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Ukraine

Remote Working Legislation, Laws & Regulations in Ukraine

Laws, regulations and legal information related to working from home and remote work

Table of contents
  1. Is there any legislation relating to working from home in your country?
  2. How can working from home be implemented in a company (e.g. through collective bargaining agreements, a unilateral decision, employment contracts)?
  3. Can an employer force an employee to work from home?
  4. Can an employee force an employer to allow them to work remotely?
  5. Does an employer have to provide the employee with office equipment and supplies for remote work?
  6. Does a company have to reimburse an employee for expenses incurred while working from home?
  7. Does an employer have to grant an employee a specific allowance for working from home? If so, under what conditions does an employer not have to pay such an allowance?    
  8. For employees who work remotely, is the employer responsible for ensuring proper working conditions from a health and safety perspective?
  9. Are there any other specific obligations for the employer?
  10. Does an employee need to be insured to work from home?
  11. Is an employee who works from home protected by legislation for work-related accidents and illnesses?
  12. Is an employer permitted to charge its employees a “reimbursement for working from home” for costs saved? (Saved expenses could include the employee’s reduced costs for transportation, petrol, lunches in restaurants and dry-cleaning charges for office attire)
  13. Are there any other specific obligations on the employee?
  14.  Have there been any legislative changes, or updates to immigration rules, designed to encourage short-term remote working in your country (compared to the rules normally found in other countries)?
  15. Any other comments?
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1. Is there any legislation relating to working from home in your country?

There is no consolidated legal act regulating working from home in Ukraine. Working from home is regulated by:

  1. Certain provisions of the Labour Code of Ukraine (art. 60, 60-1);
  2. Law On Labour Protection № 2694-XII dated 14 October 1992 (partially applicable);
  3. Law On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts on Improvement of Legal Regulation of Remote Work № 1213-IX dated 4 February 2021;
  4. Regulation on Employment Terms of Homeworkers, approved by Resolution N 275/17-99 of Labour and Social Issues USSR State Committee dated 29 September 1981 (partially applicable).

2. How can working from home be implemented in a company (e.g. through collective bargaining agreements, a unilateral decision, employment contracts)?

A written employment agreement must be drafted for employees working from home.

In case of emergency (e.g. threat of epidemics, pandemics, and military, natural or man-made disasters), it is possible to establish working from home or remote work by an internal order of the company (i.e. a unilateral decision) without producing new written employment agreements.

*Note: Ukrainian labour law differentiates between working from home, where the employee’s working place is fixed at his/her home address, and remote (distance) work, where the employee is free to determine and change the place of work at his/her discretion.

3. Can an employer force an employee to work from home?

Generally, no.

In cases of emergency (including threat of pandemics and armed conflicts), the employer should be able to establish work from home or remote work by an internal company order (i.e. a unilateral decision). However, due to unclear wording of the law, it is advisable to obtain the employee’s consent on teleworking even for emergency cases. (Consent can be sent via e-mail if wet-inked consent cannot be obtained).

4. Can an employee force an employer to allow them to work remotely?

Generally, no.

However, if certain categories of employees (e.g. disabled persons) substantiate the necessity to work from home or work remotely, provided it is possible given the nature of the work and the employer has all the necessary resources, the employer will be obliged to allow them to work from home.

5. Does an employer have to provide the employee with office equipment and supplies for remote work?

The employer is generally obliged to provide an employee working from home/remotely with the means required for performing all employment duties unless otherwise is agreed by the parties in the employment agreement.

If employees use their own equipment for employment needs, they are entitled to receive compensation for equipment depreciation costs. The amount and terms of payment for such compensation can be agreed upon on a case-by-case basis.

6. Does a company have to reimburse an employee for expenses incurred while working from home?

The law does not provide for the reimbursement of expenses to employees working from home. At the same time, the issue of reimbursement for expenses must be regulated in the remote work employment agreement.

7. Does an employer have to grant an employee a specific allowance for working from home? If so, under what conditions does an employer not have to pay such an allowance?    

No mandatory allowances are provided by law.

8. For employees who work remotely, is the employer responsible for ensuring proper working conditions from a health and safety perspective?

No. When performing work remotely or from home, the employee is solely responsible for ensuring safe and harmless working conditions. The employer is responsible for the safety and proper technical condition of the equipment provided to the employee for remote or home-based work.

9. Are there any other specific obligations for the employer?

Specific obligations for the employer include:

  1. organisinge home inspection for employees working from home;
  2. training employees on workplace health and safety and fire safety in relation to the equipment provided by the employer for working from home/remotely;
  3. recording the employment hours of employees working from home;
  4. keeping records of all home workers, which includes their work tasks along with an indication of the time required for the performance of the work and the tariff rates of labour payments.  

10. Does an employee need to be insured to work from home?

No, there is no such requirement.

Yes, an employee working from home/remotely is protected by legislation for work-related accidents and illnesses. In practice, however, there are difficulties in classifying home-office or remote work accidents as work-related.

12. Is an employer permitted to charge its employees a “reimbursement for working from home” for costs saved? (Saved expenses could include the employee’s reduced costs for transportation, petrol, lunches in restaurants and dry-cleaning charges for office attire)

No, there is no such possibility.

13. Are there any other specific obligations on the employee?

There are some requirements that an employee must follow when setting up a home office (not applicable for remote employees):

  1. allocation of a particular area at home as the home workspace, which is quiet and free from distractions;
  2. responsibility for ensuring proper work conditions at the homeworker’s place of work (e.g. ensuring maintenance of the designated home workspace that guarantees safety, adequate lighting, storage for documents, sufficient electrical outlets to supply computers, printers and other equipment without overloading the network);
  3. working from home must not create troubles and disturbances for neighbours;
  4. to follow the employing company’s general working hours while working from home;
  5. to change address of the home office only upon prior consent of the employer.

14. Have there been any legislative changes, or updates to immigration rules, designed to encourage short-term remote working in your country (compared to the rules normally found in other countries)?

None.

15. Any other comments?

Ukrainian labour law regulating remote (home) work provides for the following:

  1. Separation of notions of home-working (only at a fixed place) and remote (distance) work (at any place);
  2. Communication of internal labour rules, local company acts, collective agreements, required notifications, etc. via electronic means;
  3. Distance communication of labour safety rules (including via teleconference);
  4. The possibility of combining regular work with distance work;
  5. Compulsory inspection of the home office by the employer;
  6. The right of an employee to a two-month period of remote work if it is proven that the employee was the target of discriminatory actions in the workplace;
  7. Employees working remotely and from home are personally responsible for safe labour conditions. The only employer obligation to employees working remotely is to conduct regular trainings on labour safety.