Law No. 10449 Enacted: New Business Duties on Mobilization and Reservation Traps

 

May 18, 2024, became a point of no return for HR administration in Ukraine. The entry into force of Law No. 3633-IX (known as Draft Law 10449) removed the question “is it necessary to keep military records.” Now the question stands differently: how much will ignoring the new rules cost your business?

Let’s be frank: the state has shifted the lion’s share of the TCC’s (Territorial Recruitment Center) work onto the shoulders of employers. The company director now has to balance between retaining the team and criminal liability for obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In this article, I, as a practicing lawyer, will break down the real risks of the May changes without fluff or citing Telegram channels.

Employer as a TCC “Branch”: Where Powers End

The main myth currently circulating among business owners: “I must personally deliver the employee to the military enlistment office.” This is not entirely true, but the legislator’s logic is clear — to make business an instrument of notification.

According to the new legislation, your duties are clearly regulated:

• Notification: You are obliged to issue a notification order, familiarize the employee with it under signature, and hand over the summons if it came from the TCC.
• Reporting: You must promptly inform the TCC about hiring, dismissal, and changes in employee registration data.

Legal Hack (How it works in practice):
TCC inspectors perfectly understand that you cannot physically force an employee to go and update their data. Your “armor” as a director is flawless document flow. If an employee refuses to sign for the receipt of a summons or acknowledgment of the order — you draw up a Refusal Act.

This piece of paper is your only protection against a fine, which under the new law (Draft Law No. 10379, which comes in the package) reaches tens of thousands of hryvnias. For state bodies, “could not hand over” without an act equals “facilitated evasion.”

Read more about the protection of officials in our practice Corporate Law and Business Security.

Reservation 2024: A Quest for the Chosen and Registry Risks

As of May 2024, reservation rules remain almost the only legal mechanism for retaining key personnel. But here is a nuance that is not mentioned in the news.

Obtaining the status of a “critically important enterprise” is only half the battle. After May 18, TCCs received a carte blanche to check the grounds for reservation. If an employee does not have an up-to-date military registration document (MRD) or has not updated data within 60 days (deadline until mid-July), they will not be reserved.

The “Oberig” system and the launch of the conscript’s electronic cabinet (the same Reserve+ app that launched recently) should synchronize these processes.

Risk for Business

You submit reservation lists to the Ministry of Economy, and they return a refusal because your employees do not “show up” in the registry or have outdated MRDs. Time plays against you. While you are correcting errors, summonses may arrive faster than the reservation order.

We at LBA accompany the process of obtaining criticality status. More about this in the section Business Protection.

Vehicle Seizure: Will They Take Your Fleet?

Another “horror story” of May is the mobilization of vehicles. Law No. 3633-IX really provides for this, but with an important clarification.

Military transport duty primarily concerns enterprises that have special equipment, trucks, and SUVs on their balance sheet.

It is important to understand the logic of the opponent (the state): no one will take away the only sedan the director drives (unless it is the only means of business subsistence, the law sets a safeguard). However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs now transmits vehicle registration data to the TCC automatically.

If you have a “fleet” on your balance sheet — prepare for possible orders to transfer equipment. The ban on moving such equipment between regions without TCC permission is already a reality prescribed in the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization.”

 

FAQ: Business Questions as of May 2024

1. Do I need to fire an employee if they have not updated data in the TCC within 60 days?

The law does not oblige you to fire an employee solely for the fact of not updating data. But you are obliged to notify them of the need to do so. Fines are imposed on the individual for violating registration rules, not on the employer (if the employer fulfilled the notification function).

2. Can a summons be handed to the director of an enterprise?

Absolutely. The status of a director or founder does not give an automatic reservation if the enterprise is not recognized as critically important. Moreover, the director bears personal responsibility for maintaining military records at the firm.

3. How does the “electronic cabinet” work for business?

As of now, the obligation to register an electronic cabinet primarily concerns citizens (conscripts, persons liable for military service). For business, the main interaction is through paper workflow and list reconciliation, although the digitalization of reservation processes through “Diia” has already been announced by the government (CMU Resolution No. 76).

Conclusions and Recommendations

May 2024 changed the rules of the game. The “wait it out” strategy no longer works. The absence of military records at an enterprise now is not just an administrative violation, it is a direct path to blocking business operations through fines and loss of personnel.

My advice as the Managing Partner of LBA: conduct an audit of HR documentation today. Check if all your persons liable for military service have up-to-date codes, if the notification log is being kept, and if you are ready to apply for reservation.

Need help with an audit or obtaining criticality status? The Law Business Association team is ready to join the process. We do not promise miracles; we guarantee the legal cleanliness of procedures.

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