Government Re-Adopts the Draft Labour Code of Ukraine

On September 2, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine re-adopted the Draft Labour Code and submitted it to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for consideration (Reg. No. 16010 dated September 2, 2026).

The Draft Labour Code had already been submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in January 2026 (see the information in the “News” section dated January 12 of this year), but was withdrawn in July this year following a change in the composition of the Government, in accordance with the established procedure.

The document is intended to comprehensively update labour legislation by replacing the current Labour Code adopted by the Law of the Ukrainian SSR No. 322-VIII dated December 10, 1971, with modern rules for employees and businesses that meet the needs of the Ukrainian economy and European standards.

The key principles underlying the development of the draft law are:

• – balancing the interests of the parties to employment relations;
• – protection and restoration of violated rights of parties to employment relations;
• – stability of employment relations;
• – distinction between collective bargaining and individual employment relations;
• – simplification of procedures for establishing and terminating employment relations;
• – ensuring every employee’s right to proper, safe and healthy working conditions;
• – guaranteeing employees’ right to protection against unjustified dismissal;
• – compliance with ILO conventions and European Union directives;
• – ensuring non-discrimination of employees and implementing the principle of equal pay for men and women for work of equal value;
• – providing employees with equal opportunities for professional development, training, retraining and professional development;
• – ensuring the protection of motherhood, children and young people.

The draft law incorporates provisions of the Laws of Ukraine “On Remuneration of Labour,” “On Leave,” “On Collective Agreements and Contracts,” and “On the Procedure for Resolving Collective Labour Disputes (Conflicts).”

Compared with the current labour legislation, the draft law additionally addresses:

• – the procedure for concluding mandatory written employment contracts and various types of fixed-term employment contracts;
• – the definition of the characteristics of employment relations;
• – regulation of work under summarized working-time accounting, domestic workers, and the legal status of employees assigned to work through temporary employment agencies;
• – improvement of the fundamental conditions for exercising the right to leave;
• – reform of the procedure and conditions for granting leave related to the birth and upbringing of a child (children), taking into account the principle of gender non-discrimination;
• – introduction of new approaches to resolving individual labour disputes, including through mediation procedures;
• – extension of the provisions of collective agreements and arrangements;
• – regulation of supervision over compliance with labour legislation and establishment of procedures for conducting inspection visits.

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