Hiring employees in Ukraine allows your business to expand into the Ukrainian market, benefiting from their highly skilled, cost-effective workforce. While the war between Russia and Ukraine has had a detrimental effect on Ukraine’s average GDP, there are signs that the economy is improving, with more businesses expanding into Ukraine, particularly favoring the technical sectors.

This guide will give you a 9-step guide to hiring employees in Ukraine, from a full understanding of the Ukrainian market and local labor laws, to mandatory benefits employers must offer.

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Why Expand Your Business to Ukraine

Strategic Advantages of the Ukrainian Market

The Ukrainian market has many advantages, making Ukraine a good prospect for employers looking to expand abroad.

Ukraine has a strong education system, producing highly-skilled graduates and often bilingual workers. The IT and technical sectors are growing year on year, creating a talented pool of workers that can help a range of businesses.

Labor costs are generally lower than in other European countries, and Ukraine’s close proximity to the West and neighbouring countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania gives it a strategic advantage for moving into other markets.

Importance of Being Aware of Ukrainian Labor Laws

The Labor Code of Ukraine informs all rights and obligations that employers/employees must abide by. 

These laws are designed to protect employees to ensure a fair working environment, access to paid leave, and overtime compensation, among other employee benefits.

Employers must adhere to Ukrainian labor laws when employing in Ukraine – it’s strongly advised to consult a legal professional before drawing up employee contracts to ensure that all local labor laws are complied with.

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Step 1: Define Your Hiring Needs

The first step to employing workers in Ukraine is to fully understand your hiring needs.

Which roles do you need to improve your business, and how many employees are you looking to hire? These are vital questions in understanding how your recruitment strategy will work, and it’s important to consider how the answers to these questions will impact your long-term business objectives.

Step 2: Understand Compliance Requirements

Make sure you fully understand compliance requirements before you embark on your Ukraine recruitment journey.

This involves familiarizing yourself with all mandatory benefits you must provide to your employees and your tax obligations as an employer.

You also need to consider your Social Security contributions and how you’ll administer this process to ensure strict compliance with local authorities.

Step 3: Choose Your Hiring Method

There are a few different ways you can hire in Ukraine – we’ve detailed these below with both the advantages and disadvantages of each hiring method.

Establishing a Legal Entity

Establishing a legal entity will provide you with full control over your hiring process. However, this can be a lengthy, costly process and involves registering with the State Register of Legal Entities, Private Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations.

It is not the most advisable method for small – medium size businesses as it involves a large amount of administration, and set-up costs alone can cost in the region of $1,000 – $3,000.

Using an Employer of Record (EOR)

An EOR provider can be highly useful for businesses looking to outsource some of their employment compliance, ensuring it is carried out correctly while saving their business time and money.

While this does involve relinquishing some control, it’s a great choice for businesses that want to avoid establishing a legal entity by passing over some of this responsibility to a third party.

Learn more about EOR in Ukraine

Hiring Independent Contractors

Hiring independent workers is a great choice for companies looking for flexibility in their hiring process.

Contractors are responsible for their own tax and insurance obligations, plus they usualyl work on a project-by-project basis which can be preferable for some businesses.

It’s important to ensure that contractors are correctly classified when carrying out work for your business to ensure both the employer and employee are protected.

Learn more about hiring contractors in Ukraine

Step 4: Develop a Recruitment Strategy

Next up is creating your job adverts and understanding the best places to advertise your new job roles  – these are crucial steps in developing a successful recruitment strategy for employing workers in Ukraine.

Make sure you consider antidiscrimation laws when creating your job descriptions, and pick some job boards that are popular with people looking to work in Ukraine.

Some recommended job sites for new vacancies include: Work.UA and Jobs For Ukraine.

Step 5: Conduct Interviews and Assessments

Once you’ve got a shortlist of prospective applicants, it’s time to conduct professional interviews and assessments to determine who you’re going to employ.

A top tip in this process is to consider the cultural norms in Ukraine and how these may impact your interview process.

People in Ukraine are typically passionate about family values, respect for elders, and a strong sense of community. Instilling this within your interviews can help reinforce why someone would want to work for your company and improve the success rate of your hiring process.

Step 6: Perform Background Checks

Carrying out background checks is a normal process when employing in Ukraine.

This can help you better understand your new employee and ensure you’re aware of all relevant history.

However, you should always obtain consent from your new employee when requesting references or background checks. This is to ensure your employee is involved in this process, while also maintaining compliance with data protection and privacy laws.

Step 7: Draft Employment Contracts

Putting together your employment contracts is an integral part of hiring new people in Ukraine.

Think about your employee’s job title and job description to ensure these are accurate with their role, and include any relevant information such as employee benefits, probationary periods, and notice periods.

It’s advised to have employee contracts reviewed by legal professionals to prevent any issues from occurring in the future.

Step 8: Register with Authorities and Set Up Payroll

Make sure your business is registered with all relevant local authorities before onboarding your new employee, including setting up any payroll processes.

Some key authorities in Ukraine that you should enrol with as a business are the local tax authorities and the Social Security System.

Step 9: Onboard Your New Employees

The last step in this guide is to welcome your new employees to your team!

Warmly introduce them to all relevant team members and make sure they have access to all the resources and training that they need to do a great job.

