The Confederation of Employers has formed a list of legislative norms regarding the employment of people with disabilities that need to be improved

The Confederation of Employers of Ukraine has created a list of legislative norms regarding the employment of people with disabilities that need to be improved. The list was presented during the presentation of the draft Practical Guide for employers "Employment of people with disabilities".

According to Olena Stepanenko, an expert of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine, the issues of the probationary period and internship of people with disabilities need to be settled. "This issue is currently regulated by Part 3 of Art. 26 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, which states that a probationary period may be established for people with disabilities upon employment, with the exception of people with disabilities who were sent to work on the recommendation of the MSEK. In practice, this norm does not work, because MSEK does not give job referrals," said Olena Stepanenko. The Confederation of Employers of Ukraine made a proposal to exclude this norm from the Code.

In general, the legislation does not regulate the issue of internship, there is no such term in the Labour Code. "There is an internship, which is provided for registered unemployed people with disabilities, but the legislation does not provide an answer to the question of unemployed and unregistered people with disabilities. It is also important for the employer that the internship takes place at the workplace, under the supervision of the internship manager, and not at some external courses," said Olena Stepanenko.

The President of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine, Oleksiї Miroshnychenko, considers it expedient to revise the regulations on the employment of people with disabilities, depending on the amount of wages paid to them. "If such a person is employed and receives a salary that is higher than the conditional average, then perhaps it is necessary to reduce the requirement regarding the people with disabilities employment quota," said Oleksiї Miroshnychenko. This will avoid such a phenomenon as "fake work records".

In addition, it is necessary to align approaches to enterprises of different forms of ownership - this will increase the number of jobs for people with disabilities. "All responsibility for the employment of people with disabilities is borne by the private sector, and the public sector is exempted from the obligation to comply with employment regulations and the need to pay administrative and economic fines only because they are financed from the state budget. It is necessary that all forms of ownership are equal," stressed Oleksiї Miroshnychenko, president of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine.

Also, the president of the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine drew attention to the legal acts that appeared during the period of the Practical Guide drafting. "Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 553 of June 2, 2023, which does not completely improve the employment of people with disabilities. Government Resolution No. 70 of January 27, 2023 expands cooperation between the Social Protection Fund for People with Disabilities and the State Labor Service and complicates bureaucratic procedures. Bill 5344-d does not simplify the employment of people with disabilities. This document increases bureaucratic pressure on business, does not expand the list of employers who must participate in employment programs for people with disabilities. There are many comments on this draft law," said Oleksiї Miroshnychenko.

Viktoriya Nazarenko, general secretary of the National Assembly of People with Disabilities, named the liquidation of guarantees for people with disabilities among the flaws of the draft law 5344-d. "The draft law provides that additional guarantees for people with disabilities are determined by a labour or collective agreement, and not at the legislative level," she said.

Oleksiї Miroshnychenko drew attention to the employment prospects of people with mental disabilities. "Employing a person with intellectual disabilities is much more difficult. It would be necessary to count the employment of a person with mental disorders in multiples in the assessment of the implementation of the standard," noted Oleksiї Miroshnychenko.

Olena Kulchytska, adviser to the Minister of Social Policy, noted that it is necessary to consider the issue of creating psychological comfort and a favourable psychological climate in the team. "Even those veterans who will not have external signs - there will be no operations or defects of the musculoskeletal system - they can have the consequences of contusion, which are quite often manifested by various psychological reactions. This should be considered in a team that has not encountered such people before," she noted.

Tetyana Kryvko, the first deputy head of the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf, drew attention to unjustified restrictions on the professional activities of persons with disabilities. "People with hearing impairments are physically healthy and do not need any conditions except communication. According to the current legislation, the employer needs to take into account the recommendations of the MSEK review report, which prepares individual rehabilitation programs. These certificates do not reflect the real possibilities of a person with a disability and his state of health. Sometimes people with reduced hearing have problems. For example, in the MSEK reference, it is written that a person is totally deaf and is prohibited from working in noisy premises. Noise does not disturb a person, but it is already an obstacle to employment. The Ministry of Health has already announced the reform of MSEK. In certain cases, people with hearing impairments are prohibited from working as auto mechanics, but there are times when a person can perform a certain amount of work in his profession. I hope that such norms will be revised over time," said Tetyana Kryvko.