The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Integration into the EU is preparing to consider a number of draft laws that provide for the return of the right to employees to apply to the court for the recovery of wages without a time limit. These are initiatives No. 13664, No. 13664-1 and No. 13664-d, which propose to amend Article 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine.
The authors of the draft laws actually question the current three-month limitation introduced in 2022 and propose to restore the approach under which the right to receive earned funds cannot be limited by time limits. The new changes also expand the very concept of payments: we are talking not only about wages, but also about bonuses, allowances, compensations and other guarantees provided for by labor and collective agreements.
At the same time, experts draw attention to the need to harmonize such changes with civil legislation. In particular, the Main Scientific and Expert Department of the Parliament believes that it is more appropriate to apply general rules of limitation of actions in order to ensure the unity of legal regulation and avoid conflicts.
Historically, Ukraine has already had an indefinite mechanism for protecting the right to remuneration, which was supported by both the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. However, after the changes in 2022, the situation has become more complicated: different judicial practice has emerged depending on when the debt arose. Currently, the issue of the constitutionality of the three-month period is under consideration by the Constitutional Court, which adds special importance to the topic.
It is expected that the decision of the parliamentary committee will become an important signal regarding the further balance between employee rights and legal certainty in labor disputes.
