State Labour Service will check mobbing in the workplace

On 2 July, 2025, the new Law of Ukraine No. 4352-IX came into effect, granting the State Labour Service the authority to carry out unscheduled inspections of employers based on complaints from employees or trade unions about possible cases of mobbing. These inspections will be allowed starting October this year. 

Until now, such checks were off-limits due to martial law restrictions. But the new rules bring back state oversight of workers' rights, including checks related to unregistered employment, unfair dismissals, and mobbing. At the same time, inspections for mobbing can’t be combined with other types of inspections. 

The changes come in response to a growing number of mobbing complaints at workplaces. In 2023, the State Labour Service received over 550 such reports, and the number increased to 583 in 2024. Clearly, these are only the official figures - the actual number of cases is likely much higher. 

What is mobbing? 

Mobbing was officially added to Ukrainian law in 2022. It refers to repeated psychological or economic pressure on an employee, aiming to humiliate them, damage their professional reputation, or make their working conditions unbearable - often to push them to quit. 

Mobbing can be carried out by management, coworkers, or the team. It can show up in different ways: refusing to help, ignoring someone’s requests, silent treatment, excluding someone from communication, creating intentional stressful situations, unfair workload distribution, limiting career growth, or underpaying someone compared to others. 

What are the legal consequences for mobbing? 

In 2022, mobbing was also added to the list of administrative offenses (Article 173-5 of Ukraine’s Administrative Code), with the following penalties: 

• a fine from 850 to 3,400 UAH; 
• or 20 to 40 hours of community service. 

In addition, the person responsible can face disciplinary action, including being fired. If mobbing leads to serious consequences - like driving someone to suicide - criminal charges may also apply. 

If you need advice or assistance with issues related to the protection of labour rights, you can sign up for an online consultation with a lawyer at this link.