Ukraine is preparing a broad update of labor legislation. The draft Labor Code includes rules that could allow employers to use video monitoring at workplaces and control work correspondence, but only where other methods of supervision are impossible or ineffective. That wording is already important because it leaves room for future disputes over what counts as a justified reason.
The proposed approach reflects a larger challenge for the Ukrainian labor market. Employers want clearer tools for compliance, security and productivity control. Employees, however, need guarantees that monitoring will not become routine pressure or hidden surveillance. If the law does not define limits precisely, many conflicts may move to trade unions, labor inspections or courts.
What else may change
The draft also touches pay and leave. Minimum wage calculation may be linked more closely to average salary instead of a formal subsistence benchmark. Supporters say this would move Ukraine toward European practice and make wage policy less detached from the real labor market.
Annual paid leave may increase from 24 to 28 days. At the same time, some social leave categories could be revised, including additional leave for workers caring for children with severe disabilities. This mix shows that the reform is not only about employer powers. It is a broader attempt to rewrite the balance of rights, benefits and obligations.
For business, the key issue will be predictability. Companies need labor rules that can be applied without constant legal risk. Workers need clear boundaries for privacy, rest and fair pay. The final text will show whether the new code can modernize employment relations without weakening trust inside workplaces.
