Can't Find Your Work Book? The Pension Fund of Ukraine Explains How to Verify Your Work History

Alternatives for proving your employment history

According to ХВИЛЯ: For Ukrainians whose employment dates back to before January 1, 2004, proving their work record can be difficult, especially if the original paper workbook is missing or contains inaccuracies. In such cases, the Pension Fund of Ukraine (PFU) accepts a range of substitute documents:

• extracts
• certificates
• orders
• personal accounts
• payroll statements
• credentials
• employment contracts

Special PFU commissions handle verification for employees of enterprises located in occupied territories, including Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and Sevastopol, following a separate procedure.

If documents cannot be obtained because the company was liquidated or archives were destroyed by military action, sabotage, or occupation, work experience may be confirmed through witness testimony. At least two witnesses are required, and they must have worked alongside the applicant at the same company and hold their own employment documents for that same period. According to Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, first deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, work history can be established either through former coworkers' testimony or in court.

Obstacles in confirming work history

It is important to note that the PFU has no authority to dictate which archives a former employee should approach after an enterprise shuts down. Lawyer Iryna Podkopaieva, a member of the Labor Law and Social Security Center at the Higher School of Advocacy of the National Association of Advocates of Ukraine, described a case in which the PFU refused to grant a preferential pension to a miner due to mismatches between his work book and a certificate issued in a temporarily occupied territory. In a ruling on July 4, 2023, the Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff, explaining that poor record-keeping by the employer cannot be used to deny someone the constitutional right to social protection.

An employee should not carry the burden of proving the truthfulness or accuracy of the data contained in their work book.

Supreme Court

As a result, verifying employment history remains relevant, particularly for those employed before 2004 and facing difficulties obtaining their documents.

This situation is especially significant for people who worked in unstable or conflict-affected settings, because pension eligibility depends on documents that are often hard or impossible to secure. For this reason, legal measures and court decisions protecting employees' rights can be crucial, ensuring that vulnerable groups still have access to social security.

As the Pension Fund of Ukraine navigates the complexities of verifying employment histories, recent developments indicate that pension eligibility requirements are set to become more stringent. Understanding these changes is crucial for those affected, particularly as they could impact the ability to secure a pension based on work history.