Timely fixed mistake: how entrepreneur from Luhansk oblast avoided penalty for undeclared workers
When you start your own business, mistakes are unavoidable. What matters is timely fixing them! Within the State Labour Service's “Go to Light!” information campaign labour inspectors help employers to formalise employment relationships in a proper way, and to avoid penalties.
Natalia has been recently relocated to Ukraine. About eighteen months ago, she became a private entrepreneur, providing care services for senior citizens. Her first business, many nuances to take into account, and nobody to ask for advice. One day, she was visited by labour inspectors from the SLS.
“When I heard the word “inspection”, I was worried. I was asked if I had employees, and I immediately realised that I had not taken care of that!” Natalia says.
The labour inspectors explained to her that it is not only companies that can be seen as employers, but also individuals and private entrepreneurs when they have people working for them. Since Natalia had assistants, she was expected to sign labour contracts with them.
“I am a stickler for the rules in everything, but, in that situation, I made a mistake. So, I asked them to give me some time to make it right and immediately formalised the employment relationship with my two workers: a cook and an administrator. It was not difficult, I coped within a couple of days,” the entrepreneur says.
Since then, Natalia pays salaries and taxes and the single social contribution in a formal manner and observes the social guarantees stipulated by labour legislation. It became easier to work, since there is no more fear of inspections.
“I am grateful to the inspectors who explained the requirements politely and in simple words. I still do not understand Ukrainian well so, for my convenience, the inspectors switched to Russian,” Natalia says.
Read more about declared work benefits at the SLS website. If you need advice, approach a labour inspector.
