Partial unemployment assistance not paid in Ukraine during quarantine period – Ombudsman

KYIV. Aug 31 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has not yet approved the budget of the Compulsory State Social Insurance Fund for 2021, which is why the insurers do not receive the government-established partial unemployment assistance during the quarantine period, the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Liudmyla Denisova said.

"I learned that in 2021, the Fund for Compulsory State Social Insurance of Ukraine in case of unemployment does not finance applications of insurers to receive assistance for partial unemployment for the period of quarantine and/or an emergency, established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This violation of citizens’ rights to social protection is a consequence of the lack of funding due to the non-approval of the Fund’s budget by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine," Denisova wrote in her Telegram channel on Tuesday.

In this regard, the Ombudsman appealed to the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Oleksiy Liubchenko for "an urgent decision on the issue of approving the budget of the said Fund."

As reported, on March 1, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on the provision of state assistance to citizens for partial unemployment, which provides for the provision of such assistance not only for the period of quarantine caused by COVID-19, but also in case of other diseases or an emergency on the territory of Ukraine.

According to the law, the Cabinet of Ministers received the right to determine the procedure for providing assistance for partial unemployment for the period of quarantine, an emergency, its amount, the term for providing, as well as the procedure for returning funds aimed at financing such assistance.