Four-day work week in Ukraine: petition fails to gain necessary votes

A petition to the Cabinet of Ministers proposing to introduce a 4-day work week in Ukraine without reducing wages did not receive the required 25 thousand votes.

The initiative was registered on July 3, 2026. During the time allotted for collecting signatures, it was supported by about 22.3 thousand citizens.

What was proposed to be changed

The author of the petition called on the government to initiate amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine and introduce a 32-hour work week instead of the traditional 40-hour one.

At the same time, the wages of employees were to remain at the previous level.

According to the author of the initiative, reducing the working week could contribute to increasing labor productivity, improving the physical and psychological condition of employees, as well as bringing the Ukrainian labor market closer to modern European practices.

They wanted to start with a pilot project

The petition proposed not to transfer the entire country to the new schedule at the same time, but to first conduct a state pilot project.

To do this, the government had to determine the list of industries, budget institutions and private enterprises for which a 4-day work week would become mandatory within the framework of the experiment.

In case of successful results, it was proposed to further extend this format to the entire country.

What will happen to the petition

For the mandatory consideration of the electronic petition by the Cabinet of Ministers, it had to collect at least 25 thousand signatures.

Since the initiative was supported by about 22.3 thousand citizens, it did not reach the required threshold.

Thus, Ukraine’s transition to a 4-day work week is not currently a decision or a planned reform. The initiative was only a proposal set out in an electronic petition, which did not receive enough votes for mandatory consideration by the government.