Preferential Pension for Refractory Workers in Hot Work Areas under List No. 1
All occupations differ in their titles, nature of work, complexity and intensity. It is reasonable to assume that employment under difficult working conditions should provide certain benefits. Indeed, Ukrainian legislation establishes a list of occupations that entitle employees to retire earlier than the standard retirement age.
These occupations are included in the so-called List No. 1 and List No. 2. List No. 1 covers occupations involving particularly harmful and particularly difficult working conditions. List No. 2 covers occupations involving harmful and difficult working conditions. In terms of pension benefits, employment under List No. 1 may provide the right to retire at the age of 50, while List No. 2 may provide the right to retire at the age of 55, subject to the statutory requirements.
The occupation of a refractory worker employed in hot work areas is included in List No. 1. This work involves preparing construction and basic refractory mortars manually, sorting standard refractory bricks, filling cavities with half-bricks and backfilling, laying refractory brick structures and linings, installing prefabricated components of industrial furnaces made of heat-resistant blocks, installing complex cast-iron fittings in boilers, and performing other related operations.
To qualify for a preferential old-age pension, refractory workers must meet the statutory requirements regarding both age and qualifying service. In general, a worker must reach the age of 50 and have at least 25 years of total insurance record, including at least 10 years of employment as a refractory worker under qualifying conditions.
What documents are required?
The main documents generally include a passport, taxpayer identification number, employment record book, military service document and diploma. The employment record book is particularly important because it is one of the primary documents confirming a person’s employment history.
It should be remembered that periods of employment involving difficult or harmful working conditions are not always automatically counted toward preferential service. One possible reason is an incorrect or incomplete occupational title in the employment record book. An example of an appropriate employment record may be: “Employed full-time as a refractory worker in hot work areas.”
Situations may vary. In some cases, a person may have lost their employment record book or the entries in it may have been completed incorrectly. In such circumstances, it may be necessary to obtain clarifying certificates from the relevant employer or archival institution, or to use other legally permitted evidence to confirm the relevant periods of employment. However, where the employment record book has been properly completed and contains sufficient information, additional confirmation should generally not be required.
In practice, however, applicants may encounter a different approach. Pension authorities sometimes require clarifying certificates even where the employment record book has been properly completed. If such a requirement results in the refusal to recognise preferential service or to grant a pension, the applicant may challenge the Pension Fund’s decision in court.
Ukrainian case law indicates that where an employment record book contains sufficient information to establish the nature of the work performed and the relevant working conditions, an applicant should not be required to submit additional clarifying certificates. Courts may therefore find such additional requirements imposed by the Pension Fund of Ukraine unlawful.
Examples of relevant case law include the decision of the Donetsk District Administrative Court dated 28 January 2021 in case No. 200/11189/20-a, the decision of the Dnipropetrovsk District Administrative Court dated 11 March 2019 in case No. 160/130/19, and the judgment of the Supreme Court dated 27 April 2020 in case No. 648/1613/17.
