Legal Conflicts and Gaps in the Context of Labor Legislation of Ukraine

The Indian Journal of Labour Economics https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-022-00410-9 ARTICLE Legal Conflicts and Gaps in the Context of Labor Legislation of Ukraine Lesya Ju. Maliuha1 · Valeriy O. Zhuravel2 · Sofiia O. Shabanova3 · Viktoriia I. Hnidenko4 · Volodymyr P. Pikul5 Accepted: 4 November 2022 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Indian Society of Labour Economics 2023 Abstract In the conditions of the democratization of the Ukrainian state, the reform of labor legislation is an objective necessity, about which there are many discussions. The current labor legislation was developed during the existence of strict legal regulation of labor relations, when state property was their economic basis. The relevance of the chosen research topic lies in the fact that the current legislation regulating labor relations is outdated and unbalanced, has problems, shortcomings, conflicts and gaps, and is simply not suitable for regulating this area in a market economy. The present study used a set of general and special methods of scientific knowledge. The purpose of this study is to establish the nature of problems, shortcomings and gaps in the legal regulation of labor relations in Ukraine, identify some of them and find ways to solve them, and formulate proposals to improve existing labor legislation in our country. Keywords Legal conflicts · Gaps in legislation · Labor legislation · Labor · Labor Code of Ukraine 1 Introduction Important factors in the formation and functioning of any legal system are its efficiency and integrity, which can ensure the actual achievement of its goals and objectives. One of the important tasks of the state is to transform the legal system into an integral mutually agreed system that can really and fully ensure the priority of universally recognized rights and freedoms, access to justice and judicial protection, as well as efficiency and transparency of the restoration of violated rights. There are numerous gaps and contradictions in the current Ukrainian legislation, and some provisions and even legal acts allow for different interpretations of certain labor * Lesya Ju. Maliuha Extended author information available on the last page of the article 13 Vol.:(0123456789) ISLE The Indian Journal of Labour Economics relations, which leads to numerous defects in law enforcement and violation of the rights and legitimate interests of the subjects of labor relations. In the conditions of the democratization of Ukraine, the issue of reforming the legislation that regulates labor relations in our country is one that traditionally provokes considerable discussion. A large number of scientific papers are devoted to proposals for possible ways to reform labor legislation, as it is obvious that the Labor Code of Ukraine of 1971 does not meet the requirements of the time (Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine 1971). The domestic legislator chose the path of modifying the norms and principles of Soviet labor legislation instead of fundamentally updating the legal regulation of labor relations. Therefore, despite the creation of drafts of the Labor Code, the task of forming a proper and effective regulatory framework in this area is still unresolved. Despite numerous changes, labor relations in our country are still partially regulated by legislation adopted during the existence of strict legal regulation of labor relations, when their economic basis was state property. For the correct application of labor law, any conflicts between labor law regulations and gaps in existing legislation must be resolved. As for the conflicts between labor laws, the situation is especially relevant given that the jurisprudence has never worked out legal positions to address the latter. One of the most problematic issues related to conflicts and gaps in the law is their solution, which is a process aimed at achieving uniform regulation of legal relations by either permanently eliminating contradictions from the system of legal requirements, or overcoming them in the course of law enforcement. The purpose of this article is to establish the essence of the problems, shortcomings and gaps in the legal regulation of labor relations in Ukraine, identify and find ways to solve selected problems, and develop proposals for ways to resolve such conflicts. These proposals are based on the logic of the labor law system, and therefore can be directly applied by the courts in resolving relevant disputes. The problems and gaps in the national labor legislation are the subject of scientific research by such authors as V. V. Zvonarev (2021), O. Ivanchenko (2018), Yu. O. Bezusa (2020), B.V. Chernyavska (2019) and T. Kirichenko (2020). The relevance of the chosen research topic lies in the fact that the current legislation governing labor relations is outdated and unbalanced, with problems, shortcomings and gaps, and is simply not suitable for regulating this area in a market economy. Consequently, the study of problems, shortcomings and gaps in the legal regulation of labor relations in Ukraine remains relevant, despite numerous changes to the Labor Code of Ukraine and numerous studies by domestic scientists (Britchenko and Saienko 2017). 2 Materials and Methods To achieve this goal and solve the problems caused by it, a set of general and specific methods of scientific knowledge was used. With the help of logical-semantic, deductive methods and methods of abstraction and generalization, the conceptual apparatus is deepened—the concept of conflict of law and gaps in law is defined. The comparative method was used when comparing different legal norms governing 13 ISLE The Indian Journal of Labour Economics labor relations. The dialectical method was used in the analysis of the theoretical foundations of legal conflicts and gaps in the field of labor law. This method made it possible to clarify and specify the concept of legal conflicts and gaps and ways to overcome them (Lutsenko 2019). The system method (method of system-structural analysis) contributed, in particular, to the study of types of legal conflicts and gaps. The authors used the formallogical (dogmatic) method in interpreting the normative content of the provisions of laws and formulating definitions of certain legal concepts of the subject of research. The inductive method contributed to the identification of legislative problems of labor law in Ukraine. The structural–functional method helped to identify the necessary ways to improve the current legislation in the field of labor. The hermeneutic method was useful, in particular, during the development of proposals to improve legislation and ways to overcome conflicts in the legal regulation of labor relations (Lytvyn et al. 2022). The theoretical and prognostic method was used to substantiate proposals and recommendations for improving current labor legislation, allowing the authors to propose legislative novelties that can be used to improve the provisions of labor law. A (...truncated)