Delay in Settlement upon Dismissal Cost the Employer over 137 Thousand UAH — Court Decision
The Khmelnytskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region has heard a lawsuit filed by a former employee against their employer. The case concerned the recovery of average earnings for the period of delay in the final settlement following dismissal, as reported by the court.
Essence of the Case
The plaintiff initiated legal action against the employer to reclaim average earnings due to a delay in the final settlement upon dismissal. This action stemmed from the defendant's failure to comply with previous court decisions regarding the recovery of average earnings, specifically an unpaid wage arrears of UAH 12,000. Consequently, the defendant incurred an obligation to pay average earnings for the entire period of delay following dismissal, from 27 April 2021 to the present, which were not covered by earlier rulings.
The court established that the plaintiff was employed as a workshop foreman and, on the day of dismissal, had not received wages amounting to UAH 12,000 for the period from 15 August 2013 to 2 June 2014.
According to a court decision that has since entered into legal force, the employer was ordered to pay the plaintiff UAH 12,000 in wages and UAH 72,041.84 in average earnings for the delay in final settlement upon dismissal.
As the defendant failed to comply with the aforementioned court decision, the plaintiff filed a further lawsuit to recover average earnings for the delay in settlement upon dismissal. Subsequent court decisions, which have entered into legal force, awarded the plaintiff average earnings for the delay in settlement upon dismissal for the period from 1 March 2017 to 17 July 2019, amounting to UAH 61,794.96, and for the period from 18 July 2019 to 26 April 2021, amounting to UAH 46,633.76.
Court Decision
Liability for delays in settlement upon dismissal is stipulated by Article 117 of the Labour Code of Ukraine.
An employer's obligation to pay average earnings for delays in settlement upon dismissal arises if the amounts due to the dismissed employee are not paid on time due to the employer's fault, as defined by Article 116 of the Labour Code of Ukraine.
When filing the lawsuit, the plaintiff contended that, since the wages were not fully paid on the day of dismissal and up to the day of filing this lawsuit, the defendant is obliged to pay average earnings for the delay in settlement for the period from 27 April 2021 to 20 May 2026, totalling UAH 137,078.16.
Given that the calculation provided by the plaintiff was not disputed by the defendant, and no alternative calculation or evidence of absence of debt was presented, the court accepted this. Consequently, the court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff average earnings for the delay in settlement for the period from 27 April 2021 to 20 May 2026, amounting to UAH 137,078.16, along with UAH 5,000.00 for legal assistance costs and UAH 1,096.63 for court fees.
An appeal may be filed against this court decision. The decision in case 686/16341/26 can be accessed in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
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