Four-day workweek in Ukraine: only a few votes remain for Cabinet consideration

The petition proposing to introduce a four-day working week in Ukraine without reducing salaries has approached the required 25,000 signatures. If this threshold is surpassed, the appeal must be officially considered by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The corresponding petition №41/010242-26еп was published on the official website of the Cabinet of Ministers on 3 July 2026. Its author, Anna Pavlenko, proposes amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine.

The initiative provides for setting the standard working time at no more than four working days or 32 hours per week. At the same time, the workers’ salaries, according to the petition author’s idea, should not be reduced.

Currently, the Labor Code stipulates that the normal duration of employees’ working time cannot exceed 40 hours per week. At the same time, enterprises and organizations can already set a lower working time standard in a collective agreement.

The petition’s author proposes not to limit the change to individual employers, but to introduce a state program for the transition to the new work model. In particular, it is proposed to first conduct a state pilot project, involving certain industries, budgetary institutions and private enterprises. After evaluating the results, the new format is proposed to be gradually extended to other sectors.

Among the arguments, the initiative’s authors name:

• the need to reduce professional burnout;
• improvement of employees’ physical and psychological condition;
• preservation of human capital;
• increased labor productivity.

As of 21 September 2026 the petition, according to available data, has already gathered almost 21,000 signatures.

For an electronic petition to the Cabinet of Ministers to be considered under the special procedure, it must receive at least 25,000 signatures within no more than three months from the date of publication. After the required number of votes is reached, information about the start of its consideration must be published no later than three working days thereafter. The consideration itself is carried out no later than ten working days after that.

Водночас 25 тисяч підписів не означають автоматичного запровадження чотириденного робочого тижня. Кабмін має розглянути пропозицію та оприлюднити рішення про її підтримку або непідтримку. Якщо уряд визнає ініціативу доцільною, для її реалізації можуть знадобитися зміни до трудового законодавства.

Earlier we wrote:

• Petition for a 4-day workweek with full pay gathered over 15,000 votes
• “The judge works, the prosecutor works, and the lawyer was mobilized?”: in Ukraine people are collecting signatures for exemptions
• While some have been fighting for years: the Cabinet was proposed to send 40% of enlistment centers and police to the front
• No longer have to work 40 hours? The government is being proposed to shorten the workweek
• “Own people first”: Ukrainians responded with petitions to the idea of importing labor from abroad