The subject of the dispute in this case is the appeal against the inaction of the 5th State Fire and Rescue Squad regarding the failure to pay compensation for the delay in payment of monetary allowance indexation.
The Supreme Court overturned the decisions of the courts of previous instances, which dismissed the claim without consideration due to missing the deadline for appealing to the court. The Court noted that the courts of previous instances mistakenly applied the new version of Article 233 of the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine (CLCL), which limits the term for appealing to the court to three months, since the legal relations regarding the payment of compensation arose before this version came into force. The Court emphasized that the version of Article 233 of the CLCL, which was in effect at the time the right to compensation arose, should be applied to the disputed legal relations, namely when the term for appealing to the court was not limited. The Court also took into account that compensation for the delay in payment of indexation is a component of wages, and therefore, the dispute concerns labor relations. In addition, the Supreme Court referred to its previous practice, which indicated the fallacy of linking the starting point of the term to the moment of actual payment of indexation, since this does not affect the period for which compensation is accrued.
The court decided to overturn the decisions of the courts of previous instances and send the case for a new trial to the court of first instance.
: In this decision, the Supreme Court confirmed the departure from previous conclusions regarding the application of terms for appealing to the court in labor disputes if the legal relations arose before the new version of Article 233 of the Labor Code of Ukraine came into force.
