KSCA: Kyiv has not rescheduled working days for New Year holidays — what this means for citizens

The Kyiv City State Administration (KSCA) has commented on whether working days will be rescheduled in the capital during the New Year and Christmas holidays. In response to a request from the RBK-Ukraine publication, the Kyiv City Council's executive body clarified that no specific decisions have been made to reschedule working days for the New Year period in Kyiv. City service employees will work according to their established schedule, and duty shifts will be organized to handle urgent tasks. Thus, a formal "rescheduling" of days off, as practiced in a number of other Ukrainian cities, is not planned for the capital.

Round-the-clock mode: why Kyiv works without breaks

The KSCA emphasized that city services ensure the capital's life support around the clock — without breaks for weekends and holidays. This is particularly relevant under martial law, when it is necessary to maintain critical infrastructure, provide municipal services, and respond quickly to emergencies and the consequences of Russian attacks. For this reason, the City Council administration believes that moving to a duty mode during holidays is a logical and necessary decision: some employees continue working normally, while others remain on duty to address urgent issues.

Who can determine their own schedule: utility companies and institutions

At the same time, the KSCA reminded that individual municipal enterprises and city institutions are independent legal entities and employers. This means that their managers have the right to determine their own operating mode, including during the holiday period. Thus, in Kyiv, a situation is possible where some institutions will operate normally, while others will introduce their own holiday schedules with rescheduled working days. No single city-wide decision has been made to regulate this for all structures.

Martial law and labor standards: what has changed

Special attention should be paid to the KSCA's reminder that special labor relation rules apply in Ukraine during martial law. Specifically, the regulation stating that a day off coinciding with a holiday or non-working day is automatically rescheduled to the next working day does not apply. This means that even if city authorities had decided to reschedule, the mechanism for doing so under martial law differs from the usual procedure. Employers and employees should take these factors into account when planning for the holiday period.

Kyiv against the backdrop of other cities: how the issue is resolved in regions

For comparison: in Ternopil, employees of municipal enterprises, schools, and social institutions will receive additional days off for Christmas and New Year. The Ternopil City Council made the corresponding decision, rescheduling working days to Saturdays — December 19 and January 16. Thus, there is no single approach in Ukraine to organizing holiday schedules: every city council and every municipal structure resolves this issue independently. Kyiv remains among the cities where no formal rescheduling has been announced, although individual institutions may act at their own discretion.

Context: Kyiv's preparation for the holidays

Recall that it was previously reported that a new Christmas concept for Kyiv's main Christmas tree, titled "Light Within," is being developed. The project has already been submitted for consideration to the city administration. Thus, the capital's preparation for the New Year and Christmas holidays is being conducted in two parallel directions — organizational (service work schedules) and image-related (decorating the city, festive events) — while the issue of rescheduling working days at the city level remains open for now.