Give them any information on company policies and procedures, and also take this time to ensure they’re enrolled in any supplementary programs such as health insurance or private pension opportunities. 

Key Employment Laws and Regulations

The Ukrainian Labor Code

The Labor Code of Ukraine provides a legal framework that all employers must abide by.

Labor laws determine levels of paid leave, set working hours, overtime compensation, and other benefits that workers are entitled to.

Social Security Regulations

Ukraine’s Social Security System provides workers with a range of financial benefits in certain situations.

These include:

  • Sick pay
  • Parental allowances
  • Unemployment benefit
  • Workplace injury benefit
  • Old-age pension

Employers and Employees must contribute towards social security. As of 2025, the rate is 22% of an employee’s accrued monthly income – it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure this is paid from an employee’s paycheck.

Learn more about social security contributions and other employee benefits in Ukraine

Employment Standards and Employee Rights

Unions and Works Council

Trade unions and work councils play a significant role in workers’ rights in Ukraine.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine is the dominant trade union centre in Ukraine. Work councils also exist to promote communication between managerial roles and staff.

Types of Employment Contracts

It’s important to understand the different employment contracts that are used in Ukraine when employing new workers. These include:

Indefinite-Term Contracts

This is the most common type of employment contract, with there being no time limit in writing. An indefinite-term contract would continue unless terminated by either employee or employer.

Fixed-Term Contracts

These contracts are issued for a specific amount of time which is agreed mutually between employer and employee. They are sometimes converted into indefinite-term contracts at the end of the term if agreeable by both parties.

Project-Specific Contracts

Project-specific contracts are issued when workers are employed to complete a specific project/task.

Working Hours and Overtime

Standard Working Hours

Standard working hours in Ukraine are typically 40 hours per week, which is usually divided into 5-6 working days.

Some industries that involve working in critical infrastructure often have a set working week of 60 hours.

Overtime Regulations

Hours worked over an employee’s set contracted hours count as overtime.

Overtime hours must be paid at twice the rate of an employee’s normal wage if carried out on a weekday.

If employees complete overtime work on a scheduled day off, workers are usually provided with an extra day off as compensation instead of compensatory pay.

Leave Entitlements

There are different types of leave entitlement in Ukraine; we have detailed these below.

Annual Leave

Workers in Ukraine are entitled to 24 calendar days of paid leave.

Some industries allow employees to request additional leave, including the educational and civil sectors.

Sick Leave 

If a worker in Ukraine is unwell and absent from work, they can take paid sick leave.

Sick leave is usually paid by the employer for the first 5 days of sickness, and Social Security payments will cover any remaining sick leave.

Employees must provide their employer with a medical certificate to be eligible for sick leave, and sick leave is generally capped at 4 months.

Maternity and Parental Leave

Female employees in Ukraine are entitled to 126 days of maternity leave. This is usually split as 70 days before birth and 56 days after birth.

Maternity leave can be extended in the event of complications such as the need for a cesarean section.

Male employees are entitled to 14 days of unpaid paternity leave.

Termination and Severance

Notice Periods

Employees are generally expected to provide 2 weeks’ notice if they are resigning from their job role.

Employers must provide 2 months of notice if they are making an employee redundant, or 3 days notice if the employee is still working their probation period.

Severance Pay

Employees are generally entitled to severance pay if their employer dismisses them without employee misconduct present.

This is usually paid at the rate of one month’s salary, taken as an average of the last two calendar months worked.

Mandatory Contributions

Social Security Contributions

Social security contributions must be paid at the rate of 22%.

This is to cover a range of services such as healthcare, unemployment benefits, and old-age pensions.

Employers are responsible for making social security contributions on behalf of their employees from their monthly salaries.

Health Insurance and Pension

Ukraine operates a universal healthcare system, which is funded by social security.

All citizens, foreign citizens, and stateless people who are permanently living in Ukraine are entitled to receive free medical care. There are also a range of private health insurances that workers in Ukraine can enrol in to benefit from additional healthcare services.

The old-age pension system in Ukraine is accessible to workers from the age of 60, provided that 30 years of service have been completed.

There are also private pension plans available to workers looking to supplement their retirement with extra funds.

Optional Benefits

It’s advised that employers consider offering their employees supplementary benefits in addition to legally mandated benefits. This can help attract new recruits to vacant job positions and also improve staff retention.

Some examples of supplementary employee benefits companies could offer include:

  • Additional paid leave
  • Private pension opportunities
  • Advanced training
  • Performance bonuses
  • Company car
  • Housing, transport, or food expenses
  • Medical insurance

How to Hire Employees in Ukraine — Our Take

Learning how to hire employees in Ukraine correctly can take the stress out of expanding into this country. Remote People specialize in streamlining recruitment in Ukraine, with a range of services designed to make hiring in Ukraine fully compliant, stress-free, and more successful.

Our Employer of Record (EOR) services enable businesses to hire in Ukraine without establishing a legal entity. Remote People manages worker onboarding, payroll and tax compliance, and mandatory employee benefits—ensuring full compliance while helping you reduce employment costs. We also offer general recruitment support to help you find and retain top talent in Ukraine.

We can also help hire employees in Ukraine via our recruitment services, where we have a team of consultants that have a wealth of experience in the Ukrainian hiring space, plus we offer PEO services to help companies streamline their HR, payroll, and general business compliance.