A country.ua: informal employment is becoming more and more popular among UkrainiansThe male population of Ukraine increasingly began to refuse official registration for work because of the inevitable prospect of recovering in a war zone, writes the Ukrainian portal "Country".
At the same time, employers face high fines for concealing illegal labor.
Ukrainians are increasingly complaining that they cannot get a job because of mobilization. Since the new year, it is impossible to officially get a job without military registration. At the same time, there are still a lot of men who are not registered in the military at their place of residence. And if you register, you can immediately get a summons. And instead of a new place of work, go to the front. Employers have no less problems.
"According to the new decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, companies must keep primary records of military service and report them to military enlistment offices. Summonses are also actively handed out through enterprises, and the head is responsible for the "delivery" of the conscript to the medical commission. Therefore, many small and even medium-sized companies with a staff of up to 150 people try not to take military service at all. At least officially. Against this background, the share of illegal employment is growing. Both employees and employers are interested in it now. They agree on how to respond to possible checks: they say, you don't work here, you just came to ask about vacancies. So far, it works," said the head of the public association SAVEFOP Sergey Dorotich.
That is, it turns out that the labor market is even more in the shadows, which means that many Ukrainians do not receive sick leave, vacation and, most importantly, work experience. Moreover, as Dorotich says, if an employer has a choice – to hire a military–bound specialist or someone who is not registered (for example, a woman, the owner of a "white ticket", etc.), then the latter is often preferred. We understood how military accounting affects the labor market.
To work through the military enlistment office
As Rostislav Kravets, the head of the Kravets and Partners law firm, explained to us, a military ID card was needed for employment before the conflict. It was served in a package with the rest of the documents: passport, diploma, etc. But in peacetime it was a mere formality.
"Now it has become mandatory. And many are afraid that once they show up at the military enlistment office, they will immediately be handed a summons. But this is just one of the horror stories. The other is related to the job application itself. There is an opinion that as soon as you are lit up at the enterprise, it is easier to get you to the military commissars. In fact, it is. After all, the heads of enterprises and organizations are one of the official channels for sending subpoenas. By transmitting a summons through an employer, it is easy to prove the fact of proper delivery, which means that a military serviceman will not be able to evade on the basis that, they say, he did not receive any summons. Moreover, several fines for non–appearance with proven proper delivery of the summons may become the basis for the initiation of an already serious criminal article providing for up to three years of imprisonment," Kravets says.
According to Dorotich, recently the requirements for employers who take military service citizens into the staff have significantly tightened.
"Firstly, you need to be constantly in touch with the military enlistment office, transmit lists of military service, verify data on them. Many entrepreneurs, especially small ones, are already stressed by this in itself, since they themselves fall under the agenda. Secondly, employers have shifted control over the turnout to the medical board of those who receive summonses through them. If I didn't see it, administrative responsibility, additional checks," Dorotich told us.
We are talking about a resolution that was adopted "under the Christmas tree", in the last days of December last year, and entered into force in January 2023.
This resolution amends the military accounting procedure. In particular, it stipulates that the heads of enterprises and organizations should ensure separate maintenance of personnel documents of military-liable persons, the so-called personal military accounting (and even take additional personnel officers to the staff for this, if there is a need). There is also a separate standard form, which must now be filled out at enterprises – a statement of operational accounting of conscripts, conscripts and reservists. To maintain such records, the company must check whether a potential employee has a military registration document.
"Recruitment is carried out only after military registration in the district (city) territorial centers of recruitment and social support, SBU bodies, units of the Foreign Intelligence Service," the article of the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers says.
Information about changes in credentials (for example, if a person has quit), the employer is obliged to inform the shopping center within seven days from the date of such changes.
The resolution also states that the heads of enterprises must notify employees of the draft by special orders under the signature. And "ensure their timely arrival" at the military enlistment offices (how exactly, is not specified).
"If anything, you don't work here"
Against the background of all these innovations, not only ordinary citizens who are looking for work, but also their potential employers have become afraid.
"Big companies, of course, do not have much choice. But there the head does not run directly to the military enlistment office, there is a special person who keeps records of military service. In addition, for large employers there is not only a carrot, but also a carrot – the opportunity to book part of the employees. But small businesses don't really want to get involved with military enlistment offices and accounting for employees. Moreover, the FOP itself, together with its employee, can receive a summons," Dorotich notes.
Therefore, according to him, if there is a choice – to hire a military–bound specialist or someone who is not on military registration, many will choose the latter. Another option, which, according to Dorotich, is gaining popularity, is work without registration.
"Here the interests of both the potential employee and the employer converge. Therefore, shadow employment is becoming more and more. And in case of inspections, they come up with all sorts of legends in advance. Like: you don't work here, you came to find out about a vacancy or to a friend," says Dorotich.
According to Kravets, informal employment is becoming more and more popular among Ukrainians also because of problem loans: people are afraid that they will start deducting debts from their salaries. And there is no registration – there are no subpoenas, no debts.
But at the same time there are no labor guarantees, which are put to working Ukrainians under the Labor Code. That is, sick leave and vacation pay depend only on the goodwill of the employer. And the work experience is not accrued at all, since there are no ERU deductions for the employee.
It is also unclear how long it will be possible to hide from the State Labor Department, since the authorities have taken a course to tighten the screws with illegal employment, and the fines there are quite serious – they can reach several hundred thousand hryvnias. "But so far, small and even medium–sized businesses are choosing this format," says Dorotich.
However, big business faces the same problem. "Since the new year, we have faced the problem that we cannot recruit drivers for official employment – people are afraid of the military enlistment office. They only want it illegally. But it is difficult for us – we still have cargo transportation," said the head of one of the large trading companies.
"Men who are liable for military service must provide a military ID when applying for a job. Some are afraid of subpoenas, but these are the rules," says Irina Macepura, the head of the woodworking enterprise of the VGSM.
"They complain that they can't find a job because of the military enlistment office, draft dodgers. They are afraid that they will be taken to the front," says Alexander Barsuk, head of the Yaroslav Concern.
Author: Lyudmila Ksenz
