On January 15, 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Ensuring the Right of Persons with Disabilities to Work" (draft law, registration No. 5344-d).
The relevant draft Law was prepared for the second reading for a long time during a large number of meetings of working groups together with representatives of central executive bodies, as well as with the participation of the public, and was supported by people's deputies - members of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights.
The adopted Law proposes to create favorable conditions for the employment of persons with disabilities.
The law implements into Ukrainian legislation the provisions of subparagraphs (g) and (i) of paragraph 1 of Article 27 "Labor and Employment" of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified by Ukraine in 2009.
Taking into account the experience of EU countries, the adopted Law will potentially significantly expand the number of jobs for which it is proposed to employ persons with disabilities, by including state authorities and local self-government bodies in this list, as provided for in subparagraph (g) of Article 27 "Labor and Employment" of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities "employment of persons with disabilities in the public sector.".
The law also provides for the introduction of state standards for workplace equipment (arrangement) for various types of functional loss and for providing reasonable accommodation of workplaces at enterprises and organizations of all forms of ownership, which is provided for in subparagraph (i) of Article 27 "Labor and Employment" of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities "providing reasonable accommodation of the workplace for persons with disabilities.".
The law introduces the payment of a contribution to support the employment of persons with disabilities instead of administrative and economic sanctions for failure to meet the employment standard. This will allow moving away from the practice of forcing employers who have failed to meet the employment standard for persons with disabilities to pay administrative and economic sanctions. The contribution is provided for in a smaller amount compared to the amount of administrative and economic sanctions, but the obligation to pay it is established for all categories of employers in both the private and public sectors.
It is planned to create a state fund for social protection of persons with disabilities by accumulating contributions from employers to support the employment of persons with disabilities. The funds of the special fund will be used to ensure the implementation of active employment programs, measures to support the employment of persons with disabilities, the provision of social services, and the implementation of other programs and measures aimed at the social protection of persons with disabilities.
The categories of enterprises that can use financial support to ensure the employment of persons with disabilities have been expanded by creating enterprises for the labor integration of persons with disabilities and enterprises for sheltered employment. Benefits and compensation can be received not only by enterprises of public organizations of persons with disabilities, but also by any enterprises that employ the number of persons with disabilities specified in the Law.
This Law provides for the mandatory provision of social services to persons with disabilities (social support at the workplace, personal assistant, sign language interpretation, etc.), which are part of the employment process for such persons.
In conditions of acute shortage of personnel, especially in the field of production specialties, which arose due to the war and the migration of Ukrainian refugees abroad, the integration of people with disabilities into the country's economy is a real way to stabilize the labor market.
At the same time, employment of people with disabilities also addresses a number of social issues for this category of the population, mainly promoting their economic independence and well-being.
The adoption of the Law is an extremely important decision that will lead to increased opportunities for people with disabilities to become in demand in the labor market, get a job and, accordingly, become economically independent.
Labor Inspectorate of Chuguiv City Council