The employer's responsibility in a new way: changes to the Labor Code that have entered into force

Amnesty for the correction of certain violations of labor legislation, new fines and a 50% discount for the prompt payment: the law dated 12.12.2019 No. 378-IX “On Amendments to the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine” entered into force.

In preparation of the project, its initiators planned to eliminate the norms that violated the rights and legitimate interests of employers. The 7 main innovations related to the employer's responsibility, were identified to the publication of Law and Business, by the lawyer of Skliarenko, Sydorenko & Partners Tetiana Borysenko:

1.The liability for such violations as the factual admission of an employee to work without an employment contract (agreement), execution of an employee for part-time work in the case of actual performance of work full time, established at the companies, and payment of wages (remuneration) without accrual has been weakened and payment of a single contribution to compulsory state social insurance and taxes.

Therefore, if earlier business entities had to pay a fine of thirty times the minimum wage, now the fine is 10 minimum wages. The size is calculated at the time the violation is detected, for each employee in respect of whom the violation has been committed, which currently amounts to 47.230 UAH. In addition, for legal entities and individuals - entrepreneurs who are payers of the single tax of the first or third groups, a warning is generally applied.

And only for the repeated commission of one of these violations within two years from the date of discovery, the business entity will replenish the budget with a fine of 30 minimum wages.

2. The penalty for non-compliance with the minimum state guarantees for labor remuneration has been reduced by five times. Now it is two times the minimum wage instead of ten.

3. Also, less will have to pay for non-compliance with the statutory guarantees and benefits of mobilized workers - only four minimum wages instead of ten. Moreover, legal entities and individuals - entrepreneurs who are payers of the single tax of the first or third groups, will only be warned.

4. Prevention of conducting an inspection to identify unformed workers is now “worth” sixteen minimum wages (previously it was 100).

5. Against the background of the general idea of weakening responsibility, the increase in fines for re-identified violations of other requirements of labor legislation looks somewhat strange. Now you have to pay two minimum wages instead of one.

6. The highlight of the law was the inclusion in the Labor Code of the discount for the operational payment of 50 percent of the fine. If this amount is paid within 10 banking days from the date of delivery of the decision on the imposition of a fine, the decision will be considered fulfilled.

7. Also interesting is the norm according to which, if the order of the central executive authority that implements the state policy on the supervision and control of compliance with labor laws and the elimination of certain types of violations within the time specified by the order is fulfilled, measures to hold accountable will not be applied at all.