Guarantees of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities as a Component of Official Legal Status

The article explores and characterises the legislative guarantees of social protection for persons with disabilities among military personnel and individuals discharged from military service. It analyses national labour and social legislation regarding special pension programmes, employ­ment, social payments/assistance, and social services available in our country for persons with disabilities. The content of specific guarantees for military personnel and those equated to them, as determined by their service status, is highlighted, as emphasised by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in its decisions. It is noted that such guarantees for individuals serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations apply not only during their service period but also after discharge. Based on the analysed normative acts, it is concluded that the issue of guaranteeing social protection for persons with disabilities, as a component of their special service status, can only be considered with the presence of proper legal confirmation of the impact of service-military activities on the person’s health. It is established that if a former military service member is recognised as a person with a disability due to a disease that arose after discharge from military or equivalent service, the causal link between such a disease and their past service activities must be established. It is emphasised that the legislator also defines additional special conditions for the onset of disability as a component of the grounds for receiving certain types of social protection. One of the conditions is the determination of the time frame for establishing disability after discharge from military service. It is emphasised that the use of time criteria as legal conditions for acquiring the right to social protection violates the constitutional principles of equality in the right to social protection and justice in society. Based on the analysis of the mechanism for providing employment-related social services to persons with disabilities discharged from military and equivalent service, it is concluded that this mechanism is imperfect and not adapted to the current realities in the country. The need to develop a social services system in Ukraine is stressed, one that, on the one hand, ensures effective socialisation and professional orientation for those discharged from military service due to disability, and on the other hand, takes into account the specific conditions under which the disability was acquired. A drawback in this system is highlighted - the lack of a mechanism to involve employers in the process of socialisation and professional adaptation of the individual. It is noted that merely legislating the obligation to create jobs for persons with disabilities is an insufficient measure for facilitating the professional and social rehabilitation of individuals. Proposed are appropriate amendments to the legislation on the social protection of persons with disabilities.