Reading 4. Hire an employee in Ukraine

Key vocabulary: personnel; applicant; the UkrainianLabor Code; labor agreement; pivotal contract; enterprises; comply with the provisions; social security benefits; exceptions envisaged; residence permit; job permit; labor regulations; assumes; labor contract; the period of validity thereof; the parties thereto; financial provision; prior to expiry; termination; subject to the requirements of; be executed in writing; relevant provisions; civil law contracts; to be afforded discretionary powers to; to agree upon; remuneration; rigid requirements; religious affiliation; unjustified denial; labour book; probationary period; frequent indexation; staff redundancy; prior consent.

Read the following text and answer the questions after it.

Highly qualified human resources ensure the success of any business. Each undertaking begins with the selection of personnel. A job applicant often turns into an employee very quickly, and it may seem that this is a mere formality. However, it is a crucial stage that predetermines numerous future nuances. The terms, rights, and responsibilities of an individual becoming an employee of a company determine the future forms and conditions of cooperation between the employer and the employee. In Ukraine, forms, conditions, scope and terms of cooperation, rights and duties of the parties to labor relations are subject to labor legislation.

The Ukrainian Code of Acts on Labor(UCAL,in Russian KZoT,hereinafter the UkrainianLabor Code ) holds the key place in the system of labor legislation.

This very code outlines relations between employees and employers. It establishes the fundamental principles of cooperation between employees and employers, determines the scope of rights and responsibilities of the parties, provides definitions of basic notions and categories of labor relations.

Among other things, the UkrainianLabor Codesets requirements for the labor agreement, which is the pivotal contract between employees and employers that is concluded when a person is hired.

Having set only the key conditions for the conclusion and contents of a labor agreement, the code leaves vast room for improvement on the terms for mutual work.

The Labour Code applies to all Ukrainian and foreign enterprises, institutions, and organizations, irrespective of their ownership form, types, or area of activity, and to all individuals employing labour in Ukraine.

Article 3 of the Labour Code provides that employment relationship between enterprises with foreign investment and their employees on the territory of Ukraine are governed by the applicable Ukrainian legislation. Thus, all employers, both foreign and Ukrainian, must comply with the provisions of the Labour Code, which apply regardless of whether the employee is a foreign or a Ukrainian national. The employment guarantees and the social security benefits granted to employees of foreign companies, or of Ukrainian companies with foreign investments, are the same as those granted to employees of other Ukrainian companies.