Optimization of labor costs during quarantine

Quarantine has stopped or reduced the income of many entrepreneurs. It is unlikely that this state of emergency will end by early May and, unfortunately, may return again in the autumn-winter season. Entrepreneurs do not have the right to lay off idle employees, so they have other solutions to reduce the burden on the payroll. We offer two legal options.
Leave without pay
The state gave employers the opportunity to keep their employees without dismissal during the quarantine period, using the right to leave without pay for the entire period of absence from work.
Therefore, if the type of activity for the period of quarantine is prohibited and there is no income, the self-employed person can offer his workers to write an application for leave without pay. This possibility appeared starting from March 17, 2020 after the addition of Art. 84 Labor Code part 4 and Art. 26 of the Law of Ukraine of 15.11.96 № 504/96-VR "On Leave" by Part 3. Employees by agreement with the employer are given the opportunity for the quarantine period to go on unpaid leave, which can now last longer than the usual 15 days.
What an entrepreneur needs to know about granting "quarantine leave"
1. Quarantine leave may be granted regardless of whether the right to 15-day leave or regular paid leave has been exercised. None of them replaces any other.
2. The duration of such leave is not limited by law - how long the quarantine will last, for as many days and it can be issued. It can be broken into parts, or it can be taken for a part-time quarantine, but its deadline should not exceed the scope of quarantine.
3. An employee may not be forcibly sent on "quarantine leave". If the employee does not agree - the registration of such leave will be considered illegal. Therefore, you need to find an approach to employees.
4. Leave is not "automatic": for its registration the employee must write an application, and the employer must issue an order, which the employee must read. There can be no leave without registration of these documents.
5. For the period of the employee's stay in the "quarantine leave", he must keep his job, to which he must return after the leave.
6. If an employee falls ill while on unpaid leave, sick leave is not payable.
Part-time
Not all activities are prohibited. There are those who are allowed to work, but the appeal of clients to them has significantly decreased, so the amount of income received by sole proprietors is barely enough to cover the necessary costs. Therefore, they are forced to offer their employees to establish part-time work.
Note that the initiator of the change of mode of operation must be an employee. If the sole proprietor will demand it, it will be considered that working conditions change at the initiative of the employer. And for this purpose a certain procedure is provided. FOP must notify in writing 2 months before the change of work regime. In this case, it is impossible. Therefore, this is again a diplomatic moment. You need to talk to the team, show perspective. Give a choice: to lose part of the income or lose a job at all due to the fact that the company will not be able to withstand staff costs without profits and will go bankrupt.
Therefore, by agreement of the parties (employee and employer) on the initiative of the employee for the quarantine period may be established part-time work.
This mode of operation can be set as part-time or part-time. By the way, such conditions can be fixed both at employment of the worker, and further in the course of work. Both for the established term, and without its restriction. It is possible to set a part-time work (for example, from 9.00 to 14.00) or a part-time working week (for example, Monday, Wednesday, Friday), or a part-time working week with a part-time working day (for example, Monday from 9.00 to 14.00, Wednesday from 15.00 to 20.00, Friday from 10.00 to 18.00, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - weekends). Remuneration will be in proportion to the time worked.
To apply for part-time work, the employee must submit an application, and the sole proprietor must issue an order specifying: for what reason, for what date, for how long, part-time work, work schedule (number of working hours, if part-time, or the number of working days and which, if part-time week). The term of annual leave is maintained. It cannot be less than 24 calendar days.

Authorship edited by Tserkovna A.