Reinstated to a different position in another village and dismissed again: the appellate court sided with the employee

Reinstating an employee to a non-equivalent position in another locality without her consent does not constitute proper execution of the court’s decision on reinstatement at work. This conclusion was reached by the Khmelnytskyi Appellate Court, which upheld the first instance court’s decision recognizing as illegal and annulling the employer’s order and directives.

How the dispute arose

According to the case materials, in June last year the Khmelnytskyi Appellate Court recognized as illegal and annulled the order of the head of the Staroushytska village council of Kamianets-Podilskyi district regarding the dismissal of the head of the folk folklore-ethnographic ensemble by mutual agreement, reinstated her to this position, and awarded her average earnings for the period of forced absence, 5,000 hryvnias in moral damages, and court costs.

To implement this decision, the village head issued an order to reinstate the employee as head of the folk folklore-ethnographic collective on a half-time basis. However, due to the absence of this position, she was given another one – head of the branch of the Staroushytskyi Central House of Culture on a half-time basis starting June 10, 2025.

Why the employee was dismissed a second time

On June 16, the director of the institution asked the employee to explain her absence from work from June 10 to 15. In response, she stated in writing that she had not been acquainted with the order of reinstatement at work and therefore did not know she was supposed to start performing her duties from June 10. After that, she was dismissed for absenteeism without valid reasons.

Considering the transfer to another job in a different locality without her consent and the subsequent dismissal illegal, the woman appealed to the court. She requested to recognize as illegal and annul the village head’s order and the director of the House of Culture’s orders regarding her reinstatement and dismissal.

Position of the village council

The Kamianets-Podilskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region satisfied her claim.

In the appeal, the village council asked to cancel this decision and deny the claim. It stated that the position of head of the folk folklore-ethnographic collective was eliminated after the collective lost the title of folk folklore ensemble, so reinstating the plaintiff to this position was impossible. Instead, she was appointed, according to the appellant, to an equivalent position. However, the employee refused to familiarize herself with the reinstatement order. The village council considered her dismissal for absence from work from June 10 to 25 lawful.

Conclusions of the appellate court

The Khmelnytskyi Appellate Court agreed with the conclusions of the first instance court: the defendant did not fulfill the court’s decision to reinstate the plaintiff at work, since the position of head of the folk folklore-ethnographic collective is not equivalent to the position of head of the branch of the central house of culture in terms of educational specialty, job duties, and tasks.

Moreover, the appellate court noted that according to Article 32 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, transferring an employee to another locality is allowed only with their consent, except in cases provided by law.

"Since the Staroushytska village council did not take all necessary and possible actions to properly and effectively execute the court’s decision on the plaintiff’s reinstatement at work, in fact reinstated her to a position that is not equivalent, in another locality, the defendants did not timely acquaint her with the order and directive on reinstatement at work and recognized her absence as absenteeism, the first instance court reasonably concluded to annul the contested order and directives," the appellate court stated in case No. 676/5478/25, dismissing the village council’s appeal.

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