On the need for codification of labour legislation of Ukraine

The article examines the need to codify labour legislation - adoption of a new labour code that will regulate labour relations in accordance with the standards of international law and the acquis of the European Union, as well as taking into account the introduction of martial law in Ukraine and the need to attract foreign workers to rebuild Ukraine after the end of the war. When preparing the draft code, it should be borne in mind that Ukraine, as a candidate for accession to the European Union, should harmonise its labour legislation with EU norms, but at the same time retain those provisions of national legislation that are well applied in practice and do not give rise to labour disputes when rights provided therein are exercised. The need to codify the legal acts regulating labour relations is due to a number of factors. First, the current Labour Code, as well as certain legislative acts adopted before Ukraine’s independence, cannot fully regulate labour relations, as they are aimed at a planned rather than a market economy, at regulating relations between state-owned enterprises, without taking into account relations between employees and employers of enterprises of other forms of ownership and private entrepreneurs who use hired labour. Secondly, the labour legislation adopted before 1991 was focused on the interests of production without taking into account the interests of employees, while the legislation of independent Ukraine should comply with the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, where a person, his or her life, health and safety are the highest social value. Thirdly, the current legislation of Ukraine contains a large number of bylaws adopted at different times, which often contradict not only each other but also legislative acts. Fourth, international treaties and agreements to which Ukraine is a party are part of Ukrainian labour legislation, and if they contain rules different from those contained in national legislation, international treaties and agreements apply. Fifth, many articles of the Labour Code have been interpreted by decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine due to their ambiguity. The author supports the views of scholars that the main direction of codification of labour legislation should be liberalisation of legal regulation of labour relations and transition to contractual regulation at all levels. Throughout the publication, the author argues that the relations between the parties to an employment contract should be based on the principles of social partnership, and the interests of employers cannot prevail over the interests of employees. It is noted that the lack of experience in regulating labour relations during martial law and the reconstruction of the State in the post-war period with the involvement of a large number of foreign specialists requires improvement of the legal provisions adopted during the war and further detailed research by scholars of this issue.