The event was moderated by Maryna Smahliuk, an Advisor on Decentralisation and Local Self-Government of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in Kirovohrad Oblast. U-LEAD advisors Andrii Dyshliuk and Mykhailo Lysykanych also joined the discussion.
During her opening remarks, Maryna Smahliuk underlined the importance of case law in shaping administrative decisions within local self-government bodies: “We aim to ensure that municipal governance and administrative documents have the proper legal consequences and do not violate the rights of employees. After all, unfavourable court rulings have a direct impact on local budgets,” she said.
Causes of labour disputes in local self-government: areas where municipalities most often face risks
A separate segment of the session addressed the causes of labour disputes in local self-government bodies. According to the speakers, in most cases, conflicts arise due to different interpretations of labour legislation and management decisions rather than deliberate violations.
The most common are disputes regarding working conditions. Employees go to court when they believe they are entitled to a pay rise, bonuses, privileges, additional leave or the retention of existing conditions, while the employer — the local self-government body — makes a different management decision.
Another significant factor is personnel changes in the context of reorganisation or downsizing. These are the situations where municipalities most often run into procedural risks, especially when it comes to upholding employee guarantees, offering all available vacancies and justifying the priority right to retain jobs.
Another factor is the complexity and inconsistency of laws and regulations, as well as the parties’ lack of awareness of the current legal stances of the courts. This means that the same rule can be interpreted differently by the employee, the HR department and senior municipal officials, which can lead to disputes. The speakers emphasised that labour disputes often arise due to the lack of proper justification, communication and documentation, rather than the management decision itself.
Case law: what labour disputes are considered by the courts
The review of the Supreme Court’s case law was of the greatest practical interest. Participants learned about the main categories of labour disputes that are directly considered by courts. These include, among others, disputes concerning reinstatement, dismissal due to staffing cuts, refusal to hire, employment contracts, as well as disputes concerning senior officials of local self-government bodies.
Several court rulings were reviewed to show that even the subsequent revocation of a decision to reinstate an employee does not release the employer from the obligation to pay their average wages for the period of delay in executing the decision. Emphasis was also placed on courts assessing not only the fact of a management decision, but also the actual compliance with procedures and the thoroughness of the employer’s actions.
In this context, Mykhailo Lysykanych stressed that basing their approach on the existing positions of the Supreme Court allows municipalities to build their personnel policies in a way that prevents labour disputes from reaching court.
Practical tips for municipalities
Based on case law and experience gained from working with municipalities, the speakers outlined several generalised practical approaches. Personnel decisions must be made in strict compliance with procedures and with proper documentary justification. Municipalities should be guided not only by the legislation, but also by the established legal positions of the Supreme Court. An important factor is quality communication with employees, including timely updates, job offers and recording decisions in writing. Separately, the importance of close cooperation between HR and legal departments was underlined.
In summary, the participants reached a unanimous conclusion: understanding the causes of labour disputes, case law and a preventive approach to HR management enable municipalities to reduce personnel risks and prevent deductions from local budgets.
