The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the bill No. 9510, initiated by the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Policy Galina Tretyakova. The document provides for a significant strengthening of the protection of employees in the event of a wage delay, especially in situations of the employer's insolvency.
One of the main innovations of the bill is the introduction of a mandatory penalty in the event of a salary delay for more than 15 calendar days after the end of the month. The size of the penalty is not less than the NBU discount rate for each day of delay. It also provides compensation in accordance with the current legislation on the loss of part of income due to late payment.
In addition, the employee is given the right to temporarily stop performing work in the event of such a delay that it should stimulate employers to comply with the terms of payments.
The document proposes the creation of a special warranty institution that will pay compensation to employees in the event of insolvency of the employer. The amount is up to three average monthly salaries, but not more than 12 minimum wages. In this case, the compensatory payments will be taken into account in the length of service.
The grounds for issuing court orders are also expanding - penalties and compensation may be included in the debt.
The Ministry of Finance has expressed disagreement with the project. They warn that the implementation of the initiative will require additional expenditures from the state budget, which is concerned in the conditions of martial law and budget restrictions.
According to the State Statistics Committee, at the beginning of 2022 the debt from the salary reached UAH 3.1 billion. The highest amounts - over UAH 2.2 billion - were in industrial enterprises. The largest debtors were state and utility companies.
Despite the reservation of government officials, the Parliament supported the initiative, which could be an important step in the direction of real protection of employees' labor rights.
