On April 25, the parliament of Ukraine adopted in the second (and final) reading draft law No.5695, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts Regarding Regulation of Employment of Domestic Workers,” initiated by several MPs in 2021.
The law introduces a new chapter ХІ-1 – Employment of domestic workers to the valid Labor Code. Under it:
• A domestic worker is an individual engaged in domestic work within employment relations with the employer. Domestic work is work performed on the terms of an employment agreement in or for the household.
• An employment contract concluded with domestic workers is the main document certifying employment relations’ creation, change, and termination.
• Domestic work performed occasionally or sporadically but not more than 40 hours per month is not considered domestic work.
• The minimum age for domestic workers is 16 years.
• Under legislative clauses, domestic workers are covered by all labor rights and guarantees. Domestic workers are subject to general provisions on normal hours of work, overtime compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest, and paid annual leave in accordance with national laws considering the special characteristics of domestic work.
• Every domestic worker has the right to a safe and healthy working environment. The law stipulates that the parties to the employment contract are responsible for ensuring safe and harmless working conditions, while the employer is responsible independently for the safety and proper technical condition of the equipment and means of production transferred to the domestic worker for the work performance.
• The employer signs a written employment agreement with a domestic worker and shall notify the State Tax Service about a domestic worker. Under general rules, in such a case, the employer should pay a unified social contribution (USB) and be a tax agent for employees. However, this draft law stipulates that persons who work under an employment contract with other individuals (in particular, domestic workers) will independently pay a unified social contribution. According to the authors of the draft law, such a rule would optimize and ensure the effectiveness of USB payments.
Labor Initiatives lawyers, in general, positively viewed the idea of domestic work regulation. LI staff and union partners were involved in advice and consultations with the working group for this law.
You can listen to the interview (UKR) of George Sandul on the National Radio of Ukraine on the topic here.
Legislative regulation of domestic work is important as 1) this category of workers will become visible, and 2) a lot of Ukrainians, in particular women, are now working in this sector unofficially without any social guarantees.
SC and LI are glad that the nationwide survey on the working conditions of domestic workers presented in October 2023 highlighted among the stakeholders the importance of regulations in this sector.
No doubt, this law gives an opportunity for domestic workers and their employers to legalize employment relations and to write down labor guarantees in the contract. Still, much work should be done to enforce this law and secure better protections for domestic workers.
The biggest issue for LI is the incentive of an employer and domestic worker to conclude an employment agreement. The mechanism of individual payment of unified social contributions and the payment of personal income tax by domestic workers remains unclear.
The State Labor Service (Labor Inspectorate) is proposed as a responsible body for monitoring and controlling compliance with labor legislation regarding domestic workers. In particular, the labor inspector will be eligible to conduct awareness work in the household on the most effective ways of complying with labor legislation, monitoring its compliance, and regarding the legalization of employment relations.
Moreover, upon request of the State Labor Inspectorate, the employer must provide information about persons employed as domestic workers in the household.
The law also enshrines that if there is reasonable data on the use of the labor of domestic workers by the household, labor inspectors should be provided with the opportunity to conduct a confidential conversation with a domestic worker. However, the implementation mechanism of such a conversation, including the right of access to a household’s premises and respect for privacy, has not been defined.
