Quota for the Employment of People with Disabilities: New Mechanism of Financial Control for Employers
In March 2025, the Law of Ukraine ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Ensuring the Right of Persons with Disabilities to Work’ (the ‘Law’) came into force. The Law cancels administrative and financial sanctions for non-compliance with the quota for employment of persons with disabilities. Instead, the Law introduces the possibility of paying a contribution to support the employment opportunities of persons with disabilities (the ‘Contribution’).
The Law provides for the following legislative changes:
- Employers who fail to meet the requirement on minimum number of workplaces for persons with disabilities are obliged to pay the Contribution., the obligation to comply with the requirement arises for employers with an average number of employees in a quarter of eight or more persons.
- The Law changes to a certain extend the approach to calculating the quota of workplaces for persons with disabilities. It establishes that the quota is the following number of persons for enterprises depending on a number of employees:
- between 8 and 25 employees – one workplace
- more than 25 employees – 4% of workplaces of the average number of full-time employees for the quarter (2% for healthcare facilities and some other employers).
- The quota does not include workplaces related to jobs and professions with difficult, harmful, or dangerous working conditions.
- The employer may also fulfil its obligation under the quota by employing a person with a disability on an internship basis.
- The amount of the Contribution will be 40% of the average monthly salary of one employee for each workplace to which the employer was required to employ a person with a disability.
- For the period of martial law, the amount of the Contribution is set at 50% of the specified amount.
- In case of late or incomplete payment of the Contribution, financial sanctions are applied as a penalty at the rate of 0.1% of the amount of underpayment for each day of delay and a fine of 7-10% of the amounts not paid on time. At the same time, the statute of limitations on the accrual, application and collection of arrears, fines and accrued penalties is not applied.
The Law contains the following novelties:
- The Law introduces the concept of an enterprise/entrepreneur of labour integration of persons with disabilities and a protected employment enterprise, which are entitled to tax exemptions, as well as the right to receive repayable and non-repayable financial assistance, loans, and subsidies in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
- The Law establishes the employer's obligation to provide reasonable adaptation of the workplace, in particular, to convert the premises to meet the needs of an employee with a disability, introduce reduced working hours, flexible work schedules, etc. In doing so, the employer is entitled to compensation for the costs incurred under certain conditions.
- The Law establishes the right of an employee to keep their job with the employer where the accident occurred or whose working conditions led to the establishment of a disability. In the event of a breach of this obligation, the employer must compensate the employee for lost earnings in the amount of three times the average salary at the employer for the entire period of failure to fulfil obligations to ensure the return to work of a person with a disability, but not more than six months.
- The Law establishes the obligation of employers in certain cases to notify persons with disabilities of the reasons for refusing to hire or promote them in writing.
The law comes into force on 1 January 2026.
For further information, please contact Asters' Counsel Inesa Letych and Associate Lesya Vasylenko.
