Legal regulation of labor relations of employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: modern challenges and prospects

The article conducts a comprehensive study of the legal regulation of labor relations of employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, taking into account the modern challenges facing the state under martial law. It is emphasized that labor relations in the military sphere have a specific nature, since they combine the norms of general labor legislation and special provisions of military and administrative law. This determines the dualistic nature of regulation: military personnel are subject to public law norms, while civilian personnel are subject to classical labor law norms. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the legislative framework regulating labor relations of employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A number of problems have been identified: the absence of a single generalized regulatory act that would comprehensively regulate labor relations in the military sphere; the presence of legal conflicts between the provisions of the Labor Code of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Military Duty and Military Service”, as well as special by-laws; imperfection of mechanisms for ensuring the appropriate level of social guarantees and compensation payments to employees and members of their families. Special attention is paid to the problems of legal regulation of working hours, overtime, vacations, the procedure for their provision and material support. It is concluded that the existing model of legal regulation is not flexible enough and does not meet the challenges that arose during the period of large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine. The feasibility of reforming the regulatory framework by harmonizing the provisions of labor and military legislation, developing a separate special law or including the relevant section in the Labor Code of Ukraine is substantiated. It is proposed to focus on the best practices of NATO member states, which provide for comprehensive protection of labor rights of civilian personnel in the military sector, an effective system of social guarantees and transparent mechanisms for monitoring compliance with labor legislation.