Ukrainian Railways did not pay an employee retirement assistance — court recovered over 404,000 UAH
The court in Vinnytsia region recognized the claims of a former employee of JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" (Ukrainian Railways) as justified, who after dismissal due to retirement did not receive payments provided by the collective agreement. The court ordered the company to pay over 404,000 UAH, including one-time material assistance upon retirement dismissal, health improvement assistance, a one-time cash reward, and average earnings for the delay in final settlement.
The Koziatyn City District Court of Vinnytsia region satisfied the claim of a former employee of JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" who, after dismissal due to retirement, did not receive several payments stipulated by the collective agreement, as well as compensation for the delay in the final settlement upon dismissal.
Case circumstances
The plaintiff worked at JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" until September 30, 2024. She resigned voluntarily due to retirement by age after more than 42 years of service in the industry.
The dismissal order provided for payment to her, after a separate decision by the company's management, of a one-time material assistance upon retirement dismissal, additional material assistance for conscientious work, as well as health improvement assistance for 2023 and 2024.
However, these payments were absent in the statement of accrued and paid amounts. In addition, the employee did not receive a one-time cash reward provided by the collective agreement on the occasion of reaching retirement and jubilee age. The total amount of unpaid funds, according to her calculation, was 237,669.86 UAH. She also requested recovery of average earnings for six months of delay in the final settlement — 167,094.20 UAH.
Ukrzaliznytsia's position
JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" opposed the claim. The company stated that the disputed payments are not part of the salary but belong to additional social guarantees established by the collective agreement. After the start of the full-scale war, the company's management decided to suspend a number of such payments due to significant financial losses caused by Russian aggression.
The defendant emphasized that the one-time material assistance upon retirement dismissal is paid according to special schedules after separate management decisions, and the health improvement assistance was also temporarily suspended. Furthermore, the company referred to force majeure circumstances confirmed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine and requested application of the three-month limitation period for filing a claim.
What the court established
The court noted that the Law of Ukraine "On the organization of labor relations under martial law" indeed provides for the employer's possibility to suspend certain provisions of the collective agreement. At the same time, the defendant did not provide evidence of amendments to the Sectoral Agreement, which provides the disputed guarantees for employees.
Moreover, in case 133/835/26, the court noted that the dismissal order explicitly provided for payment of the relevant amounts to the plaintiff, and the defendant did not refute the correctness of their calculation. As of the date of filing the claim, the employer had not made the full settlement with her upon dismissal.
The court reminded that according to Articles 116 and 117 of the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to pay the employee all due amounts on the day of dismissal. In case of violation of this obligation, the employee has the right to recover average earnings for the delay period of the final settlement.
The court also rejected the defendant's arguments regarding the expiration of the claim period, taking into account the legal position set out in the Constitutional Court's Decision dated December 11, 2025, No. 1-r/2025.
Court decision
The court fully satisfied the claim and ordered JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" to pay the former employee 200,340.70 UAH of one-time material assistance upon retirement dismissal, 3,057.16 UAH one-time cash reward, 16,104 UAH health improvement assistance for 2023, 18,168 UAH health improvement assistance for 2024, as well as 167,094.20 UAH average earnings for the delay in the final settlement upon dismissal. The total amount recovered is 404,764.06 UAH. In addition, 4,047.64 UAH court fee was recovered from the company in favor of the state.
The court decision has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed to the Vinnytsia Court of Appeal in the manner prescribed by law.
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