Article 2-1 of the Labour Code of Ukraine defines that: any labour-related discrimination is prohibited, in particular, a violation of the principle of equality of rights and opportunities, any direct or indirect restriction of employees' rights due to their race, skin colour, political, religious and other beliefs, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic, social and foreign origin, age, health condition, disability, suspicion or presence of HIV/AIDS, marital and property status, family responsibilities, place of residence, membership in a trade union or other association of citizens, participation in a strike, the fact of seeking or intending to seek protection of their rights with a court or other authorities, or support given to other employees in the protection of their rights, reporting possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offences, other violations of the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption,” and assisting a person in making such a report, due to their language or other signs unrelated to the nature of work or the conditions of its performance.

According to Article 2-2 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, mobbing (bullying) is a systematic (repeated) prolonged intentional actions or inaction of the employer, individual employees or a group of employees of the labour collective, which are aimed at degrading the honor and dignity of the employee, his business reputation, including for the purpose of acquiring, changing or terminating his labour rights and obligations, which manifests itself in the form of psychological and/or economic pressure, in particular with the use of electronic communications, creating a tense, hostile, offensive atmosphere towards the employee, including one that forces him to underestimate his professional suitability.

Forms of psychological and economic pressure include:

• creating a tense, hostile, offensive atmosphere towards an employee (threats, ridicule, slander, derogatory remarks, aggressive, intimidating, humiliating behaviour, and other ways of upsetting an employee's psychological stability);
• unjustified negative exclusion of an employee from the team or the employee's isolation (not inviting the employee to meetings and conferences in which the employee is required to participate in accordance with local regulations, organisational and administrative acts, preventing the employee from performing their job duties, not allowing the employee to enter the workplace, transferring the workplace to a location unsuitable for this kind of work);
• unequal opportunities for training and career growth;
• unequal pay for work of equal value performed by employees with the same qualifications;
• unjustified deprivation of part of the employee's payments (bonuses, incentives and other rewards);
• unjustified uneven distribution of workload and tasks by the employer among employees with the same qualifications and productivity who perform equivalent work.

Mobbing (bullying) is prohibited.

According to Article 1 of the Law of Ukraine “On Principles of Prevention and Combating Discrimination in Ukraine”:

• direct discrimination — a situation in which a person and/or group of persons with certain characteristics are treated less favourably than another person and/or group of persons in a similar situation, except where such behaviour has a legitimate, objectively justified aim, the means of achieving which are appropriate and necessary;
• indirect discrimination — a situation in which, as a result of the implementation or application of formally neutral legal norms, assessment criteria, rules, requirements or practices for a person and/or group of persons based on their specific characteristics, less favourable conditions or situations arise compared to other persons and/or groups of persons, except in cases where their implementation or application has a legitimate, objectively justified purpose, the means of achieving which are appropriate and necessary;
• harassment — undesirable behaviour towards a person and/or group of persons, the purpose or effect of which is to humiliate their human dignity on certain grounds or to create a tense, hostile, offensive or derogatory atmosphere towards such a person or group of persons.

The European Court of Human Rights points out that discrimination means treating persons differently without objective and reasonable justification in relatively similar situations (judgment of 11 June 2002 in the case of Willis v. the United Kingdom). A difference in treatment is discriminatory if it has no objective and reasonable justification, in other words, if it does not pursue a legitimate aim or if there is no reasonable relationship between the means employed and the aim pursued (judgment in the case of Van Raalte v. the Netherlands of 21 February 1997; paras. 48, 49 judgment in the case of Pichkur v. Ukraine of 7 November 2013).

The Constitutional Court of Ukraine uses a similar approach in its decisions, pointing out that the purpose of establishing certain differences (requirements) in legal status must be substantial, and the differences (requirements) themselves, which pursue this purpose, must comply with constitutional provisions, be objectively justified, reasonable and fair. Otherwise, the establishment of restrictions would constitute discrimination (paragraph 7 of section 4.1 of the explanatory part of the Decision of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine No. 14-rp/2004 of 7 July 2004).

According to Article 5-1 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, the state guarantees to able-bodied citizens permanently residing in the territory of Ukraine legal protection against mobbing (harassment), discrimination, biased attitude in the workplace, protection of the honor and dignity of an employee during his/her work activities, as well as ensuring that persons who have been subjected to such actions and/or inaction have the right to apply to the central executive body that implements state policy in the field of monitoring and control over compliance with labour legislation, and to the court for recognition of such facts and their elimination (without termination of the employee's work activities for the period of consideration of the complaint or proceedings in the case), as well as compensation for damage caused as a result of such actions and/or inaction, on the basis of a court decision that has entered into legal force.

Article 141 of the Labour Code of Ukraine determines that the employer must properly organise the employees' work, create conditions for increasing labour productivity, ensure labour and production discipline, strictly comply with labour legislation and occupational safety rules, implement measures to prevent and counteract mobbing (bullying), pay attention to the employees' needs and requests, and improve their working and living conditions.

According to Article 158 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, the employer is required to take measures to ensure the safety and protection of the physical and mental health of employees, to prevent risks and stress in the workplace, and to conduct informational, educational, and organisational activities to prevent and counteract mobbing (bullying).

An employee's mobbing is grounds for termination of their labour contract at the employer's initiative in accordance with paragraph 12 of part 1 of Article 40 of the Labour Code of Ukraine, as well as for administrative liability in accordance with Article 173-5 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses.

POSSIBLE ACTIONS BY AN EMPLOYEE in the case of mobbing:

1. Submitting a complaint (including with the support of the Trade Union) to the employer regarding mobbing committed by certain employees and reminding the employer of their obligation to take measures to prevent and counter mobbing (bullying). This includes conducting awareness-raising activities, introducing amendments to the Collective Bargaining Agreement or other local regulations to implement measures aimed at preventing, countering and stopping mobbing (bullying), as well as restoring rights violated as a result of mobbing.
2. Filing a claim in court to have the facts of mobbing (bullying) officially recognised and to claim compensation for moral damage and any damage caused by mobbing, including the costs incurred for medical treatment (it is important to collect and prepare solid evidence to prove the mobbing in court).
3. Filing a complaint with the State Labour Service / Ombudsman.

With the support of the MTWTU, employees apply to the courts, file complaints with the State Labour Service, and submit relevant appeals to employers to stop instances of mobbing within the workplace. The MTWTU provides them with full assistance and legal support. However, there is still a certain passivity among workers in defending their rights, since the Union cannot protect employees’ rights without their willingness to stand up for them.

Nevertheless, the situation is gradually improving.

The MTWTU always supports and provides legal and advisory support to each of our Union members and each of our local trade union organisations.