The driver fled abroad: tips for business

Amendments to the legislation of Ukraine on mobilization issues caused a sharp decline in the road transport market and new challenges for business.

Today, freight forwarders and carriers faced a new situation: the driver left for an international flight, but decided not to return to Ukraine and left the car outside of Ukraine, AMEU said.

One of the key aspects is the responsibility of company managers before the law in case of non-return of drivers from abroad. Also, in such a situation, the business faces questions regarding the return of the cargo and the car, as well as the risk of losing the license.

The procedure for the company in case of “flee” of the driver abroad:

• submit a statement to the National Police with a brief description of the situation and damages caused as a result of the driver’s disappearance;
• send a copy of the application or an extract from the Unified register of pre-trial investigations to Ukrainian Agency for Transport Safety and the State Border and Border Service;
• prepare an application to the State Customs Service to replace the driver.
• a driver who has not returned can be fired for absenteeism, but the procedure must be followed:
• document the employee’s absence from the workplace, which should be noted in the time sheet (“unexplained absence” may be entered);
• draw up at least two acts establishing the fact of absenteeism, in accordance with labor legislation;
• send the first letter with a request to provide written explanations for absence from the workplace;
• send a second letter with a request to arrive at the company’s legal address within three days;
• the manager issues a dismissal order, the employee is settled and a corresponding entry is made in the labor book;
• prepare and send to the employee’s address a letter with a copy of the dismissal order, a written notice of accrued and paid sums upon dismissal.
• Previously, USM reported that workers in the Ukrainian agricultural sector will be banned from mobilization for a year.