ukrainian law prohibits any form of discrimination in the workplace. Compensations are given if they have experienced forms of discrimination such as:
- Direct discrimination
- Indirect discrimination
- Incitement to discrimination
- Aiding in discrimination
- Harassment
Benefit
Individuals that have experienced discrimination are entitled to have:
- Appeal to the state bodies
- Compensation of material and moral damages
Eligibility
- Work injury or occupational disease
- Resident or citizen of Ukraine
Benefit
- Free healthcare
- Financial compensation for employed individuals
Temporary Disability
Benefit
Individuals with temporary disability are entitled to 100% of their average salary after the fifth day of their disability, up to recovery or change of benefits to permanent disability.
Permanent Disability
Benefit
Percentage of average monthly wage based on groups.
- Group I: 70% (Inability to work and dependent on care)
- Group II: 60% (Inability to work)
- Group III: 40% (Decrease of usual work capability)
Eligibility
- Employed individuals
- Minimum of 26 weeks of work in the last 12 months before termination
- Income smaller than the monthly minimum salary
Self-employed people are also entitled to this benefit. Furthermore, given are additional compensations for individuals that are:
- Workers from Chernobyl
- Unemployed due to army reform
- Women that have infants below six years old
- Single mothers with children 14 years old below or have disabilities
Benefit
- Financial compensation based on the individual’s paid insurance period
Standard old-age pension
Old-age pension
Eligibility
- Reached the age of 60 for both men and women and fulfilled the minimum amount of contributions on the insurance
A reduction of years for cases such as:
- Individuals with disabilities
- People who worked in hazardous environments
Benefits
- Financial compensation based on the average national wage 36 months before retirement
For employers aiming to expand into Ukraine, it is important that these benefits are met with your employee benefits package
Strategic benefits and extra services demonstrate the company’s appreciation for its workforce. Such incentives not only improve the work atmosphere but ideally also the climate between colleagues.With so many aspects to consider, we need to ensure that we comply with Austria’s labour laws and have added benefits so that employees feel appreciated and would likely be more productive and loyal to their employers.
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