Cabinet of Ministers Introduces New Initiatives to Support Labor Market Amid War

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is taking significant steps to revitalize its employment policy, which plays a vital role in the nation's economic framework. The first move in this direction was the approval of a draft of the new Labor Code, which is set to be presented for its first reading in the Verkhovna Rada. This announcement was made by Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on her Telegram channel.

During a Cabinet meeting held on April 1, two key initiatives were adopted, designed to assist employers and employees in the challenging context of war. The first initiative is the 'Point of Support' program, aimed at helping employers maintain jobs during periods of downtime caused by shelling. This program will be available to affected businesses that are forced to halt operations or are in the process of recovering from damages.

Under the new regulations, employers participating in the program will be eligible to receive compensation for a portion of their employees' salaries during the forced work stoppage, as well as reimbursement for the Unified Social Contribution (USC) on these amounts. 'This program will help businesses retain their teams during the most difficult times, recover, and continue to operate. It will also enable people to keep their jobs, income, and insurance record,' Svyrydenko emphasized.

The second initiative involves the launch of a mechanism for the remote termination of employment relationships through the 'Diia' platform for individuals residing in temporarily occupied territories. This applies to people whose employers remain in these areas or in zones of active hostilities. Such individuals are effectively not working at their previous jobs but are formally still employed, complicating their ability to find new work.

'We are removing this legal trap and providing people with the opportunity to continue working,' the Prime Minister stressed. From now on, individuals can submit a request for termination of employment in temporarily occupied territories online via the 'Diia' platform. The system will automatically record the date of termination, notify the employer, and update data in state registers.

Additionally, Yulia Svyrydenko noted that there are currently 13.1 million people employed in Ukraine, which is less than half of the total working-age population. At the same time, 74% of companies are facing difficulties in finding workers, indicating serious issues within the labor market.

Previously, it was reported that the Cabinet of Ministers plans to launch a digital labor market ecosystem called 'Horizon' in the spring of 2026. This initiative aims to improve employment conditions and ensure a more efficient functioning of the labor market in Ukraine.