Salary is not paid due to hostilities: when the employer faces a fine

Employers may be exempt from liability for late payment of wages during martial law if they prove that the violation occurred due to hostilities or other force majeure circumstances. At the same time, the mere fact of war is not an automatic ground for avoiding fines.

As explained by the State Labor Service of Ukraine, according to part 3 of article 10 of the Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX "On the organization of labor relations under martial law conditions," the employer is exempt from liability for violating wage payment deadlines if they prove that they could not fulfill their obligations precisely because of hostilities or force majeure circumstances.

However, the employer is obliged to take all possible measures to ensure employees' right to timely receipt of wages. This is provided for in part 2 of article 10 of Law No. 2136-IX.

Such measures include organizing the accounting department’s work under war conditions, creating electronic backup copies of documents, storing data in cloud storage, transferring employees to remote work, and using electronic document management.

For violating wage payment deadlines or paying wages incompletely, company officials may be held administratively liable. According to part 1 of article 41 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUAO), such violations entail a fine ranging from 30 to 100 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.

In case of repeated violations within a year or if it concerns certain categories of employees, including minors, pregnant women, or single parents, the fine ranges from 100 to 300 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.

At the same time, liability arises only if the official is at fault. According to articles 9, 10, and 11 of the CUAO, an administrative offense is a guilty act or omission—intentional or negligent.

Thus, the chief accountant can be held liable only if their guilt is proven. The mere fact of wage payment delay due to the objective consequences of war is not sufficient grounds for punishment. However, it is impossible to avoid liability if the reason for non-payment was the actions or inaction of the employer or officials. In particular, this concerns the loss of accounting documents due to negligence, using funds to repay private debts instead of paying wages, or other abuses.

As previously written by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", delay in wage payment is a violation of Ukrainian labor law. An employee should not just wait for the employer to resolve financial difficulties, as wage payment deadlines are defined by law.

According to the Labor Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine "On Remuneration of Labor," the employer is obliged to pay wages regularly and at least twice a month. The first part of the salary—an advance—is paid for the first half of the month, and the second part—for the remaining worked period. In particular, payments must be made within established deadlines: the advance—from the 16th to the 22nd of the current month, and the final settlement—from the 1st to the 7th of the following month.