New Labor Code: what will change

The Ministry of Economy has drafted a new Labor Code. Discussions with all stakeholders will start in January. This was announced by the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko. According to her, the new Labor Code is a reform that the Ukrainian labor market has been waiting for for years.

"The labor market in Ukraine still operates under the Labor Code of 1971. Despite numerous amendments, this document no longer meets the requirements of the times and hinders economic development. The full-scale war has only further highlighted all the shortcomings, archaic and often harmful Soviet norms that are more than half a century old. In the new labor legislation, we are finally legalizing various forms of employment: remote work, home-based work, and non-fixed working hours. We are digitalizing the collection of employee information. Paper employment records will no longer be required. We will fight mobbing and much more. Our goal is to create conditions so that those who want to work can do so without any obstacles," said Yulia Svyrydenko.

Also in 2024, the Ministry of Economy plans to reform approaches to public procurement, which will help counteract structural unemployment. This is a type of staff shortage when there are many unemployed people, but at the same time the labor market needs completely different specialists. To solve this problem, state orders in higher education institutions will be minimized. Instead, Ukrainians will have the opportunity to receive a grant and get the profession they want.

"The grant will partially cover tuition costs (co-financing of tuition). The student will choose the institution and educational program according to his or her preferences. The purpose of this system is to maximize freedom of choice. After all, a young person will enter the educational institution of his or her choice, not the one with the most budgetary places. In this case, the chances that he or she will work in their specialty after graduation are much higher than under current conditions," the First Vice Prime Minister emphasized.

Modernization of the State Employment Service will be another important step towards the renewal of the labor market in Ukraine. This structure will gradually move to a service-oriented model of human capital development and support for socially vulnerable categories of the population.

In addition, the SES reform envisages the digitalization of 90% of processes and a wide network of partnerships with training companies, recruitment companies, and NGOs involved in social projects. As a result, the SES will become a powerful analytical center that will forecast the development of the labor market by industry and region, and design support programs. At the same time, it will continue to perform its current functions - recruitment, training and retraining of the unemployed, implementation of state business support programs and grant projects.

Next year, the amount of state support for people and businesses will increase significantly. Training and retraining will be available for 100 thousand Ukrainians. Employers will be able to receive compensation for creating at least 10,000 inclusive jobs. As part of the eRobota program, 15,000 grants are planned to be issued. These will include grants for starting a business, grants for veterans and their spouses, and grants for processing companies.

For those who are currently deciding on their future profession or planning to change their profession, Yulia Svyrydenko named a list of specialists the labor market needs. These include engineers and technical specialists of the defense industry, military personnel of all specialties, graduates of STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), doctors, including rehabilitation specialists and psychologists, educators, energy specialists, builders, architects, designers, etc.