Draft Law No. 16114, “On Amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine Regarding the Expansion of Employment Opportunities for Youth,” has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. This was reported by the *Sudovo-yurydychna hazeta* (Judicial-Legal Newspaper).
The explanatory note states that, amidst a labor shortage, expanding opportunities for the formal employment of young people should help tap into additional labor potential and enable young people to gain their first formal work experience.
**Increasing Working Hours**
One of the key changes for young workers involves increasing the permitted duration of working hours. Currently, the Labor Code establishes reduced working hours for employees aged 16 to 18—specifically, 36 hours per week. For individuals aged 15 to 16, as well as students aged 14 to 15 working during school breaks, the limit is 24 hours per week. The draft law proposes increasing these figures to 38 and 26 hours per week, respectively. Thus, the maximum working time for employees aged 16 to 18 would increase by two hours per week. The permitted working duration for individuals aged 15 to 16 and students aged 14 to 15 working during breaks would increase by the same amount.
**Probationary Period for Young Workers**
Another proposed change concerns the probationary period upon hiring. The bill proposes removing individuals under the age of 18 from the list of employees exempt from probationary periods. Consequently, general rules regarding probation upon hiring would apply to minors. Medical examinations for minors would be required only until the age of 18, rather than 21.
**Change in the age limit for mandatory medical examinations**
Under the current version of Article 191, individuals under 18 may be hired following a preliminary medical examination and must subsequently undergo periodic check-ups until they reach the age of 21. The proposed revision stipulates that all individuals under 18 must undergo a preliminary medical examination and subsequently a mandatory annual medical check-up until they turn 18.
**Work on weekends**
The bill also introduces amendments to Article 192 of the Labor Code. Currently, the article prohibits assigning employees under the age of 18 to night work, overtime work, or work on weekends. The proposed revision retains the prohibitions against night work and overtime for minors but proposes removing the specific ban on weekend work. This expands employers’ ability to assign minors to work on weekends. However, the repeal of this provision does not automatically authorize employers to assign minors to work on any given weekend without complying with other labor law requirements.
