Starting December 1st, Ukraine will launch the "Winter Support" program UZ-300, under which Ukrainians will be able to use Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) trips for free. From December 4th, employers will be able to book their employees if the latter have accounting problems, and employees should also be aware of updated medical examinations, writes UNN.
"UZ-3000"
Starting December 1st, Ukraine will launch the "UZ-3000" program for free transportation, initiated by Ukrzaliznytsia.
It is scheduled to launch on December 1st and will be implemented over four months, when we have low demand for Ukrzaliznytsia, but there are consistently high expenditures for Ukrzaliznytsia. And in such periods, where there is low demand, we have the opportunity to provide citizens with additional tickets.
Ukrzaliznytsia reported that 3,000 km is equivalent to a round trip on the longest route in Ukraine today.
We want everyone to be able to openly access our country, even if it's a journey from one end of our country to the other. We know that during peak periods, it's not easy to "catch" tickets. So the "UZ-3000" program will help relieve the peak – it will stimulate travel during off-peak periods.
Employee Reservation
From December 4, a law comes into force that allows critical enterprises to reserve employees with improperly formalized accounting documents for 45 days.
According to the law, military-liable employees of enterprises, institutions, and organizations, regardless of the number of reserved individuals, who are critically important for meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations, or the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihoods of the population during a special period in the defense-industrial complex, and who lack or have improperly formalized military registration documents, are not registered for military service, and have not updated their personal data, are subject to reservation.
The term of employee reservation cannot exceed 45 calendar days from the date of concluding the employment contract. Moreover, such a military-liable employee is granted reservation no more than once per calendar year.
If a military-liable employee eliminates violations of military registration rules during the reservation period, they are subject to reservation on general grounds.
The reservation of such military-liable employees does not exempt them from the responsibility established by law for violating military registration rules, legislation on defense, mobilization training, and mobilization.
The employer has the right to dismiss an employee if they do not eliminate military registration violations in time.
Updated employee medical examinations
From December, updated rules for mandatory employee medical examinations will come into effect in Ukraine.
The procedure applies to all employers - legal entities, their structural divisions, as well as individual entrepreneurs who use hired labor.
According to the Ministry of Health order, the categories of employees subject to mandatory medical examinations have been clarified. These are:
- persons engaged in harmful or dangerous work;
- those who require professional selection;
- employees under 21 years of age;
- those who work night shifts.
The basis for an unscheduled medical examination is also the requirement of officials of the territorial body of the State Labor Service.
Employees who have not undergone a mandatory medical examination without valid reasons or who are prohibited from performing certain work according to a medical conclusion are not allowed to work.
In such cases, the employer must offer another position or, if not possible, dismiss the employee in accordance with the law.
Preliminary medical examinations are conducted upon employment to assess the employee's health. Periodic examinations are conducted during employment to detect occupational diseases early. Unscheduled examinations are conducted at the employee's request or at the employer's initiative if there are grounds to believe that the employee cannot perform duties without harm to health.
The frequency of examinations is determined by the nature of the work.
Employees working in harmful conditions undergo examinations annually, and in certain areas, including food industry workers, medical institutions, children's institutions, vehicle drivers, or individuals in contact with biological agents, examinations are conducted more frequently – once every six months.
Employees under twenty-one years of age must undergo a medical examination annually, regardless of working conditions.
The employer concludes an agreement with a medical institution and appoints a responsible person.
During the medical examination, the workplace and average earnings are retained. If an employee does not undergo a medical examination without a valid reason, the employer has the right to suspend them without pay.
Updated financial monitoring rules
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the procedure for creating a personal account for a primary financial monitoring entity and accessing the e-cabinet of the financial monitoring system, which is expected to start operating in December.
The procedure provides for the introduction of new types of reports covering financial transactions subject to financial monitoring, as well as other information related to its implementation; establishing the obligation of primary financial monitoring entities to apply a risk-based approach when conducting due diligence of clients, which, in particular, provides for a transition to a case-based model of reporting suspicious financial transactions or activities; defining the procedure for submitting reports on the freezing of assets related to terrorist activities, its financing, as well as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its financing.
Pension surcharges
In November, the government approved an increase in monthly pension surcharges for incapacitated family members of the Heavenly Hundred Heroes. From December 1, the amounts will increase to 12,971 hryvnias. If there are two or more incapacitated persons in the family, the funds will be distributed equally.