Should a local government employee who is currently in the temporarily occupied territory and has forcibly received a Russian passport be fired? This is exactly what was discussed at a consultation organized by the U-LEAD with Europe regional office in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
“I want to remind you that we do not have an automatic loss of Ukrainian citizenship due to the acquisition of another citizenship. According to Article 2 of the law of Ukraine "On citizenship of Ukraine" it is determined that if a citizen of Ukraine has acquired citizenship of another state or states, then in legal relations with Ukraine he is recognized only as a citizen of Ukraine. Meanwhile, according to Article 19 of the law of Ukraine "On citizenship of Ukraine" the reason for the loss of Ukrainian citizenship is voluntary acquisition of citizenship of another state by a citizen of Ukraine, if at the time of such acquisition he has reached the age of majority," said Tetiana Bordiug, the Head of this regional office.
At the same time, there is always a need to comply with the procedures and documentary formalities established by law in all matters related to the acquisition and termination of citizenship.
"An employee who is in the temporarily occupied territory remains a citizen of Ukraine and is in his position. Nobody knows for sure in what situation and under what circumstances a person received that passport. The facts of collaboration and cooperation with the enemy are subject to establishment by the investigation and the court. It should be remembered that certain categories of employees, for example, doctors, cannot be considered collaborators at all, providing medical care to residents of the occupied territories, and teachers who refused to cooperate with the occupation authorities and teach children not according to the Ukrainian educational program, the Ukrainian authorities recommend supporting and preserving," she stressed.
And she added that if the employment relationship was not suspended, then the employee, being on the temporarily occupied territory, can be idle and receive partial salary. This fits into the concept of supporting Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories.
It is also known that there are already examples of judicial practices when workers dismissed because they were in the occupied territories, and accused of collaboration on the basis of information actually from social networks, prove the groundlessness and unconfirmed facts of such information in the Ukrainian court. And they are reinstated at work, because there were no grounds for their dismissal.
"Labor relations should be treated very carefully and analyze whether the facts are confirmed and the circumstances are such that a person can be dismissed in accordance with The Labour Code. A citizen is considered virtuous until the rest is proved in court," the expert summed up.