Preferential Pension for Ferroalloy Furnace Operators under List No. 1
A person’s right to a pension depends on their age and the length of their insurance record. As a general rule, a person becomes entitled to an old-age pension upon reaching the statutory retirement age and having the required insurance record. However, Ukrainian legislation takes into account that certain professions involve particularly difficult, harmful, or hazardous working conditions. Employment in such occupations may therefore entitle a person to retire earlier on preferential terms.
In particular, employees engaged in construction, reconstruction, technical re-equipment and major repairs of mine workings, underground railway facilities, underground channels, tunnels and other underground structures may fall within List No. 1, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This category also includes ferroalloy furnace operators working in steel and ferroalloy production, preparation of mixtures and repair of metallurgical furnaces.
The duties of a ferroalloy furnace operator may include: 1) preparing moulds, ladles, chutes, slag pots, pallets and other equipment for discharging metal and slag from ferroalloy furnaces; 2) moving carts with ladles, slag pots and moulds and removing metal and slag from them; 3) monitoring the condition and cleanliness of casting tracks, carts and chutes; 4) cleaning ladles and moulds and preparing compounds for coating them; 5) removing metal from granulation pools; 6) operating lifting equipment; 7) loading metal and slag onto carts; 8) preparing materials and tools; and 9) detecting and eliminating malfunctions in the equipment being serviced and participating in its repair.
Requirements for Preferential Retirement
Under Ukrainian pension legislation, employees covered by List No. 1 may qualify for an old-age pension on preferential terms upon reaching the prescribed preferential retirement age and having the required insurance and preferential service record. For men, this generally requires at least 25 years of insurance record, including at least 10 years of employment under preferential conditions. For women, the general requirement is at least 20 years of insurance record, including at least 7 years and 6 months of preferential employment.
Problems often arise when applying for a preferential pension. One of the main documents used to confirm periods of employment is the employment record book. However, due to mistakes made by employers, entries may sometimes be incomplete, lack the necessary stamps or contain insufficient information to establish that the employment qualifies as preferential service. In such circumstances, additional certificates confirming the nature and conditions of employment may be required.
In practice, the Pension Fund of Ukraine may refuse to grant a preferential pension because an applicant has failed to provide an additional employment certificate, even where the employment record book contains the necessary information. Such a refusal may be challenged if the available documents are sufficient to establish the applicant’s preferential service.
If the Pension Fund refuses to recognise a period of preferential employment or to grant a pension, the decision may be challenged before an administrative court. The case law of the Supreme Court of Ukraine is particularly important in such disputes. In its decisions of 20 February 2018 in case No. 234/13910/17 and 7 March 2018 in case No. 233/2084/17, the Supreme Court addressed situations involving formal deficiencies in employment documents.
In addition, in its decision of 24 May 2018 in case No. 490/12392/16-а, the Supreme Court expressed the position that an employee should not bear responsibility for the correctness and completeness of documents prepared by the employer.
Therefore, obtaining a preferential pension for a ferroalloy furnace operator largely depends on properly confirming the relevant periods of employment and preferential service. If the Pension Fund of Ukraine refuses to recognise the service record or grant the pension, the applicant may protect their rights through court proceedings.
