As of 11 December 2022, the amendments to the Labour Code of Ukraine on prevention and prohibition of mobbing (bullying) at workplaces enter into force.
“Mobbing” is defined as systematic (repeated) long-term deliberate actions or inaction of the employer, individual employees or a group of employees, aimed at humiliating and undermining the dignity of the employee or his business reputation, including actions that aimed at changing or terminating his or her labour rights and obligations, which manifest themselves in the form of psychological and/or economic pressure, in particular with the use of electronic communications, the creation of a tense, hostile, offensive atmosphere in relation to the employee, including forcing him or her to doubt his/her professional suitability.
The adopted amendments prohibit mobbing and make it unlawful in Ukraine.
Examples of mobbing include:
- unjustified negative separation of the employee from the team or his/her isolation (e.g. failures to invite him or her to meetings), preventing the employee from entering the workplace, transferring his or her workplace into locations unsuitable for this type of work;
- inequality of opportunities for training and career growth;
- unequal pay for work of equal value performed by workers of the same qualifications;
- groundless deprivation of an employee in relation to payments (bonuses, bonuses and other rewards);
- unjustified uneven distribution by the employer of workload and tasks among employees with the same qualifications, productivity and same duties.
The amendments also clarify that if an employer requests from an employee an adequate performance of their duties or lawfully requires them to change their workplace location or changes their salary according to a procedure set out in the legislation, then these actions are not considered as mobbing.
Law: Amendments to the Laws of Ukraine Aimed at Prevention and Prohibition of Mobbing at Workplaces, No. 2759-IX dated 16 November 2022
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