Ukrainian courts massively cancel fines imposed on businesses for refusing to hire people with disabilities

Since the beginning of the Great War, employers have appealed sanctions worth over UAH 286 million

In Ukraine, courts are increasingly siding with employers in disputes over non-fulfillment of the employment standard for people with disabilities. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, companies have already managed to cancel fines and penalties worth over UAH 286 million.

This is evidenced by data from Opendatabot analysts.

At the same time, in some cases, the courts still supported the Social Protection Fund for Persons with Disabilities and ordered companies to pay over UAH 109.5 million in sanctions.

Almost half of the Fund’s lawsuits are inconclusive
Court statistics have actually split in half

Since the beginning of 2022, Ukrainian courts have issued 1,992 decisions in cases regarding non-fulfillment of the employment standard for people with disabilities.

Of these:

in 995 cases, the courts supported the Social Protection Fund for Persons with Disabilities;
in 997 cases, the claims were dismissed.

Thus, employers managed to win almost half of all such disputes.

Why the courts side with business
Employers prove that they created vacancies and looked for employees

The main reason for the refusal to collect fines was that the companies provided evidence of fulfilling their obligations.

These included:

creating jobs for people with disabilities;

submitting information about vacancies;

contacting employment centers;

taking measures to find candidates.

In almost a third of cases, the courts also established that people with disabilities were already working at the enterprises.

Another part of the claims was dismissed due to lack of proof of violations or the employer’s lack of obligation to comply with the relevant standard.

Most cases — in Kharkiv region
The region accounts for more than a quarter of all court decisions

The courts considered the largest number of disputes regarding sanctions for the employment of people with disabilities in Kharkiv region — 560 decisions, or more than 28% of all cases.

The top five regions with the largest number of disputes also included:

Cherkasy region — 145 decisions;

Kyiv region — 144;

Chernihiv region — 140;

Dnipropetrovsk region — 137.

The peak of such lawsuits fell on 2023 — then the courts issued 733 decisions.

Ukraerorukh received the largest fine
The enterprise was ordered to pay more than 5 million UAH

The courts collected the largest amount of sanctions from the state-owned enterprise Ukraerorukh.

In September 2022, the Kyiv District Administrative Court ruled to recover UAH 5.49 million in fines and penalties from the company for violating the legislation on the employment of people with disabilities.

The appellate court left this decision unchanged.

Energoatom won the case for over UAH 213 million
The court did not see evidence of a violation of the standard

Energoatom managed to appeal the largest amount of sanctions.

In June 2025, the Donetsk District Administrative Court refused to recover more than UAH 213 million from the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities.

The court concluded that the company created jobs, reported on vacancies and took the necessary measures to employ people with disabilities, and the Fund itself did not provide sufficient evidence of violations.

New rules in effect in Ukraine since 2026
Fines replaced with a special contribution

Despite numerous lawsuits, in 2025 alone, more than 8,000 employers were assessed UAH 2.76 billion in sanctions for failure to comply with the standard.

However, from January 1, 2026, a new liability mechanism came into effect in Ukraine.

Now, instead of administrative and economic fines, employers pay a contribution to support the employment of persons with disabilities.

At the same time, cases regarding violations for 2025 are still considered by the courts under the old rules.

What standards apply to employers
The law establishes a mandatory employment quota

According to the Law of Ukraine “On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine”, employers with a number of employees from 8 to 25 people must employ at least one person with a disability.

For enterprises employing more than 25 people, the standard is at least 4% of the average number of employees.

In addition, since 2026, the standard has been calculated quarterly, rather than by year.

For healthcare institutions, rehabilitation centers, and organizations engaged in training or caring for people with disabilities, a separate standard of 2% has been established.