In Ukraine, labor relations between employee and employer are regulated by relevant legislation. There are times when an employee is fired. Specialists from the South-Eastern Interregional Department of the State Labor Service explained in what cases severance pay is paid to an employee.

[see_also ids\u003d"

Derzhpratsi noted that payment of severance pay is provided in the event of termination of an employment contract on the grounds provided for in Article 44 of the Labor Code, in particular:.

refusal of an employee to be transferred to work in another location together with an enterprise, institution, organization, as well as refusal to continue work due to a change in significant working conditions;

changes in the organization of production and labor, in particular, liquidation, reorganization, bankruptcy or re-profiling of an enterprise, institution, organization, reduction in the number or staff of employees;

identified inconsistency of the employee with the position held or the work performed due to insufficient qualifications or health conditions that prevent the continuation of this work, as well as in the event of refusal to grant access to state secrets or its cancellation, if the fulfillment of the duties assigned to him requires access to state secrets;

reinstatement of an employee who previously performed this work;

impossibility of providing an employee with work specified in an employment contract due to the destruction (lack of) production, organizational and technical conditions, means of production or property of the employer as a result of hostilities.

Experts emphasized that in these cases the employee is paid severance pay in the amount of at least the average monthly salary. The mentioned article also provides for the payment of severance pay:.

in case of conscription or enrollment in military service, assignment to alternative (non-military) service - in the amount of two minimum wages;

due to the employer’s violation of labor legislation, a collective or labor agreement, committing mobbing (harassment) against an employee or failure to take measures to terminate it - in the amount provided for by the collective agreement, but not less than three months’ average earnings;

in case of termination of powers of officials - in the amount of at least six months' average earnings.

On January 7, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft of a new Labor Code (LC), which is positioned as a step towards European integration. In fact, this document is dangerous for workers, since it grossly violates the principles of social dialogue, contradicts the ratified conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the directives of the European Union, and also weakens the protection of labor rights in wartime. Read more about this in the article by social policy expert Andrei Pavlovsky, “Overtime, reduction of vacations, uncontrolled layoffs.”. What threatens workers in the new Labor Code" U.A..