The Procedure for the reservation of employees for the enterprise

Please be informed that the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 03.03.2022 №194¹ approved the procedure for the reservation of employees for the enterprise (hereinafter referred to as the Procedure).

The new Procedure refers to the norms of the Law on Mobilization, which provide for general provisions on the reservation of employees, which means a deferment from the call-up for military personnel involved in the performance of mobilization tasks by their enterprise.

Previously, as far as we know, there was no publicly available reservation procedure, therefore, in practice, enterprises did not reserve the employees. In this regard, such Procedure was specially adopted, which is designed for use in martial law.

According to the Procedure, an enterprise that carries out or may be involved in the implementation of activities to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations or the population, may submit proposals for reservation of certain employees that are necessary for the implementation of such activities.

At the same time, according to the Procedure, the enterprise shall apply with its proposals for reservation to the state authority (without detailing which one).

As we understand, an enterprise should apply to a state authority whose competence includes the activities of the enterprise and for the performance of which the enterprise and its employees may be needed (for example, to the relevant ministry).

Further, according to the Procedure, the relevant state authority, to which the enterprise applied, should independently coordinate the lists of employees of the enterprise with the Ministry of Defense, and then send them for approval to the Ministry of Economy. The Ministry of Economy must make a decision on their approval within one working day.

However, given the circumstances of martial law, which are not conducive to excessive bureaucracy, we believe that, in fact, it makes sense for an enterprise that intends to use the reservation of its employees liable for military service to send a single appeal to the relevant ministry, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Economy.

The application of the enterprise shall consist of an approved form filled in according to the table, which is contained in the Procedure, with a list of employees, as well as a cover letter substantiating their need for the enterprise to carry out activities in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military needs.

The Procedure separately provides for a reservation mechanism for drivers liable for military service carrying out transportation for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations, medical cargo and humanitarian aid, as well as military personnel of railway transport enterprises ensuring the functioning and uninterrupted operation of the railway.

The decision to reserve such persons is made by the Ministry of Infrastructure or the regional, Kyiv city military administrations, which send their decisions to the State Border Service to register reserved persons when leaving Ukraine and entering Ukraine.