Employment & Labour - Ukraine

The Law on Payment of Wages, approved on March 24 1995, stipulates that "employees of enterprises in the Ukrainian territory must receive wages in national monetary units which are legal currency in Ukraine". There are several exceptions to this rule. For example, Ukrainian currency regulations allow salaries to be paid in foreign currency if a non-resident employee is working in Ukraine under contract with either a legal entity which is resident in Ukraine or the representative office of a non-resident legal entity. On November 10 2006 the tax authorities issued Advisory Letter 20948/7/22-5017, which states that, in such cases, salary payments in foreign currency may be made without an individual licence from the National Bank of Ukraine.

Article 76 of the State Budget, announced on December 19 2006, sets the national minimum monthly wage at UAH400 with effect from January 1 2007, UAH420 from July 1 2007 and UAH450 from December 1 2007. The minimum monthly wage directly influences salary scales for all employees.

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