The Rada proposes to clarify the rules for dismissal due to conflict of interest

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has registered draft law No. 15162, which provides for clarification of the grounds for termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer in cases of conflict of interest.

The document is aimed at eliminating the ambiguous application of the norms of the Labor Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption”. Currently, the legislation allows dismissal in the event of a real or potential conflict of interest, if it is permanent and cannot be resolved in another way.

At the same time, the draft law proposes to directly stipulate: dismissal is not allowed if at the time of its implementation the conflict of interest is no longer present. Thus, the legislator seeks to make it impossible to take a formal approach to the application of this ground.

The initiative takes into account the practice of the Supreme Court, which has repeatedly emphasized that dismissal due to a conflict of interest is a last resort. In particular, in its resolution of October 15, 2025, the court concluded: such a ground can be applied only in the presence of a permanent conflict that cannot be resolved in other ways.

In the relevant case, the court found that at the time of dismissal there was in fact no conflict of interest, and therefore the employer had no legal grounds to terminate the employment relationship.

The proposed changes are expected to increase the level of legal certainty, protect employees from unjustified dismissals, and unify law enforcement practice in the field of employment relations.