Ukrainians will have their insurance record credited even without the employer paying the unified social contribution
The Verkhovna Rada has registered draft law No. 15319 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Protection of Workers' Rights to Credit Periods of Work to the Insurance Record for Which the Unified Social Contribution Was Not Paid Due to the Employer's Fault." The document aims to strengthen the protection of workers' rights in cases where employers do not pay the unified social contribution (USC).
As stated in the explanatory note, a situation has developed in Ukraine where thousands of citizens lose years of insurance record due to employers' dishonesty or enterprise bankruptcy. Even if the employee fulfilled their labor duties and the necessary payments were withheld from their salary, the employer's failure to pay the USC leads to those periods not being counted towards the insurance record when assigning a pension.
The authors of the draft law emphasize that according to Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance," the obligation to pay insurance contributions lies with the employer. They also draw attention to the practice of the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly stated that the employee should not bear responsibility for the employer's improper fulfillment of their duties. At the same time, Pension Fund authorities often refuse to credit such periods due to the absence of a direct legal norm.
What changes does the draft law propose
The document provides for amendments to two laws.
The first set of changes concerns Article 24 of the Law of Ukraine "On Compulsory State Pension Insurance." It is proposed to establish that periods of work for which the employer accrued but did not pay the USC shall be fully credited to the insurance record.
The basis for such crediting should be information from the Register of Insured Persons confirming the fact of the person's employment relationship. At the same time, the obligation to repay the debt will remain solely with the employer.
Strengthening the collection of USC debts
The second set of changes concerns Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Collection and Accounting of the Unified Contribution to Compulsory State Social Insurance."
The draft law proposes to introduce an obligation for the Pension Fund of Ukraine to take priority measures for the forced collection of USC debts if their existence violates workers' rights to receive social services or affects their insurance record.
What will change for employees
If the draft law is adopted, employees will not lose their insurance record due to the employer's non-payment of the USC. Work periods will be taken into account when assigning a pension, provided there is confirmation of employment in the Register of Insured Persons.
At the same time, responsibility for repaying debts to the state will remain with employers, and the Pension Fund will be obliged to more actively collect such debts in cases where they affect workers' social rights.
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