A student of a vocational school will not pay an illegal “fee” for a practical training

Publication date: June 26, 2023

The question that Nadiia*, a resident of the Zaporizhzhia oblast, addressed to the lawyers of the NGO “Agency for Democratic Development of Donbas” concerned her daughter Svitlana*. The girl is studying in the third year of culinary school, and the institution required students to undergo practical training…

Finding an enterprise in the city that would hire a student for temporary work turned out to be a difficult task. At the same time, the school’s administration offered its help with internship placement. But the “service” turned out to be paid: for it, you had to pay a little more than UAH 300. Another condition was that the student would work for free and not receive money for their work. When Nadiia asked why everything was like that, the school explained to her that such practice is supposedly free of charge. That is why Nadiia asked for a consultation to find out how legal the actions of the school administration are, and whether students really have to pay the educational institution for practice, while not receiving anything for their work at an enterprise.

The organization’s lawyer, Tetiana Pliasunova, explained:

1. The legislation of Ukraine on technical and vocational education is based on the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On Education” and the Law of Ukraine “On Vocational (Technical and Vocational education) Education”.

2. In accordance with Art. 29 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vocational (Technical and Vocational education) Education” dated February 10, 1998, on 103/98 of the Government of Ukraine, enterprises, institutions, and organizations, regardless of the forms of ownership, provide the students of vocational (technical and vocational) education institutions with workplaces or educational and production sites for practical training or industrial practice in accordance with the agreements concluded with vocational (technical and vocational) education contracts on educational and practical training.

3. According to Clause 2 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 992 dated 06/07/1999 “On the approval of the Procedure for providing workplaces for students, trainees of vocational educational institutions for practical training and industrial practice”, the list of enterprises that are obliged to provide workplaces for practical training is formed by educational institutions.

Enterprises that accept trainees are obliged to create the necessary and safe conditions for the training. The head of the enterprise is responsible for paying the students and observing the rules of labor protection, safety, and sanitation during the period of their practical training.

4. As for the payment of wages, it is charged to trainees in accordance with the established system of payment of labor according to norms, and rates, taking into account coefficients, surcharges, and allowances. The accrued funds are transferred for payment to the account of the vocational (technical and vocational) education institution or are paid directly by the enterprise no later than 5 days after the payment of wages to the enterprise’s employees.

According to Clause 18 of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the approval of the Procedure for providing workplaces for students, trainees of vocational educational institutions for practical training and industrial practice”, 50% of the salary of trainees who receive a scholarship can be transferred to the account of the educational institution.

5. According to Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vocational (Technical and Vocational education) Education”, state supervision (control) in the field of vocational (technical and vocational) education is carried out by the central body of executive authority, which implements the state policy in the field of education and science, and by education management bodies.

– Thus, if the management of the institution does not stop its illegal actions and does not solve the existing problems in the institution, you can ask for help or write complaints to the above-mentioned bodies – and this is how you can protect your rights, – the lawyer advised Nadiia.

After receiving a consultation, the woman discussed the problem with her daughter again, and then with the management of the educational institution. The representatives of the administration admitted that their proposals were illegal and promised that there would be no need to pay any money for the practical training, and the girl would receive payment for her work, as required by law.

In the end, the family not only defended their rights but also received an offer from lawyers to contact them again if the unpleasant situation continues.

*Names has been changed for ethical reasons.

The material was created with the support of the international charity platform GlobalGiving and the Legal Empowerment Fund (Fund for Global Human Rights program) and the Legal Development Network. The content of the publication is solely the responsibility of the Legal Development Network and does not necessarily reflect the views of the previously mentioned organizations.

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