An engineer at a Kyiv plant was dismissed “for absenteeism” in the spring of 2025. He came to us seven weeks later, when the one-month deadline for a claim had already passed, and reinstatement had to start with an application to restore the deadline. This page is about not ending up in that position: which deadlines apply in employment disputes, what can be recovered from an employer, and what a lawyer costs.
A reinstatement claim must be brought within one month of service of the copy of the dismissal order or the issue of the employment record book (Art. 233 of the Labour Code). After that even an obviously unlawful dismissal is far harder to challenge: first you have to persuade the court to restore the deadline.
An employment lawyer is needed mostly because of that month: while the person is angry, looking for a new job and gathering their thoughts, the deadline runs out.
Deadlines: what matters today
| Claim | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Reinstatement (unlawful dismissal) | 1 month from service of the copy of the order or issue of the record book |
| Other employment disputes | 3 months from the day you learned of the breach |
| Recovery of unpaid wages | no time limit |
The last line needs explaining. The 2022 version of Art. 233 limited wage claims to three months. By Decision No. 1-r/2025 of 11 December 2025 the Constitutional Court held that limit unconstitutional, so arrears of wages, compensation and final settlements can again be recovered however long ago they arose. The sum is not indexed automatically, though: the amount owed for each month of delay has to be proved separately.
What we work on
Unlawful dismissal
For absenteeism, for “unsuitability”, for a “redundancy” that never happened, by an agreement signed under pressure.
Being forced to resign “voluntarily”
Where the letter is written under the threat of “we’ll dismiss you under an article”. Such a letter can be challenged if the absence of free will is proved: witnesses, correspondence, a recording, the sequence of events.
Unpaid wages
Bonuses, holiday pay, compensation for unused leave, the final settlement on dismissal.
A late final settlement
A separate rule applies here: for the period of delay the employer pays average earnings, for no more than six months (Art. 117). For a debt of 20,000 UAH that compensation often exceeds the debt itself.
Changes to working conditions
Without the employee’s consent, transfers, demotion.
Discrimination and bullying
Unlawful disciplinary sanctions.
Industrial injury
And compensation for harm to health.
Working without a contract
Establishing the employment relationship in court.
What can be recovered for unlawful dismissal
- Reinstatement. A judgment ordering reinstatement is subject to immediate enforcement (Art. 430(1)(4) of the Civil Procedure Code): the employer must let you back to work the day after judgment is given, without waiting for an appeal.
- Average earnings for the period of enforced absence Art. 235(2) of the Labour Code from dismissal to reinstatement. If the case takes six months, you receive six months’ pay.
- Non-pecuniary damage Art. 237-1 for the unlawful dismissal, the humiliation and the stress. In Kyiv courts these awards typically run from a few thousand to a few tens of thousands of hryvnia, depending on the evidence.
- Legal costs, including the lawyer’s fee, within reasonable limits and with proof of payment Arts. 137, 141 CPC.
If you do not want to go back to that employer, you can ask instead for the stated reason for dismissal to be changed and for the average earnings to be paid without actual reinstatement.
A late settlement: how the compensation is calculated
All sums due must be paid on the day of dismissal (Art. 116). If they are not, the employer additionally pays average earnings for the period of delay, for no more than six months (Art. 117, as amended in 2022). The Supreme Court has confirmed that the six-month cap applies even where the delay began earlier and continued after 19 July 2022.
What that means in practice: you were not paid 20,000 UAH on dismissal, your average earnings are 25,000 UAH a month, and you come to us four months later. On top of the debt, four months’ compensation is recovered — 100,000 UAH. If you come a year later, the compensation still cannot exceed six average monthly earnings, that is 150,000 UAH.
Two caveats. Where the court grants the claim in part, it sets the compensation at its discretion (Art. 117(2)), and in practice it is often reduced proportionately. And if you delayed coming forward, the court may take that into account too. So do not wait: the first months of delay are compensated in full, and they make up most of the sum.
What the court checks in a dismissal order
Employers lose employment cases mostly on procedure, not for want of a reason. This is what we check in every case:
The legality checklist
- Written explanations. Before a reprimand or dismissal for misconduct the employer must ask the employee for an explanation (Art. 149). A back-dated record that the employee “refused to explain” is tested by the court against the witnesses and the dates.
- The sanction deadline. A sanction is imposed no later than one month from discovery of the misconduct and no later than six months from when it occurred (Art. 148).
- The union’s consent. If you are a union member, dismissal at the employer’s initiative without its prior consent is unlawful (Art. 43).
- Redundancy. Two months’ notice (Art. 49-2), an offer of other work (Art. 40(2)), the preferential right to be retained (Art. 42). If the post reopened after the “redundancy”, that is an argument for you.
- Sick leave or holiday. Dismissal at the employer’s initiative during either is prohibited, except on full liquidation (Art. 40(3)).
- Absenteeism. This means being away for more than three hours in a day without good reason (Art. 40(4)). Agreed remote work, a summons from the recruitment office, or illness without a sick note but with medical records, are not absenteeism.
