Government improves program of compensation to employers for the employment of IDPs

The program for paying compensation to employers for hiring internally displaced persons has been improved. The decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on January 24, 2022.

"In total, we have seven million internally displaced persons for whom the issue of finding a new job is extremely relevant. Therefore, the program to stimulate the employment of IDPs remains one of the Government's priorities in 2023. And this year we have increased funding for programs to promote the employment of internally displaced persons by 1.5 times," explained Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine.

In particular, according to the amendments, the employer receives

• compensation for labor costs (but not more than two times the minimum wage established by law) for the employment of registered unemployed IDPs on fixed-term employment contracts for a period not exceeding six calendar months, provided that the employment guarantees of such person are maintained for a period exceeding the duration of the payment by two times;
• compensation for employer's expenses for retraining and advanced training of unemployed IDPs employed for a period of at least 12 calendar months. The amount of compensation is determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine within the cost of retraining and advanced training.

The Law also stipulates that in case of dismissal of an employee for whom compensation was paid before the expiration of the established period of employment guarantees in case of voluntary resignation, by agreement of the parties, or at the initiative of the employer, the amount of funds paid shall be returned in full to the budget of the Fund of Compulsory State Social Insurance of Ukraine for Unemployment or the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, depending on the source of compensation funding.

The only exception to this is when the employer hires another registered unemployed person to take his or her place at the referral of the territorial employment center before the expiration of the established period of employment guarantees.

If a registered unemployed person from among internally displaced persons is hired to replace the dismissed employee, the payment of compensation continues until the expiration of the established period of employment guarantees.