Preferential Pension for Kiln Workers under List No. 1
Every occupation requires not only personal skills and experience but also takes a certain toll on a person’s health and physical well-being. Some professions involve considerable stress and may negatively affect the nervous system, while others may have a broader impact on a worker’s health. When choosing a future profession, few people consider occupational risks to life and health. Nevertheless, society requires certain types of work to be performed even where such work may be harmful to employees.
The state, in turn, seeks to compensate workers employed under hazardous conditions through appropriate remuneration, social benefits and preferential retirement conditions.
To determine whether a particular occupation is classified as hazardous, it is necessary to refer to the statutory lists specifying occupations and types of work considered harmful or particularly harmful to the life and health of employees.
Under the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Approval of the Lists of Industries, Work, Occupations, Positions and Indicators, Employment in Which Entitles a Person to an Old-Age Pension on Preferential Terms,” the occupation of a kiln worker is classified as particularly hazardous and is included in List No. 1.
What does this mean and what benefits does it provide?
First of all, employees working in occupations included in the statutory Lists may qualify for retirement at a reduced age. For employees covered by List No. 1, the retirement age is generally reduced to 50 years. However, several conditions must be satisfied to qualify for an early pension under List No. 1:
- the person must reach the age of 50;
- men must have at least 25 years of insurance record, including at least 10 years of qualifying hazardous work, while women must have at least 20 years of insurance record, including at least 7 years and 6 months of qualifying hazardous work.
In practice, applicants may encounter various difficulties when applying to the Pension Fund of Ukraine for a preferential pension.
For example, the Pension Fund may refuse to grant an early pension because of the absence of workplace certification, which is used to confirm that the relevant employment involved harmful or particularly hazardous working conditions.
In such circumstances, an applicant may need to challenge the Pension Fund’s refusal before an administrative court in order to protect their statutory right to preferential pension benefits.
Ukrainian courts have already developed significant case law on this issue. In particular, according to the Supreme Court decision of 19 February 2020 in case No. 520/15025/16-а, responsibility for failure to conduct workplace certification, or for conducting it late, rests with the owner of the enterprise rather than the employee. Therefore, such failure cannot in itself constitute grounds for refusing an old-age pension on preferential terms.
Another common issue is an insufficient period of qualifying employment in an occupation covered by List No. 1. Ukrainian pension legislation also provides certain protection in this situation.
Workers who do not have the full period of employment under particularly harmful and particularly difficult working conditions, but who have completed at least half of the required qualifying period, may still be entitled to a reduction of the general retirement age, provided that they have the required overall insurance record.
For men, this generally requires at least 25 years of total insurance record, including at least 5 years of qualifying hazardous work. For women, it requires at least 20 years of total insurance record, including at least 3 years and 9 months of qualifying hazardous work.
Where these requirements are satisfied, the retirement age may be reduced as follows:
- for men – by one year for each full year of qualifying hazardous work;
- for women – by one year and four months for each full year of qualifying hazardous work.
Therefore, even if a kiln worker does not have the full qualifying period required for retirement at the age of 50 under List No. 1, the period of hazardous employment may still provide the right to retire earlier than under the general pension rules.