- Pregnancy, children under three, single mothers with children under 14. For these categories dismissal at the employer’s initiative is impossible, except on full liquidation (Art. 184).
Working without a contract
If you worked off the books, that does not deprive you of rights, but the employment relationship has to be established in court.
What works as evidence: passes, rotas, messenger correspondence, colleagues’ evidence, payroll sheets, documents bearing your signature, photographs at the workplace, the job advertisement, transfers to your card at regular intervals.
Once the employment relationship is established you can recover wages, demand that contributions be paid (which affects your future pension), and claim compensation. An extra lever in negotiations: for an undocumented employee the employer faces a fine of ten times the minimum wage (Art. 265) — 86,470 UAH per person in 2026.
When you do not need a lawyer
The employer admits the debt, signs a payment schedule and pays. A written demand with the calculation, and a copy for yourself, is enough: if the schedule is broken, that demand becomes evidence in court.
Situations to bring to us at once, while the deadline is still running:
- you have been dismissed and believe it unlawful (you have one month to sue);
- wages or the final settlement are unpaid and the employer has been promising for more than a month;
- you are being pushed to resign “voluntarily” or to sign a termination agreement;
- you worked without a contract and the employer denies it;
- you have been reprimanded or denied a bonus with no explanation and without being asked for one;
- you are pregnant or have children under three: additional protections under Art. 184 apply;
- the matter is an industrial injury the employer will not record in a report.
A case from our practice
In April 2025 an engineer from Kyiv came to us, dismissed under Art. 40(4) “for absenteeism”. In fact he had been working from home that day by oral agreement with the shop manager, and the absence record was drawn up two weeks later; nobody asked him for a written explanation. The one-month deadline had already passed by 12 days, so we filed the claim together with an application to restore it (he had been on sick leave for part of that time). The court restored the deadline, found the dismissal unlawful, reinstated him, and awarded average earnings for five months of enforced absence (about 140,000 UAH) plus 10,000 UAH for non-pecuniary damage. The first-instance hearing took five months and the client paid no court fee. (details changed)
How we work
- We check the deadline on the day you contact us: if the month has passed, we immediately gather evidence of good reasons to restore it.
- We test the legality of the dismissal or sanction against the checklist above: explanations, deadlines, the union, vacancies, sick leave.
- We calculate the sum: arrears, average earnings for the enforced absence, compensation for the late settlement, non-pecuniary damage.
- We prepare the claim with no court fee; where useful we file through the Electronic Court.
- We run the case and press for the reinstatement order to be complied with the next day.
- We supervise enforcement: if the employer ignores the judgment, we recover average earnings for the period of non-compliance through the enforcement service (Art. 236).
Cost of services
Court fees in 2026: an employee pays nothing on a claim for reinstatement, wages or other employment claims (Art. 5(1)(1) of the Law “On Court Fees”). If the employer brings the claim (for example for material damage), it pays 1.5 % of the value, minimum 3,328 UAH; an appeal is 150 % of the rate that applied to the claim. If you win, the lawyer’s fees are recovered from the employer to the extent the court finds proportionate.
Questions and answers (Employment disputes lawyer)
The deadline for a reinstatement claim has passed. Is it all lost?
No. Under Art. 234 the court restores a missed deadline where the reasons are good: illness, a business trip, caring for a relative, being abroad, wartime circumstances. The application is filed with the claim and supported by documents. The more time has passed and the weaker the reasons, the lower the chances, so every day of delay works against you.
Can a reprimand be challenged without resigning?
Yes. A disciplinary sanction is challenged in court within three months of the day you learned of it (Arts. 150, 233). The court checks whether an explanation was requested, whether the one-month period from discovery was observed, and whether there was any breach at all. If no further sanction follows within a year, the reprimand lapses automatically (Art. 151), but it is worth having it set aside where it is relied on to withhold a bonus or to dismiss.
The employer is registered in another city. Where do I sue, and can it be done remotely?
Employment claims may be brought at the claimant’s registered address (Art. 28(1) of the Civil Procedure Code), that is, in your own city. We file through the Electronic Court, and hearings can be attended by video (Art. 212). You need only send the documents once and sign the engagement letter.
The court reinstated me but the employer will not let me in. What now?
A reinstatement order is enforced immediately, so the writ can be obtained as soon as judgment is given and passed to the enforcement officer. For the period of non-compliance the employer pays average earnings (Art. 236), and the officer fines it for failing to comply. Usually the employer lets the employee back within a few days of enforcement opening.
Do I have to send a demand or go to the labour disputes commission first?
There is no mandatory pre-court stage in employment disputes: an employee may go straight to court. A demand is useful as proof that the employer knew of the debt and did not dispute it. When negotiation is worthwhile and when it merely eats the deadline, we explain on the page about settling employment disputes out of court.
Contact a Svarog employment disputes lawyer
If you have just been dismissed, do not wait: you have one month, and half of it usually goes on looking for a new job. Send us the dismissal order and the lawyer will tell you whether there are grounds for reinstatement and how much the employer owes you. You pay no court fee.