Religious holidays in the legislation of Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the issues of legal regulation of religious holidays in Ukraine and legal guarantees in connection with the recognition of certain religious holidays by the state as days off. The authors have highlighted the discussion concerning the possibility to celebrate religious holidays for representatives of different religious groups. It is established that the Ukraininan labor legislation allows for representatives of different religions to receive days off on their religious holidays, but with additional conditions: the religious community of non-Orthodox confession must apply to the employer; days off should be no longer than three days per year for the celebration of major religious holidays; employees must work to compensate days off to the employer during other days of the year. We have proposed our own approach for reforming Ukraine’s labor legislation, which will eliminate inequality and establish a day-off during the celebration of Easter on the Western calendar, as well as improve the legal norms governing the celebration of religious holidays by representatives of other confessions.