From Which Day Is the Three-Month Period for Filing a Lawsuit in Disputes Regarding Payments After Dismissal from Service Calculated – Supreme Court's Answer

In a dispute concerning the payment of all amounts due to an individual upon dismissal, the three-month period for filing a lawsuit, as defined in part 2 of Article 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, commences from the date the employee receives written notification of the amounts accrued and paid upon dismissal. The absence of complete information in such a document regarding the calculation mechanism of certain components of monetary compensation does not imply that the period is unlimited or that it only begins after receiving a response to a lawyer's inquiry or another information request. The individual must act in good faith and actively exercise their right to judicial protection, and the time required to obtain additional information is included within the overall three-month period for filing a lawsuit.

This conclusion was reached by the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court.

The plaintiff, who was dismissed from the civil protection service, filed a lawsuit seeking to have the emergency rescue unit of the State Emergency Service's inaction, concerning the non-accrual and non-payment of monetary compensation in the proper amount, recognised as unlawful. The plaintiff also sought recalculation of this compensation for the period from 1 January 2020 to 19 May 2023. The plaintiff stated that they only became aware of the application of an incorrect calculation mechanism for monetary compensation after receiving a response to a lawyer's inquiry and, therefore, believed that the three-month period for filing a lawsuit should be calculated from that moment.

The court of first instance dismissed part of the claim for the period from 19 July 2022 to 19 May 2023, due to the plaintiff missing the deadline for filing a lawsuit. The appellate court concurred with this conclusion.

The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal and upheld the decisions of the lower courts.

The Supreme Court noted that, according to part 2 of Article 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, in cases concerning the payment of all amounts due to an employee upon dismissal, a claim may be filed within three months from the date of receiving written notification of the amounts accrued and paid upon dismissal.

The court drew attention to the ruling of the chamber of the Administrative Cassation Court dated 21 March 2025, in case No. 460/21394/23, which established a unified approach to applying part 2 of Article 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine. According to this legal position, the commencement of the period for filing a lawsuit is linked to the moment the individual received reliable and documented information about the volume and nature of the amounts paid.

At the same time, the Supreme Court emphasised that this legal position cannot be interpreted broadly. If, after receiving written notification of the calculation, an individual believes that additional information is necessary to assess the correctness of the accruals, they must take timely measures to obtain it. Previous judicial practice does not grant an individual the right to refrain from any actions for an unlimited period and then, after sending an information request, effectively start a new three-month period for filing a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court thoroughly analysed the legal nature of the monetary certificate, referring to the Instruction approved by the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine dated 20 July 2018, No. 623. It noted that this document serves as a written notification of the amounts accrued and paid to the individual upon dismissal, within the meaning of part 2 of Article 233 of the Labour Code of Ukraine. However, the regulatory framework does not require the monetary certificate to include a detailed calculation of all components of monetary compensation or information about the applied calculation mechanism.

Developing its own practice, the Supreme Court formulated an important conclusion: the three-month period for filing a lawsuit covers the period from the day of receiving the monetary certificate to the performance by the individual of legally significant actions aimed at obtaining the necessary information, such as submitting a request and receiving a response to it. In other words, in part 2 of Article 233 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, the legislator defined a three-month period during which the dismissed individual has the right to take measures to obtain the necessary information related to remuneration and, if necessary, apply to the court.

In this case, the courts established that the plaintiff received the monetary certificate on 4 March 2025, but submitted a request for additional information only after more than five months, without providing any objective reasons for such a long delay. Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court agreed with the conclusions of the lower courts regarding the missed deadline for filing a lawsuit and the absence of valid reasons for its restoration.

The ruling of the Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated 25 June 2026, in case No. 520/25416/25 (proceeding No. K/990/2712/26) can be found at this link.

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