National booking peculiarities: what to expect from March 1st and the reasons behind the system's malfunctions.

A year ago, in a New Year’s address to Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelensky first proclaimed a simple principle: "Either you work, or you fight". There are no questions – a reliable rear equals success on the front lines. However, labor in the rear, in modern realities, becomes a task with a "star." "In Lviv region, the military registration and enlistment office mobilized a reserved worker," "A reserved employee was mobilized — the court says it's all legal" — similar headlines appear in the media almost weekly.

Why? What bugs exist in the reservation system, do the authorities see them, and is it possible to fix the situation? Answers to these questions were sought by "Telegraph".

System Problems

Unpredictability. This is probably the cornerstone of all problems related to reservations. The Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 76 from January 27, 2023 – this is the "bible" that all enterprise managers refer to when reserving their employees. Over two years, this important document has been changed by the government 21 (!) times. In other words, almost every month the reservation rules were updated. The last major upgrade occurred last November.

– For three years of war, there has not been a single instance where the deferment from mobilization or reservation was based on the rules that existed three months ago. Each time there is something new, — confirmed in an interview with "Telegraph" lawyer Rostyslav Kravets.

And there are also other regulatory acts concerning reservations: sectoral criteria from ministries, state enterprises, military-civil administrations, the Pension Fund… The amount of regulations is so vast that just as you get a grip on the current rules, the government is already writing new ones. What are the consequences?

For instance, according to the current rules, it is possible to reserve no more than 50 percent of the conscripted individuals at a critical enterprise. At the end of last year, the government allowed women not to be counted in the total number of employees.

– But before, they had to be counted, – explains "Telegraph" employee of one of the agricultural enterprises in Poltava region Irina. – As a result, to "fit" into the quota and keep as many men at work as possible, the management had to lay off women. The village has no other jobs. Women took their children and went to Germany.

Defining Criticality. Of course, only certain enterprises have the right to reserve their employees, specifically those deemed critically important for meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihood of the population.

One of the main criteria for criticality is the significant importance for the sector of the national economy or for meeting the needs of the territorial community. But how to determine whether an enterprise is important for the economy or not? This is where ministries and military-civil administrations come into play, which should assess the criticality of each specific enterprise.

– And the biggest problem here lies in the procedure for determining criticality, – explains "Telegraph" Deputy Director of the European Business Association Svetlana Mykhailovska. – Each ministry and each OVA has its own criteria for critically important enterprises and its own interpretation of these criteria. Moreover, there is no clearly defined period necessary for considering applications for criticality. Enterprises wait for over a month to receive a critical status. At the same time, decisions to reconfirm this status sometimes simply "hang" within the relevant structures.

Without recording, interlocutors share that the manual determination of the criticality of enterprises carries corruption risks. Simply put, entrepreneurs in the field are very dependent on their relationships with the relevant ministries and local authorities.

Additionally, there are questions regarding the 50% quota of reserved individuals at an enterprise. By a separate decision from the Minister of Defense, this quota can be increased, and the Ministry of Economy was convinced that this mechanism works. However, mayors across the country complain that they critically lack utility workers who are still being mobilized. The Lutsk City Council appealed to the Ministry of Defense at the end of last year, requesting to increase the quota to 85%. However, according to information from "Telegraph," the defense ministry refused the Lutsk city council's request for increased quotas.

Sectoral Criteria. Many questions arise regarding the sectoral criteria for criticality established by ministries and local administrations. For example, consider the criteria from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, which were updated last December. From the ministry's perspective, a critical enterprise in agriculture is one that cultivates agricultural land on an area of at least 500 hectares. For large agricultural holdings, this is not an issue, but for farmers…

– The overwhelming majority of farms (over 85%) have an area of up to 120 hectares. These are family farms of the European type. Now these farms cannot even discuss reserving the head of the farm or workers during the war. In other words, the conditions set are one thing, and the real situation is another. Today, farms are in survival mode, and may even face destruction by spring 2025. We are heading towards Europe, and Europe is exclusively agricultural. We may reach it, but without the Ukrainian farmer, — comments "Telegraph" honorary president of the Association of Farmers and Private Landowners of Ukraine Ivan Tomich.

Recently, the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada appealed to the government to lower the threshold of 500 hectares, but for now, the sectoral criteria remain unchanged.

Furthermore, problems also arise in the defense industry.

– Defense subcontractors. There are enterprises fulfilling defense orders. They reserve up to 100% of their personnel. And there are their subcontractors who, for instance, supply the enterprise with components for final products. Some of these enterprises do not qualify for reservation as defense order performers, — explained "Telegraph" member of the parliamentary committee on economic development Dmytro Kysylevskyi.

Non-economic Reservation. Over the past year, there has been much debate among MPs, military personnel, and officials regarding the introduction of so-called economic reservations, where an employee receives a deferment based on their salary level. Ultimately, formally, officials abandoned the economic reservation model (as unfair). However, de facto, the salary level for reservation and recognition of an enterprise as critical still matters.

– As of today, "State Statistics" has not published statistics on the average salary for 2024, so it is unclear what salary level will be used as a basis when reviewing documents. Moreover, in January 2025, it will still be impossible to provide financial reporting for 2024, — adds Svetlana Mykhailovska.

Lack of Communication with TCK. This is perhaps the most painful problem regarding reservations. Even when having every reason for reservation, sometimes employees do not exercise this right, fearing that at the first communication with TCK, they will be mobilized.

– Six months after the full-scale invasion, I quit my job and decided to work at a factory assembling mines. Honestly, I was afraid of mobilization, but I wanted to help the country, so I made that decision, – shares "Telegraph" locksmith from one of the capital's defense enterprises Andriy. – Reservation is, of course, provided for us, and I have every right to obtain it, but for that, I need to first go to TCK to update my data, pass the VLK, since my data in "Reserve+" does not sync (possibly because I left occupied territories). But even the management at work does not advise me to do this, saying there is a chance that no one will check where I work and I will be mobilized.

On one hand, intentionally hiding from mobilization under the reservation is not very ethical, while on the other hand, the state officially offers this when the Minister of National Unity Aleksey Chernyshev offers deferments to everyone returning from abroad to work in defense.

Adding fuel to this fire of misunderstandings between citizens and TCK was MP from "Servant of the People," member of the committee on national security and defense Oleksandr Fedienko, who reported on the fact of mobilizing a reserved worker. The Mykolaiv TCK, which found itself at the center of the scandal, later claimed it was a technical glitch. However, the arguments of the reserved worker were apparently ignored, indicating a reluctance of TCK employees to engage in civilized communication.

These are the main, but far from all problems with reservations in Ukraine. There are also many smaller issues:

- Companies are facing issues with "DIIA" incorrectly calculating the quota (the number of employees that can be reserved at the enterprise, — Ed.). There is also a lack of