Law Without Guarantees: Why the Idea of a 20-Minute Relaxation Break at Work May Not Work in Ukraine Under Real Conditions

In Ukraine, it is proposed to legally introduce a new type of break for employees — a break for psychological relief. As reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", bill No. 15281 provides for amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine and aims to respond to the increase in psycho-emotional exhaustion of employees, professional burnout, and prolonged stress, which have especially intensified under wartime conditions.

Why the need for amendments arose

Currently, the existing labor legislation does not take into account the issue of employees' mental health. The Labor Code of Ukraine contains provisions on breaks for rest and meals, as well as special breaks for certain categories of employees, but there is no separate mechanism for short-term psychological recovery during the working day.

The problem lies in the fact that due to the full-scale war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, military actions, air raid alerts, losses, instability, and constant psycho-emotional tension significantly affect employees in almost all sectors. Constant nervous and mental strain, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, and stress negatively impact not only people's health but also work efficiency. Among the consequences are decreased labor productivity, increased number of errors, professional conflicts, temporary incapacity for work, and deterioration of labor discipline.

What changes are proposed

The bill proposes to supplement the Labor Code of Ukraine with a new Article 66-1, which will provide the possibility for employees to take a psychological relief break lasting up to 20 minutes during the working day. Such a break will be granted at the employee's request and with the employer's consent and will be included in working hours.

It is envisaged that during such a break, employees will be able to use various methods of psychological recovery, including meditation, breathing exercises, physical activity, or other activities aimed at relaxation and restoration of strength.

The bill also does not require employers to incur additional costs for arranging special premises or purchasing equipment. It only gives them the opportunity to participate in such activities. The procedure for their implementation is proposed to be determined by a collective agreement or an arrangement between the parties.

At the same time, some employers in Ukraine are already implementing elements of psychological support for employees — setting up relaxation rooms, rest zones, using meditation practices, board games, billiards, table tennis, or involving psychologists to work with staff. These measures aim to reduce stress, anxiety, and professional burnout. However, the explanatory note to the bill states that such practices have not yet become widespread, and most employees remain effectively unprotected against constant psycho-emotional stress.

The implementation of the bill may create problems

However, the proposed mechanism already raises questions about its practical effectiveness. The bill provides the employee with the right to a "psychological relief break," but in fact makes its provision dependent on the employer's consent. This means that in the future, a situation may arise where the right formally exists, but employees will not be able to actually use it due to refusal by management or production necessity.

Moreover, the document contains no criteria or guarantees regarding the procedure for agreeing on such a break. It is not defined in which cases the employer may refuse, whether such refusal must be justified, or whether there will be mechanisms to protect the employee from abuse.

In particular, the issue concerns the scope of application of the innovation. The bill does not differentiate for which categories of employers or employees these norms will apply — civil service, critical infrastructure, manufacturing enterprises, private sector, or service sector. The absence of such differentiation may create difficulties in the practical implementation of the norm, since the specifics of office work differ significantly from continuous production, medicine, transport, or energy sectors.

The authors of the bill believe that short-term psychological relief will contribute to increased labor productivity and reduced professional burnout. At the same time, the bill does not contain forecasts regarding the possible impact of the innovation on the organization of the work process, labor productivity, or employers' costs.

In the future, this may create a problem for the implementation of the bill, where the right granted by law exists, but it will be impossible to exercise it.

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