Preferential Pension for Batchers under List No. 1 in Ukraine
When we think about people who risk their lives for others, police officers, military personnel and rescue workers usually come to mind first. However, miners and other workers involved in the extraction and processing of metals, ores and non-metallic minerals may also face serious risks to their health and lives throughout their careers.
Work in the mining industry involves significant risks and is characterised by particularly difficult working conditions. Rockfalls and collapses remain serious hazards, while breaking, pumping and transporting ore through mine workings, as well as supporting and reinforcement operations, may pose risks to workers’ health and safety. Other occupational hazards include adverse environmental conditions, dust and toxic gases, noise, vibration and insufficient lighting. Mine collapses, explosions and landslides also represent potentially life-threatening risks.
For this reason, Ukrainian legislation provides certain social guarantees and benefits for employees working under harmful and particularly difficult conditions. One of the most important benefits is the right to early retirement under List No. 1 or List No. 2.
List No. 1 includes jobs, occupations, positions and categories of employment involving underground work or particularly harmful and particularly difficult working conditions, where full-time employment may qualify a person for a preferential old-age pension.
List No. 2 covers jobs, occupations, positions and categories of employment involving harmful and difficult working conditions, where full-time employment may also provide the right to an old-age pension on preferential terms.
List No. 1 includes, among others, workers engaged in crushing, grinding, sorting and processing ferrous metal ores, non-metallic minerals and mining and chemical raw materials containing 2% or more crystalline (free) silicon dioxide in the dust. This category includes batchers (dosing operators).
To qualify for an old-age pension under List No. 1, certain conditions must generally be met:
- the person must reach the age of 50;
- men generally need at least 25 years of total insurance record, including at least 10 years of qualifying employment, while women generally need at least 20 years of total insurance record, including at least 7 years and 6 months of qualifying employment.
Despite the statutory guarantees, in practice an applicant may face a refusal by the Pension Fund of Ukraine to grant a pension under List No. 1. One of the most common reasons for such refusals is the absence of proper workplace certification. The Pension Fund may argue that without workplace certification there is insufficient evidence that the employee actually worked under particularly harmful or particularly difficult conditions.
However, a refusal by the Pension Fund does not necessarily mean that the employee has lost the right to a preferential pension. Such a decision may be challenged before an administrative court.
Ukrainian courts have developed important case law on this issue. In particular, in its decision of 19 February 2020 in case No. 520/15025/16-a, the Supreme Court considered a dispute in which a person had been refused a List No. 1 pension because the employer had failed to conduct workplace certification.
The court concluded that responsibility for failing to conduct workplace certification, or for conducting it late, rests with the employer rather than the employee. Therefore, an employee should not lose the right to an old-age pension on preferential terms merely because the employer failed to properly perform its obligations regarding workplace certification.
