Ukraine passes law on freelancing: what it changes

On July 18, deputies voted for the draft law on freelancing. From now on, a new form of Labor Relations has been legalized, which has a number of characteristics and restrictions. DOU explains exactly what the law provides for.

The main thing is that the law regulates an employment contract with non-fixed working hours. It assumes that the employee will perform the work only when it appears, and the employer does not guarantee that it will provide this work permanently. The employer independently determines when and for what amount of work a freelancer should be involved. Both parties agree in the employment contract on the term of work and the duration of working hours for which they must be performed. At the same time, the legal requirements regarding the length of working hours and rest time must be met. 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 has performed work for less than 32 hours, they must still be paid a salary for at least 32 hours of working time. A freelancer can refuse to perform a job if the employer requires them to work outside of the base days and hours. An employer cannot prohibit a freelancer from performing work under other employment contracts. Employers will not be able to enter into more than 10% of employment contracts with non-fixed working hours (of the total number of concluded employment agreements). However, these restrictions do not apply to legal entities and sole proprietors that employ less than 10 employees — they can enter into no more than one employment contract with non-fixed working hours. Details

Contracts with non-fixed working hours are introduced as an alternative to civil contracts. The employee will be able to combine legal work with several employers and at the same time have basic social guarantees (providing sick leave, vacations, wages, etc.).

An employment contract with non-fixed working hours is legally analogous to the foreign "zero hours contract", which is now used in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, etc., according to the explanatory note to the law.