The Ukrainian economy is on the verge of a major reform of the reservation system. The Ministry of Economy of the country, headed by Alexey Sobolev, has presented an updated regulatory framework to the Verkhovna Rada, which radically changes the approach to identifying critical enterprises. The goal of the changes is to cut off "unnecessary" deferments and balance personnel needs between the defense sector and civilian production.
Statistics for the last year demonstrate a rapid growth in the number of reserved citizens in the economy — their number increased by 300 thousand people. At the same time, the number of enterprises claiming special status grew by 9 thousand. In June, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments aimed to bring order to this system, affecting about 20% of the country's companies.
Economic discipline as a condition for survival
The new regulatory model introduces strict economic filters. Now, obtaining or extending the status of a critical facility, which gives the right to defer personnel, is impossible without meeting two imperative requirements. The first is a fixed level of wages tied to social standards. The second is impeccable financial discipline before the state.
Parameters are differentiated taking into account geography and the complexities of doing business in different regions. For enterprises operating on the general territory of Ukraine, a high bar is set: the average wage of employees must not fall below three minimum wages (25,941 UAH). For frontline territories, where working conditions are objectively more difficult, the threshold is lowered to 2.5 minimum wages (21,618 UAH).
However, a single strict rule applies to both categories: complete absence of arrears on taxes and the single social contribution (ESC). Any arrears automatically jeopardize the critical status and, consequently, the reserve of employees.
Regional factor and frontline specifics
Special attention in the new rules is paid to frontline regions. It is here that a significant increase in reserved personnel has been recorded over the last 12 months. Since September 2025, these zones have had permission to exempt up to 100% of the personnel from conscription. This allowed to keep about 50 thousand specialists at their workplaces, employed at 2,133 specialized enterprises.
Lowering the salary threshold for these regions to 2.5 minimums is intended to support business under conditions of increased load, while maintaining the requirement for full tax discipline.
Fighting "grey" schemes and part-timers
An important aspect of the reform was the restructuring of quotas for persons working part-time. Previously existing schemes that allowed inflating the number of reserved employees will be eliminated. Henceforth, a liable citizen is counted in the quota exclusively by one main place of work, which is determined by the longest period of continuous labor relations.
Organizations whose recalculation will lead to exceeding the limits will receive official notifications. Exactly one week is allotted to bring the staffing schedule in line with real quotas.
Deadlines and consequences for business
For enterprises whose standards have not changed, a simplified algorithm for confirming status is provided. Management only needs to provide a certificate of the average wage for the last reporting month and the current tax calculation.
The final deadline for submitting documents is set until August 10, 2026. This is a critical date: in case of failure to provide data or non-compliance with new economic indicators, the critical status of companies will be annulled on September 1, 2026. This will entail the automatic cancellation of existing deferments for employees, which could be a serious blow to the personnel potential of enterprises not ready for new realities.
