Yesterday, July 18, 2022, deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for a bill on freelancing, DOU.UA reports . Now a new form of labor relations has been legalized in our country, which has a number of characteristics and limitations.
So, the new law normalizes an employment contract with non-fixed working hours. It stipulates that the employee will do the work only when it appears, and the employer does not guarantee that he will provide this work constantly.
The employer independently determines when and for what amount of work a freelance worker should be involved. Both parties agree in the employment contract the term of work and the duration of the working time for which they must be completed.
At the same time, the requirements of the legislation regarding the duration of working hours and rest periods must be observed. The number of working hours of an employee may not exceed 40 hours per week, and the number of days – six per week. The minimum working time of an employee during a calendar month is 32 hours. If an employee performed work in less than 32 hours, he must still be paid wages for at least 32 hours of working time.
A freelancer may refuse to perform work if the employer requires work outside the basic days and hours. An employer cannot prohibit a freelancer from performing work under other employment contracts.
Employers will not be able to conclude more than 10% of employment contracts with non-fixed working hours (of the total number of concluded labor agreements). However, these restrictions do not apply to legal entities, sole proprietors, employing less than 10 employees – they can conclude no more than one employment contract with non-fixed working hours.
Contracts with non-fixed working hours are being introduced as an alternative to civil law contracts. An employee will be able to combine legal work with several employers and will have basic social guarantees (sick leave, vacations, wages, etc.).
An employment contract with non-fixed working hours, by its legal nature, is an analogue of the foreign “zero hours contract” used today in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, etc., the explanatory note to the law says.
The full text of the new law “Draft Law on Making Changes to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Regulate Certain Non-Standard Forms of Employment” (No. 5161) can be found at the following link .
Source: DOU.UA
