Ukraine has updated the criteria for selecting companies eligible to retain employees
On June 19, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission approved updated criteria for identifying companies that are critical to the Ukrainian economy. The new approaches will influence the compilation of a list of companies whose employees may be subject to mobilization deferment.
The main goal of the update is to create transparent and fair conditions for businesses when reserving employees from mobilization. Currently, companies must meet the general requirements of Government Resolution No. 76 (no tax or social security debt, adequate salary levels), after which the industry regulator evaluates them based on its own criteria. For financial markets and capital markets, these rules are established by the National Securities and Stock Market Commission.
The Commission has introduced four fundamental changes to the existing rules, which have been in effect since last year.
- Blocking the “risk zone” and sanctions. Previously, registration was denied only to firms with owners from Russia and Belarus. Now, a company cannot obtain “critical” status if its ownership structure includes residents of any countries supporting aggression against Ukraine or individuals subject to sanctions.
- Protection of systemic players. The new rules protect key market participants—“systemically important professional participants.” These are the largest companies, on whose stability the resilience of the entire financial sector directly depends.
- Priority for critical infrastructure. If an enterprise is officially included in the list of critical infrastructure facilities, the Commission automatically has an unconditional basis for classifying it as important to the economy.
- Closing loopholes between agencies. The Commission’s new rules no longer apply at all to banks and financial institutions regulated by the National Bank of Ukraine.
The draft of the new rules will be published for public comment in the near future. Market participants and industry experts will have the opportunity to submit their comments and suggestions.
After final review and approval, the text of the document will be submitted for official registration to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, after which it will take effect, according to the press service of the National Securities Commission.
Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a new resolution providing for a large-scale audit of enterprises designated as critically important and stricter rules for reserving conscripts during mobilization.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has prepared amendments to the rules for reserving conscripts, which provide for raising the minimum wage threshold for obtaining a deferment to 26,000 hryvnias. The rules for reserving individuals with multiple jobs and the criteria for determining the critical importance of enterprises are also being changed.
The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police dismantled a mobilization evasion scheme in Zakarpattia involving the fraudulent issuance of fictitious deferments.
The Ministry of Health stated that, at the request of the Ministry of Defense, some of the reserved medical workers may be released from reserve status and called up for service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military structures. The decision is made jointly with the military and regional authorities.
