The public organization proposes to implement “compassionate leave”: for whom and why the idea arose

There is a problem with employers giving employees who have lost a loved one due to war time to come to terms with the loss. Therefore, the public organization calls for the introduction of “compassionate leave”. She told the journalist about it UNN Tetyana Borys, head of the “Plan B” Power Center project of the public organization Women’s Veteran Movement VETERANKA.

During the presentation of the first study in Ukraine of the experiences and needs of relatives of fallen soldiers, Borys said that the main goal is to spread the study as much as possible among all organizations that work with the families of the fallen and to advocate for certain changes at the state level. In particular, changes to leave for people who lost a friend or family member as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war and need time to recover, go through the first stages of the death of a family member, loved one or friend.

“We discussed as a team that an important topic is the implementation of “Compassionate leave”. This is such a concept and practice that exists abroad. That is, when a person experiences a loss and loses his ability to work for a certain period, he may not work for a certain period of time”, – Boris said.

During the presentation “Investigation of the experiences and needs of loved ones of fallen soldiers”, it was noted that some interviewees were forced to quit their jobs due to reluctance to receive additional attention, pity or condemnation from colleagues.

“That is, the loss changes a person’s identity in terms of work, capacity for work. Therefore, one of our wishes is to advocate the implementation of “Compassionate Leave”, both at the state level, changes to the code, the labor law, and at the level of employers, the private sector, business, so that this leave has become the norm and a manifestation of empathy and respect for the human experience. So that a person has time to go through this path, recover and return to work with new strength,” she said Boris

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To a journalist UNN Borys commented on the communication with the authorities regarding the idea of ​​introducing “Condolence Leave”.

“Currently, we have conducted a study and will try to enter its second iteration. As part of this work, we sent requests to the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Policy, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. We received a response from the Ministry of Economy, we expect from others,” Borys told the journalist.

According to her, the Ministry of Economy was reminded that family members of the victims have the right to use the main annual leave at a time convenient for them. It was also noted that the employee has the right to leave without salary in case of the death of relatives by blood or marriage: husband/wife, parents/stepfather/stepmother, child/stepson/stepdaughter, brothers, sisters.

However, Borys noted that the “Compassionate Leave” concept offers the preservation of salary leave and the possibility of additional leave for relatives and friends.

In addition, Borys said that the VETERANKA movement tried to communicate with businesses.

“We talked to them about how they interact with their employees who have this experience of experiencing loss. We heard for ourselves the basic, general things and understood that this problem exists. In the future, if we go to the second iteration of this project, then we would like to work with businesses, explain to them so that they introduce this into their HR policies, so that these practices are applied not only to the family of the deceased, but also to relatives: colleagues, close friends. Because everyone experiences loss,” Boris said.

She noted that it is not about a directive tone, a specifically defined time for “Compassionate Leave”.

“We are not talking about something that should have a directive tone, we are talking about such a need, in principle, about such a fact and phenomenon that it exists. About what the term can be is a matter of discussion. Including agreements with employees, who are experiencing loss. Currently, everything is done in a manual mode, somewhere humane, somewhere not humane. It is important how much time a person needs, but at the same time it is important that such an opportunity simply exists,” said Borys.

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For reference

The study of the experience of living with the loss of a loved one as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war had an investigative character. It was conducted by the NGO “Women’s Veteran Movement” together with the Cedos analytical center within the framework of the “Plan B” Power Center – return to active social life, reintegration, support and recovery project.

These are 15 semi-structured in-depth interviews with people who had different roles in the lives of fallen soldiers: partners, parents, brothers and sisters, children (from 21 years old), friends and colleagues, brothers and sisters.

Different experiences are presented: 11 women and 4 men, women with or without minor children, people from different regions of Ukraine and different types of communities (urban, rural, settlement), different periods of death of a loved one (from 2014 to 2024).