Changes to staff booking: new requirements regarding salaries and quotas
This was announced by the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a decision to update the system for reserving employees subject to military service.
The changes apply to enterprises, institutions and organisations deemed critical to the economy and the state under martial law.
The Ministry of Economy explains that the aim of the decision is to make the reservation system more transparent, fairer and better protected against abuse.
The aim is to ensure that the reservation applies to enterprises and employees who genuinely meet the critical needs of the economy, defence, security and the livelihoods of the population.
New salary threshold
One of the key decisions concerns raising the requirements for average wages.
To confirm the status of a critical enterprise and reserve an employee, the salary level must be at least three times the minimum wage.
In 2026, this amounts to 25,941 UAH.
A more flexible approach is maintained for enterprises operating in frontline territories.
For them, the requirement remains at 2.5 times the minimum wage – 21,618 UAH.
This refers to the territories specified in the order of the Ministry of Development.
How employees will be counted towards the quota
The government has also clarified the rules for counting employees towards the reservation quota.
Employees who already have a deferment from conscription in accordance with Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation”, as well as employees with secondary employment, will be counted towards the quota at only one place of work.
For example, if a person works at one company and has a second job at another, they will be counted only once for the reservation quota.
This means that holding a second job will not create an artificial additional place in the reservation quota for another employer.
The Ministry of Economy notes that this rule is intended to prevent an artificial increase in the number of employees that an enterprise can reserve.
Revision of criticality criteria
A separate set of changes concerns the criteria for determining the criticality of enterprises.
Ministries, central executive bodies and regional military administrations must re-approve their own criticality criteria within one month.
Such re-approval must take place in consultation with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Economy.
These are the criteria used to determine whether an enterprise is truly vital to the functioning of the economy, defence capability, security or the provision of basic needs for the population.
In particular, they may take into account the enterprise’s role in fulfilling state tasks, providing critical services, manufacturing essential products, maintaining infrastructure, supporting employment and ensuring the stable functioning of communities.
What will happen to enterprises already designated as critical
Within three months of the amendments coming into force, the status of all enterprises already designated as critical by the relevant authorities must be reviewed.
The Ministry of Economy explains that this will allow the system to be updated and ensure that the critical status is retained for those companies, institutions and organisations on which the economy, defence capability and the functioning of communities genuinely depend.
At the same time, the current critical status of enterprises will be maintained during the transitional period.
The current exemption for employees liable for military service at these enterprises will also remain in place.
In other words, businesses will have time to confirm their critical status according to the updated criteria.
Position of the Ministry of Economy
Oleksiy Sobolev, Ukraine’s Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, stated that the reservation system remains an important tool for supporting critical businesses.
According to him, the system must be transparent, fair and protected from manipulation.
Sobolev noted that the adopted changes should maintain a balance between defence needs and the stable operation of enterprises, without which the economy cannot function in wartime conditions.
The Ministry of Economy also reported that the decisions were developed following consultations with the business community and meetings with representatives of enterprises for whom reservations are a key condition for stable operations.
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