To the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Stefanchuk R.O.

To the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organization of

State Power, Local Self-Government,

Regional Development, and Urban Planning

Shulyak O.O.

Regarding Draft Law No. 13478-1 on Conducting

Competitions for Civil Service Positions

 

Dear Ruslan Oleksiyovych, dear Olena Oleksiivna!

The Ukrainian Business Council (UBC), which is an association of business associations created to consolidate business and implement socially important reforms for the sustainable economic development of the country, comprising 125 business associations with 27,000 member companies from various sectors of the economy, expresses its respect to you and addresses you with the following.

Since the introduction of martial law in Ukraine, competitions for civil service positions have been put on hold, creating a threatening trend for the quality of civil service personnel. To strengthen Ukraine’s institutional stability, it is necessary to attract strong professionals to implement the high-quality reforms that feature in many of Ukraine’s international commitments.

Experts from think tanks and business associations have analyzed draft law No. 13478-1 “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Resumption of Competitions and Improvement of the Procedure for Entry, Service, and Termination of Civil Service,” recommended by the committee for adoption in the first reading, and note the following:

The draft law introduces positive initiatives, including:

• provisions prohibiting persons holding political office from being included in the Commission on Senior Civil Service Issues, as well as prohibiting interference in the Commission’s activities, which would result in liability under the law;
• the creation of a reserve of candidates who have passed the competition and may be appointed to a position later in the year;
• the possibility of internal career advancement for civil servants;
• the preferential right to be appointed for candidates from among young people and veterans, provided they have equal professional competence;

According to URB experts, it is important to take into account the following comments:

• Continuity of civil service and restrictions on arbitrary dismissals – Article 87 of the Law “Termination of civil service at the initiative of the appointing authority” still provides for unjustified dismissals due to job cuts, changes in structure and staffing, etc. – the article needs to be amended accordingly;
• Deadlines for resuming competitions – Section II “Final and Transitional Provisions” proposes the following deadlines for resuming competitions:

category “A” positions – from June 1, 2026 (with a deadline for announcing the competition of 9 months);

Category “B” positions – from July 1, 2026 (with a deadline for announcing the competition of 12 months);

Category “C” positions – from September 1, 2026 (with a deadline for announcing the competition of 18 months).

This creates the possibility of certain “filled” vacancies remaining unfilled for more than 2.5 years and essentially “legalizes” appointments made without competition, given the possibility of not announcing competitions until the deadlines have expired.

In view of the above, the business community calls on members of parliament to support draft law No. 13478-1 in principle and to take into account the proposals set out in this letter for the effective modernization of public administration in Ukraine during the second reading.

 

Yours sincerely,

Business Associations

Members of the Ukrainian Business Council