The inflow of displaced persons from Ukraine into the European Union calls for joint efforts of European and national institutions and bodies to address the needs and mitigate the risks displaced persons may face. The mechanism immediately put in place by the Council is the institute of temporary protection provided by the Member States, which allows temporary protection beneficiaries to access a range of rights, such as special protection for children, access to education and healthcare, as well as access to the labour market, social security, accommodation and housing.
While the rights stemming from the temporary protection are applicable in a Member State which granted the protection, the access to labour market in a given country enables displaced persons to be subject to some of provisions of labour mobility, such as the rules applicable to posted workers or the rules on social security coordination.
ELA activities related to displaced persons coming from Ukraine seek to support the Member States in protecting them from the risk of undeclared work or exploitation in the workplace. Against this background, ELA’s activities have been organised around the following pillars:
- Facilitating access to relevant information
- Preventing labour exploitation and tackling undeclared work
Main activities undertaken
- The EU Talent Pool Pilot is a job-searching online tool for people fleeing the war in Ukraine who are looking for a job in the EU. It helps to identify and map their skills and facilitates their matching with EU employers. All jobseekers benefiting from temporary protection under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, or adequate protection under national law providing them the right to work in the Member State in which they are registered, now could search, find and match from over 3 million job vacancies that are available on the EURES portal.
- Awareness raising videos focusing on promoting declared work and preventing exploitation or abuse developed and released on 8 April and 19 May (go to the playlist on ELA's Youtube Channel)
- Support to the Member States in translating material aimed at raising awareness about the risks of undeclared work and labour exploitation, thereby preventing negative outcomes of the lack of accessible and easy to understand information among displaced persons from Ukraine
- Preventing and tackling undeclared work among displaced persons making full use of ELA’s Platform Tackling Undeclared Work and newly established sub-group on tackling undeclared work among displaced persons
- Preventing and fighting trafficking in human beings for purpose of labour exploitation by closely cooperating with other EU institutions in line with Common Anti-Trafficking Plan for persons fleeing the war in Ukraine
- Mapping of national measures in the field of access to employment and social security offered to displaced persons in the EU and EFTA Member States (updated versions - February 2023) - see below.
Documents and reports
Overview of the measures taken by EU and EFTA countries regarding employment and social security of displaced persons from Ukraine
English (261.31 KB - PDF)Reported issues in relation to the measures taken by EU and EFTA countries regarding employment and social security of displaced persons from Ukraine
English (215.48 KB - PDF)Related information
The following is a non-exhaustive list of websites offering information and support to displaced persons themselves, as well as entities and individuals providing support.
EU solidarity with Ukraine | European Commission (europa.eu)
A platform on which EU countries can exchange essential information relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing arrival of displaced persons in European countries.
UNHCR - Ukraine emergency
UNHCR’s landing page on Ukraine emergency and an entry point for accessing daily updated data.
EUAA Response to the War in Ukraine / Відповідь EUAA (Агентство Європейського Союзу з питань притулку)на війну в Україні | European Union Agency for Asylum (europa.eu)
An access to EUAA Survey of Arriving Migrants from Ukraine, weekly analyses on Temporary Protection in the EU+ and the latest emergency measures adopted by EU+ countries to address the influx of displaced persons from Ukraine and information leaflets for persons fleeing Ukraine
IOM Ukraine
EU and IOM launch all-Ukrainian awareness-raising campaign for prevention of human trafficking during war. The site https://www.527.org.ua/ developed under the campaign offers official, relevant and practical information for persons fleeing Ukraine across and beyond the EU Member States.
Stand with Ukraine | Eurofound (europa.eu)
Data sources collecting early information and first results on national measures to accommodate refugees from Ukraine, on social and economic impact of war and the impact on the European labour markets
Cedefop's response to the war in Ukraine | CEDEFOP (europa.eu)
Data, news, publications and other material relevant for displaced persons from Ukraine and hosting countries in the fields of skills and labour market.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights
FRA is publishing regular updates about the fundamental rights implications in the EU for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Videos, news and bulletins are constantly updated under the dedicated section.