Parliament passes the Law on Safety and Health of Workers at Work: what changes
On 12 October 2026 the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 10147 in full. "Labour protection" gives way to the European "worker safety": occupational risk assessment, new terms and greater employer responsibility. Here are the key points.
On 12 October 2026 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted, in the second reading and as a whole, the Law of Ukraine "On Safety and Health of Workers at Work" (bill No. 10147). It is an EU-integration law: it implements Council Directive 89/391/EEC, the basic European framework on the safety and health of workers. Here is the gist, based on the parliament's press release.
The main change is in the approach. Instead of the familiar "labour protection" or "occupational safety", the object of state policy becomes the European notion of "worker safety": the focus is on the actual person at the workplace, and the law's main task is to eliminate or minimise the risks to their life and health.
A new system of preventing occupational risks is introduced, built on the principles of Directive 89/391/EEC: risks are assessed, controlled and managed rather than merely dealt with after the fact. Key terms enter the legislation: incident, occupational risk, occupational risk assessment, workplace, harmful and hazardous occupational factors, audit of the occupational safety and health management system, and workers' representatives.
What the law is expected to deliver: a higher level of protection of workers' life and health; simpler legislation and a lower administrative and regulatory burden on employers; mechanisms for improving safety conditions together with economic incentives; greater employer responsibility for proper working conditions and a safe working environment; fair competition and wider access for Ukrainian companies to the international market; gradual alignment of national legislation with EU rules.
What it means for companies. The emphasis shifts from formal compliance with prescriptions to occupational risk assessment and a safety management system at every enterprise. Employers will have to know the risks of their workplaces, document the assessment, involve workers' representatives and train people to work safely. That is exactly what we do: occupational safety training for managers and specialists, safety audits and outsourcing of the safety service, workplace certification.
The law will take effect after it is signed by the President and officially published. As soon as the final text is released, we will update our occupational safety course programmes and tell our students which employer obligations change and from when. Have questions already? Call us or leave a request on the site.
