The Government updates the rules on criticality status and employee reservation of critically important enterprises
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a decision to update the approaches to the reservation of conscription-liable employees of enterprises, institutions and organisations that are designated as critically important for the functioning of the economy and for meeting the needs of the state under martial law.
The update applies both to enterprises that already hold the status of critically important and to those that plan to confirm or obtain it in the future. The aim is to ensure that the reservation mechanism is applied specifically to those employers and employees directly involved in supporting the economy, defence capability, security and the maintenance of essential services for the population.
Key provisions
One of the main changes is the increase of the salary thresholds. To confirm the status of a critically important enterprise and reserve employees, the salary level must be at least three minimum wages, i.e. UAH 25,941.
A more flexible approach remains in place for enterprises operating in frontline areas. For such enterprises, the current requirement remains at the level of 2.5 minimum wages, i.e. UAH 21,618. This applies to territories included in the relevant list approved by the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.
The Government has also clarified the rules for calculating the reservation quota. Employees who already have a deferment from mobilisation under Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization”, as well as part-time employees, will be counted towards the quota only at one place of employment. This is intended to prevent situations where part-time employment artificially increases the number of employees that an enterprise may reserve.
A separate set of changes concerns the criticality criteria. Ministries, central executive authorities and regional military administrations must, within one month, re-approve their own criticality criteria in coordination with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy.
In addition, within three months from the date the changes enter into force, the status of all enterprises that have already been designated as critically important by the relevant public authorities must be reviewed. At the same time, during the transitional period, the current criticality status of enterprises and existing employee reservations will remain valid until a new decision on the enterprise’s status is adopted.
Impact on businesses
- The updated rules effectively strengthen the requirements for enterprises that seek to obtain the status of critically important or already benefit from such status.
- Businesses should expect increased attention to the actual economic significance of the enterprise, salary levels, the justification for the need to reserve employees, and the accuracy of the reservation quota calculation.
- For companies that already have the status of critically important, the key practical consequence will be the need to reconfirm their criticality status under the updated criteria.
- At the same time, during the transitional period, they will retain their current status and reservations already granted, which should provide time to prepare documents and bring internal indicators into compliance with the new requirements.
- For enterprises that employ part-time workers or have employees who benefit from other grounds for deferment, it is important to review the approach to calculating the reservation quota.
Recommended actions for companies
Companies that have or plan to obtain the status of critically important should already conduct an internal audit to ensure compliance with the updated rules. In particular, they should review:
- average salary level
- list of conscription-liable employees
- presence of part-time employees and employees with other grounds for deferment
- supporting documents confirming the company's criticality status
Companies should also monitor the re-approval of sectoral and regional criticality criteria by the relevant public authorities. These criteria will determine which enterprises will be able to retain or obtain the status of critically important after the review.
For additional information, please contact Asters Partner Yuna Potomkina and Counsel Anton Sintsov.
