Ukrainian enterprises planning to obtain or confirm the status of critically important for employee booking will have to meet a new salary criterion starting from June 2026. The Ministry of Economy explained that for document submission in July, the average salary for June will be taken into account, which must exceed three minimum wages.
This was reported by the agency 'Interfax-Ukraine' citing a response from the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture.
The new salary criterion for booking has been effective since June
The ministry noted that the average salary in the enterprise must be at least UAH 25,941, which corresponds to three minimum wages.
This indicator will be checked during the consideration of documents for obtaining or confirming the status of a critically important enterprise.
For example, if a company applies for such a status in July, the state body will analyze the average salary of employees for June 2026.
Thus, businesses need to ensure compliance with the new requirements now, rather than waiting until autumn.
What will happen to the status of critically important enterprises
The Ministry of Economy reminded that all decisions regarding the granting of the status of a critically important enterprise that were valid as of June 2, 2026, remain in force until the established deadline but not later than September 1, 2026.
By June 10, central authorities must review industry and regional criteria for determining critically important enterprises.
After that, companies will be able to submit updated document packages to obtain or confirm their status.
The ministry also confirmed that decisions on new bookings will continue to be made until August 2026.
Lawyers interpreted the start date of the new requirements differently
Previously, some legal firms believed that the new salary criterion would only start to be effectively applied from September 2026 for already booked employees.
However, the clarifications from the Ministry of Economy indicate that for enterprises currently applying for critically important status or undergoing its re-confirmation, the average salary of UAH 25,941 must be ensured already for June.
At the same time, the requirement regarding the salary of each individually booked employee, set at least at three minimum wages, will come into effect from September 1, 2026.
For many employers, this means the need to review the payroll fund and prepare for the new booking conditions in the near future.
It was previously reported that starting from September 1, 2026, for most enterprises the average salary of such employees must be no less than three minimum wages.