Employment law and HR

This practice covers employment relationships from both sides: defending employees in disputes with employers, and supporting businesses through their HR processes – from paperwork to inspections.

An employment lawyer in Kyiv helps employees challenge an unlawful dismissal and recover wages and the final settlement, and helps employers put employment contracts, remote work and NDAs in place, organise working time and leave records and get through a labour inspection. Meetings are held at our office in Kyiv or online.

Our services

• Employment disputes and unlawful dismissal – reinstatement, average earnings for the period of forced absence, recovery of the final settlement
• Employment contracts, NDAs and remote work – employment contracts, protection of commercial information, remote and home-based work
• Leave and working time – annual leave, compensation, working time records and overtime
• HR audit and labour inspection – audit of HR documents, support during the inspection, challenging fines

When you need an employment lawyer

• you have been dismissed and consider the dismissal unlawful
• you are being pressured to resign “at your own request”
• you were not paid all the sums due on the day of dismissal
• your employer is delaying wages or not granting leave
• the company needs employment contracts, remote work arrangements or protection for its commercial information
• notice of a labour inspection has arrived, an inspection report or compliance notice has been issued, or a fine has been imposed

How we handle these matters

• we start by calculating the deadlines – in employment disputes they are especially short
• for businesses we work ahead of the curve: an audit of the paperwork before the inspection
• we take account of the special rules on employment during martial law
• the scope of work and the payment terms are agreed in writing before we start

How the work proceeds

1. First conversation: we establish who is seeking help – an employee or an employer – what the situation is and which deadlines are running.
2. Documents: we analyse the employment contract, orders, the statement of sums accrued, timesheets and correspondence.
3. Position and action: an approach to the employer, a complaint to the supervisory authority or a claim in court; for businesses, HR documents and preparation for the inspection.
4. Support through to the outcome: representation in court and during the inspection, and monitoring of compliance with the decision.

Legislation and case law are updated over time, and some provisions apply only for the period of martial law. This page reflects the position as of October 2026. Before acting on it, take advice on the wording currently in force.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to challenge a dismissal?

In dismissal cases an employee may apply to the court within one month of the day they are served with a copy of the dismissal order (instruction), and in cases concerning payment of all sums due on dismissal, within three months of receiving written notice of the sums accrued and paid on dismissal (part 2 of Article 233 of the Labour Code of Ukraine). For other employment disputes, part 1 of Article 233 sets a three-month period from the day the employee learned or should have learned of the violation of their right; however, by Decision No. 1-r/2025 of 11 December 2025 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine held it unconstitutional in so far as it set a three-month period for claims for wages and other sums due to the employee.

What must the employer hand over and pay on the day of dismissal?

On the day of dismissal the employer must give the employee a copy of the dismissal order (instruction) and written notice of the sums accrued and paid, settle up with the employee and, at the employee’s request, enter the dismissal in the work record book kept by the employee (part 1 of Article 47 of the Labour Code). All sums due are paid on the day of dismissal; if the employee did not work that day, no later than the day after they submit a payment request. If the amount is disputed, the employer must in any event pay the undisputed amount within that time (Article 116 of the Labour Code).

What if the employer delays the final settlement?

If the sums due to a dismissed employee are not paid within the time set by Article 116 through the employer’s fault and there is no dispute about the amount, the employer must pay the employee their average earnings for the entire period of delay up to the day of actual settlement, but for no more than six months. If a dispute about the amount is resolved in the employee’s favour, this compensation is also payable; if it is resolved partly in the employee’s favour, the amount is determined by the body deciding the dispute, within the same limit (Article 117 of the Labour Code). During martial law an employer is released from liability for breaching the deadlines for paying wages if it proves that the breach resulted from hostilities or other force majeure circumstances; this does not release it from the obligation to pay the wages (part 3 of Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Organisation of Labour Relations under Martial Law”).

What does the court decide if a dismissal was unlawful?

An employee dismissed without lawful grounds is reinstated in their previous job; at the same time the court orders payment of average earnings for the period of forced absence, but for no more than one year, or, if the case has been pending for more than a year through no fault of the employee, for the entire period of forced absence (parts 1 and 2 of Article 235 of the Labour Code). If the stated reason for dismissal is wrong and reinstatement is not at issue, the court changes the wording (part 3 of Article 235). A decision on reinstatement is subject to immediate enforcement (part 8 of Article 235).

Can I be dismissed while on sick leave or on leave?

During martial law an employee may be dismissed at the employer’s initiative while temporarily unable to work, and while on leave – except pregnancy and childbirth (maternity) leave and childcare leave until the child reaches three years of age. The date of dismissal is then the first working day after the end of the temporary incapacity stated in the incapacity document, or after the end of the leave (part 1 of Article 5 of the Law “On the Organisation of Labour Relations under Martial Law”). During this period Article 43 of the Labour Code, which requires the prior consent of the elected body of the primary trade union organisation to dismissal, does not apply either, except for the dismissal of employees elected to trade union bodies (part 2 of Article 5 of that Law).

Can I work without a formal employment contract?

No. An employee may not be allowed to start work without an employment contract formalised by an order or instruction of the employer and without notifying the authority that administers the single contribution for mandatory state social insurance that the employee has been hired (part 4 of Article 24 of the Labour Code). If work was in fact performed without an employment contract, the employee can ask the court to formalise the employment relationship and establish the period of that work; in the cases provided for by law, the court at the same time orders the accrual and payment of wages and payment of personal income tax and the single contribution for that period (part 6 of Article 235 of the Labour Code).

Can an employer move an employee to remote work by order?

Yes, in the cases provided for by law. Where there is a threat of an epidemic or pandemic, a need for the employee to self-isolate in cases established by law, and/or a threat of armed aggression or an emergency, remote work may be introduced by the employer’s order (instruction) without a written remote employment contract having to be concluded; the employee must be made familiar with the order within two days of its adoption, but before remote work is introduced (Article 60-2 of the Labour Code). Otherwise remote work is arranged under a remote employment contract; during martial law the parties agree the form of the employment contract between themselves (part 1 of Article 2 of the Law “On the Organisation of Labour Relations under Martial Law”).

Need legal assistance in an employment dispute? Call us or leave a request – a lawyer will be in touch.