Global Compliance Desk – Ukraine
New Paternity Leave in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Parliament signed into law, Law No. 1401-IX on April 15, 2021, which shall provide equal parental rights to a father. The law is effective from May 9, 2021.
Currently, Ukraine employment law does not provide paternity leave to employees.
New Paid Paternity Leave
Employees shall be entitled to a one-time paid leave at the birth of a child lasting up to 14 calendar days (excluding holidays and non-working days). The leave is applicable to –
- a husband whose wife has given birth to a child;
- the child’s father, who is not in a registered marriage with the child’s mother, provided that they live together, are related by common life, have mutual rights and obligations;
- grandparents or other adult relatives of the child who actually care for the child, whose mother or father is a single mother (single father).
Leave at the birth of a child is granted only to one of the persons specified above.
The law also establishes the following –
Unpaid Parental Leave
The new law establishes equal rights of a mother and father of a child to take an unpaid parental leave till the child reaches the age of 3 after the end of maternity leave. An enterprise, institution, organization at its own expense may provide one of the child’s parents with partially paid leave and unpaid leave to care for a child for a longer period.
This leave may also be used in whole or in part by the grandparents or other relatives who are actually caring for the child, or by a person who has adopted or adopted a child, one of the adoptive parents, or foster parents. At the request of the mother, the child’s father, may work part-time or at home during their stay on childcare leave.
Previously, only mothers had priority for such leave.
Child Disability Leave
From now on, either a mother or father of two and more children under the age of 15, a child with a disability or who have adopted a child, a single mother, the child’s father or a person with a childhood disability may take an additional paid leave of 10 calendar days per year without taking into account holidays and non-working days.
Previously, such leave was only available to mothers.
Reduced Working Hour
Reduced working hours shall be established for employees who have children under the age of 14 or a child with a disability, as well as for single mothers and parents raising a child without a father or mother, including in the case of long-stay of mother in the hospital.
Previously, such reduced working hours were only available to mothers.
