They want to extend the e-Nursery assistance to sole proprietors and the self-employed: what the draft law proposes

In Ukraine, it is proposed to expand the circle of recipients of state assistance for childcare “e-Nursery”. Payments will be available to individual entrepreneurs and people who conduct independent professional activities. The profile committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the relevant bill No. 15265-1 as a basis.

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Youth and Sports considered two bills on the expansion of the “e-Nursery” program — No. 15265 and an alternative No. 15265-1.

Both documents propose to grant the right to assistance to the mother or other legal representative of the child who are individual entrepreneurs or conduct independent professional activities.

Currently, the right to such assistance is linked to going to work full-time, which actually limits the possibility of receiving payments by self-employed persons.

What conditions are proposed for individual entrepreneurs

The main difference between the two bills is the conditions for confirming the right to payment.

Bill No. 15265 proposes to provide assistance without additional confirmation of actual activity.

Instead, alternative No. 15265-1 provides that an individual entrepreneur or self-employed person will be able to apply for e-Nursery provided that they have paid a single social contribution for the last reporting period.

This option was supported by the parliamentary committee, recommending that the Verkhovna Rada adopt Bill No. 15265-1 as a basis, and reject No. 15265.

The program may require additional billions

The Ministry of Finance drew attention to the fact that expanding the program will require significant additional expenditures from the state budget.

According to the Ministry of Finance, this is at least UAH 6 billion in 2026 and more than UAH 12 billion in subsequent budget periods.

At the same time, the draft laws did not include a proper financial and economic justification for the sources of covering these costs.

The Pension Fund and the Ministry of Justice also expressed their comments on the initiatives.

The draft law still needs to be finalized

The parliamentary committee believes that the requirement to pay the social security contribution could become a mechanism for confirming the status of a self-employed person. At the same time, the provisions of the draft law are planned to be finalized before the second reading, taking into account the comments of state bodies.

Important: the changes have not yet entered into force. The committee only recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt draft law No. 15265-1 as a basis. To implement the new rules, the document must undergo further parliamentary procedure.