The State Employment Service offers you the following programmes to support and develop your business:

1. A programme to provide employers with compensation for the employment of registered unemployed persons (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 124 of 10 February 2023), which includes:

1.1. Compensation for the employer’s actual costs in the amount of the single contribution to compulsory state social insurance.  

The programme applies to employers who, upon referral from an employment centre, employ persons who have been registered as unemployed for more than one month and fall into the following categories:

§ a parent or a person acting in their stead who:

v has a dependent child (children) under the age of six;

v is raising a child under the age of 14 or a child with a disability without a spouse;

v supports, without a spouse, a person with a disability from childhood (regardless of age) and/or a person with a Group I disability (regardless of the cause of the disability);

§ orphans and children deprived of parental care;

§ persons released after serving a sentence or undergoing compulsory treatment;

§ persons who have 10 years or less remaining until they become eligible for an old-age pension in accordance with
Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Compulsory State Pension Insurance’;

§ persons who have reached the age of 15 and who, with the consent of one of their parents or a person acting in their stead, may, as an exception, be employed;

§ persons in respect of whom, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On the Social and Legal Protection of Persons Deprived of Their Personal Liberty as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine, and Members of Their Families”, the fact of deprivation of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine has been established, following their release;

§ long-term unemployed persons, i.e. those who have been registered as unemployed for more than 6 months.

Employment period: not less than two years. The total duration of compensation payments to the employer is 12 months over a two-year period.

Amount of compensation: the sum of the single contribution actually paid, but not exceeding twice the amount of the minimum single contribution.  

1.2. Provision of compensation amounting to 50% of actual labour costs, but not exceeding the minimum wage.

The programme applies to employers who, upon referral from the employment centre, employ citizens who have been registered as unemployed for more than one month, from among:

– persons with disabilities who have not reached the retirement age established by Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Compulsory State Pension Insurance’;

– combatants referred to in paragraphs 19–21 of Part One of Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’;

– persons who have no more than five years remaining before becoming eligible for an old-age pension.

Duration of employment: at least one year.

The total duration of compensation payments is 6 months within a year.

The amount of compensation is 50% of actual labour costs, but may not exceed the minimum wage established by law at the time of payment.

1.3. Provision of compensation amounting to 50% of the minimum wage.

The programme applies to employers who, on the recommendation of the employment centre, employ citizens who have been registered as unemployed for more than one month, from among:

– young people under 25 years of age, whose insurance record is less than 12 months;

– young people under 35 years of age who are taking up their first job;

– citizens who have been discharged from compulsory military (or alternative) service (regardless of age) and are taking up their first job.

The total duration of payments is 6 months within a year.

The amount of compensation is 50% of the minimum wage established by law at the time of payment.

2. Programme to provide employers with compensation for the wages of registered unemployed persons from among internally displaced persons who have been employed (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 696 of 8 September 2015).

The right to receive this type of compensation is granted to an employer provided that registered unemployed persons from among internally displaced persons are employed on the recommendation of the employment centre under fixed-term employment contracts and that employment guarantees for such persons are maintained for a period exceeding twice the duration of the payments.

Amount of compensation: actual labour costs, but not exceeding twice the statutory minimum wage.

Compensation is paid for every odd month of work during the year, but for no more than six calendar months.

3. Programme for providing employers with compensation for labour costs incurred in employing internally displaced persons as a result of hostilities during martial law in Ukraine (CMU Resolution No. 331 of 20 March 2022)

The right to receive this type of compensation is granted to the employer for each internally displaced person employed under a fixed-term or open-ended employment contract (agreement), or a gig contract, including part-time work, which ensures the employment of such a person with a wage for a fully completed monthly (or hourly) work quota not lower than the minimum wage.

Compensation is provided in the amount of 6,700 hryvnias per month for each person employed, for whom the employer pays a single contribution to compulsory state social insurance.

The total duration of such compensation may not exceed two months from the date of the person’s employment.

Duration of the programme: for the period of martial law and for 30 calendar days following its repeal or termination.

4. Provision of partial unemployment benefit (CMU Resolution No. 702 of 21 June 2022).

Partial unemployment benefit is provided to insured persons (employees and self-employed individuals) in the event of a loss of part of their wages (income) due to the suspension (reduction) of production (performance of work, provision of services) for the following reasons: economic or technological reasons, the occurrence of an emergency, the introduction of a state of emergency or martial law, or the imposition of quarantine.

Insured persons are entitled to such benefits if, during the six months preceding the month in which the suspension (reduction) of production (performance of work, provision of services) began, leading to their loss of part of their wages (income), have paid the single contribution to compulsory state social insurance. Where, during the six months preceding the application for partial unemployment benefit, legislation granted certain employers or self-employed individuals who are insured persons the right not to pay the single contribution to compulsory state social insurance, the preceding 180 calendar days prior to that period shall apply.

The benefit is granted upon application by an employer or an individual entrepreneur who is an insured person.

The maximum amount of the benefit may not exceed 50 per cent of the statutory minimum wage.

The duration of such payments may not exceed a total of 180 calendar days within a 36-month period from the date of the suspension (reduction) of production (performance of works, provision of services).

5. Organisation of vocational training for registered unemployed persons at the request of employers (Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 264 of 24 March 2023).

The State Employment Service has its own network of modern vocational and technical education centres, which train specialists in 95 skilled trades and 335 educational programmes.

Upon completion of their training, students are issued a state-recognised certificate confirming the relevant qualification. 

Currently, the dual form of training is in vogue, which aims to organise 70% of the training process at enterprises, directly in the workplace. 

To maintain the competitiveness of certain categories of citizens, training is organised using vouchers (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 207 of 20 March 2013), which are provided in accordance with a list of professions and specialisations approved by the Ministry of Economy.

6. Provision of microgrants for starting or developing a business.

Funds under the eRobota project are provided on a non-repayable basis, subject to compliance with the Procedure for the Provision of Microgrants for the Creation or Development of One’s Own Business (CMU Resolution No. 738 of 21 June 2022).

The amount of microgrants under the ‘Own Business’ programme ranges from 50,000 to 250,000 hryvnias. The main requirement for receiving funds is the creation of new jobs.

A new grant programme for veterans was launched on 10 April 2023. From now on, combatants, their family members, and persons with war-related disabilities can apply for a state grant to start or develop their own business (CMU Resolution No. 286 of 30 March 2023).

The programme provides grants in the following amounts:

• up to 250,000 hryvnias can be obtained for a business, provided at least one job is created;
• up to 500,000 hryvnias may be received by a family member of a combatant, provided at least two jobs are created. Co-financing under this programme is as follows: no more than 70% is provided by the state, 30% from the entrepreneur’s own funds;
• up to 1 million hryvnias can be received by a combatant if they have been registered as a sole trader for at least three years. The main condition is to create at least four jobs, of which at least two must be for veterans or people with war-related disabilities. Here too, funds are provided on a co-financing basis – 70% to 30%.

Applications for grants can be submitted via the Diya Portal. A business plan for starting a new business or developing an existing one must be attached to the application. 

Decisions on the award of grants are made by the State Employment Centre. Once the application has been checked for compliance with the requirements and the business project has been approved, the grant funds are transferred to the applicant’s separate account at Oschadbank.

For more detailed information on active employment programmes and obtaining financial support, please contact your nearest employment centre.