16.10.2026

Payment for downtime during an air raid alert

You are in a shelter that is not equipped for work whilst an air-raid alert is in force. Can you expect to receive your full salary for this period?

The legislature has not yet introduced clear regulations governing such cases. Under the current circumstances, there are two opposing positions on this matter at the level of legal regulation.

First point. Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 221 of 7 March 2022 granted the heads of state bodies, enterprises, institutions and organisations financed or subsidised from the budget the right, until the termination or lifting of martial law in Ukraine, to independently determine, within the limits of the wage fund provided for in the budget estimate, the amount of remuneration for employees’ downtime, but not less than two-thirds of the rate applicable to the employee’s pay grade (basic salary).

In addition, the Eastern Interregional Directorate of the State Labour Service has issued official guidance on the payment of downtime during an air raid alert (guidance dated 18 March 2024). The State Labour Service has stated that if an employee is in a shelter during an air raid alert and is unable to continue their work, then, in accordance with Article 113 of the Labour Code, downtime must be recorded for that employee. In accordance with the requirements of Article 113 of the Labour Code, downtime through no fault of the employee is paid at a rate of not less than two-thirds of the standard rate for the employee’s grade (salary).

Second position. It provides for special safeguards for employees. Pursuant to Article 153(5) of the Labour Code, an employer is not entitled to require an employee to carry out work that poses a clear danger to the employee’s life, and an employee has the right to refuse to carry out the assigned work if a hazardous work situation has arisen. The existence of such a workplace situation may be caused by external factors, such as the threat of a drone strike or a missile attack. Therefore, pursuant to Part 3 of Article 113 of the Labour Code, during any period of inactivity arising from a workplace situation that poses a danger to the life or health of the employee, or to those around them, or to the natural environment, through no fault of their own, his average earnings are maintained.

Furthermore, the right to retain an employee’s average earnings in the event of a hazardous work situation is guaranteed by Article 6(3) of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Remuneration of Labour’.

Taking into account the above, the following conclusions can be drawn. Taking into account the realities of war, in the event of an air raid warning of a yellow level of security (threat of drones), if an employee is in an unprotected shelter, their salary will be reduced by 1/3. In the event of a red-level air raid alert (ballistic threat), an employee who is in an unprotected shelter can expect to receive 50% of their average monthly salary.