A non-governmental organization reached out to the Business Ombudsman Council with a complaint concerning the calculation of administrative and economic sanctions amounting to over UAH 480,000. The Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities considered that the organization had violated legal requirements regarding the creation of jobs for persons with disabilities.
According to the Fund, the applicant had an average number of 10 employees in 2024. By law, this means the organization was required to create at least one job for a person with a disability. Since this requirement was allegedly not met, the organization was ordered to pay a fine.
However, the complainant had different calculations. According to its data, the first employees were hired only in June 2024, and from January to May, the organization had no staff at all. Therefore, the actual average number of employees for the year, calculated in accordance with State Statistics Instruction No. 286, was only six. This meant there was no obligation to create jobs for persons with disabilities.
Despite the submitted complaint, the Fund refused to consider it, citing a missed appeal deadline. Yet, the administrative act itself failed to specify the appeal deadline or how it should be calculated, which violates legal requirements.
The Council’s inspectors thoroughly analyzed the case and concluded that the Fund had incorrectly applied the method for calculating the average number of employees—failing to account for the months when no staff was employed and basing the calculation only on seven months of active operations, rather than the full calendar year as required by Instruction No. 286.
Moreover, the Council noted that the data for calculating the average number of employees should be taken from tax reporting. That tax data confirmed there were no employees in April and May, making the calculation of 10 employees incorrect even based on available records.
The Council sent an official letter to the Fund’s central authority, requesting an impartial review of the complaint, consideration of the legal arguments, and a joint meeting with representatives of the complainant and the Council.
As a result of the meeting, the Fund recommended its regional office to cancel the disputed sanction calculation. Shortly thereafter, the complainant confirmed that the calculation had been annulled and the issue resolved in its favor.
