20 minutes for psychological recovery at work – what employees will be allowed and what employers are offered
A new social-labor guarantee for employees may appear in Ukraine — the right to a short break for psychological relief. This is reported by the Labor and Employment Inspection of the Dnipro City Council.
As previously reported, bill No. 15281 was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, proposing to supplement the Labor Code of Ukraine with a new article 66-1 titled "Break for psychological relief."
What the bill provides
The document proposes to give employees the opportunity to request from the employer an additional break of up to 20 minutes during the working day for psychological recovery.
It is envisaged that such a break:
- will be granted with the employer's consent;
- will be included in working hours;
- will not affect the amount of salary;
- will be used for restoring the employee's psycho-emotional state.
How the break is proposed to be used
Among the possible ways to use this time, the authors of the initiative mention:
- meditation;
- breathing exercises;
- light physical activity;
- other methods of relaxation and stress reduction.
This is about the actual recognition of the employee's psychological state as an important factor in labor productivity.
What will change for employers
The bill does not oblige employers to create special rest rooms or purchase equipment. At the same time, they may be granted the right to arrange appropriate places and inventory for the psychological relief of employees.
The procedure for organizing such conditions is proposed to be determined by:
- a collective agreement;
- or an agreement between the parties if there is no collective agreement.
Why this issue is raised now
It is noted that the full-scale war has significantly affected the psycho-emotional state of the population. Constant stress, air raid alerts, losses, and uncertainty have become part of everyday life for many employees.
Against this background, employers increasingly face staff burnout, decreased productivity, and a growing number of sick leaves due to stress disorders. In this regard, the issue of mental health is gradually moving into the sphere of labor legislation.
What this will mean in practice
If the law is adopted, for the first time in Ukraine a separate break will be established, intended not for rest or meals, but specifically for the psychological recovery of the employee.
At the same time, the final mechanism for applying the norm will depend on the refinement of the bill and the completion of all parliamentary procedures. Currently, this is a legislative initiative that only forms a possible new model of labor relations with an emphasis on employees' mental health.
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