Guidance for European Companies on Hiring Refugees From Ukraine
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, more than 7.8 million refugees from Ukraine have been recorded across Europe. This mass exodus of people is one the fastest forced displacement crises in history and the largest since the Second World War.
To enable Member States to move rapidly to offer protection and rights to people fleeing Ukraine, the European Union (EU) activated the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) on 4 March 2022. It grants individuals immediate protection, as well as access to housing, employment, medical care, education, and more for up to three years.
This resource provides potential employers with applicable information about the rights refugees from Ukraine have to work in several European countries. Currently, localised TPD guidance is available for Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, and France (with more countries to be added in the future). Additionally, local guidance is included for the UK around the alternate national protection schemes that have been introduced.
This guide includes:
- A general overview of the EU’s TPD, including the rights it offers, to whom, and for how long
- Information on how individual EU Member States have applied the directive, as well as how the UK’s alternative national protection schemes work
- What employers need to know about the legalities of hiring refugees from Ukraine
This guide is a collaboration between the Tent Partnership for Refugees and DLA Piper, a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.