Publication date: 13.05.2024
The Council adopted a law on regulating the work of domestic workers
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regulated domestic work at the legislative level by adopting on April 25, 2024 the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Regulation of Labor of Domestic Workers" (draft law No. 5695).
By the decision of the People's Deputies, the Labor Code of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Labor Code) was supplemented with a new chapter XI-A "Labor of domestic workers", which defines:
1) the concept of domestic work (this is work performed for the household under an employment contract) and domestic worker (this is an individual who performs domestic work within the framework of employment relations with the employer);
2) the legal status of domestic workers and the specifics of its regulation, in particular the mandatory terms of employment contracts with domestic workers;
3) additional rights, obligations, guarantees and working conditions of domestic workers;
4) working time and rest time of domestic workers;
5) specifics of terminating an employment contract with a domestic worker;
6) peculiarities of monitoring compliance with the legislation on the work of domestic workers.
The draft law makes appropriate changes to other articles of the Labor Code in order to harmonize them with the new Chapter XI-A (regarding overtime work and work on weekends, procedure for consideration of labor disputes, etc.).
In addition, taking into account the specifics of the relationship between a domestic worker and an employer, the draft Law proposes to provide for voluntary training of domestic workers in the system of mandatory state social insurance.! It is worth noting that the new law in the social sphere implements into Ukrainian legislation the provisions of International Labor Organization Convention No. 189 on domestic workers, which is very important in the process of Ukraine's integration into the European Union, as well as in the process of updating the labor legislation of Ukraine in general.
This Law enters into force three months after its publication. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine must harmonize its normative legal acts with this Law within three months from the date of publication of this Law.
The Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights points out that the regulation at the legislative level of the issue of the activities of employees who, under the terms of an employment contract, perform household service work is of great importance. First of all, this is the protection of the rights of such an employee. For this purpose, the draft Law defines the mandatory conditions of the employment contract with domestic workers (timely wages in a certain amount, state protection against unlawful actions of the employer), as well as the provision of additional rights and guarantees for domestic workers who live in the household. In addition, it is an opportunity for domestic workers to form their future pension. For this purpose, the draft Law provides for the voluntary training of domestic workers in the system of mandatory state social insurance.You may be interested in the following articles: Legal analysis of the situation Legal opinion Writing a lawyer's request lawyer's request analysis of the situation by a lawyer analysis of the situation by a lawyer legal analysis of the situation legal opinion conclusion of a lawyer
Official employment of citizens for household service work will contribute to reducing the level of undeclared work in Ukraine, because today most of such workers are in the shadow sector of the economy.
The Verkhovna Rada adopted a new law regulating the work of domestic workers. This is a significant step to protect their rights and create clear rules for concluding labor agreements in this area. Changes in legislation reflect international standards and will contribute to the integration of Ukraine into the European Union.
An important component of innovations is the possibility of voluntary entry of domestic workers into the mandatory state social insurance system, which will allow them to have pension support in the future. This initiative is also aimed at reducing undeclared work and developing formal employment in this field.
The new norms of the law provide for mandatory terms of employment agreements and provision of additional rights and guarantees for domestic workers. This will create stable conditions for their work and contribute to improving the quality of life of this category of workers.
