How to set up remote work and flexible schedules in 2025: tips for HR managers

In recent years, remote work has been experiencing a real boom in Ukraine. According to a sociological study by InfoSapiens, while only 12% of Ukrainians worked remotely before the 2020 pandemic, this figure had increased by 50% by 2025. This trend was accelerated by the pandemic, full-scale war, and the digitalization of business processes.

For many companies, remote or flexible work has become not just a temporary solution, but the basis of their recruitment and retention strategy. Official data shows that the percentage of such companies is growing every year, especially in large cities and in industries with high competition for talent (IT, marketing, etc.).

Companies that adapted to the remote format in time have an advantage in attracting personnel, reducing office costs, and increasing productivity. However, for businesses, remote work is not only convenient but also presents new challenges: legal formalities, working time accounting, performance monitoring, and compliance with labor legislation. In this article, we will discuss how to organize remote work in 2025, what documents to prepare, and how to automate these processes using digital tools.

What is remote work: definition

Remote work is a form of employment in which an employee performs their duties outside the employer’s premises, using digital communication tools.
The employee independently chooses their workplace (at home, in a coworking space, or even in another city) — the key is delivering the result.

Remote work formats: what the law says

In 2025, Law of Ukraine No. 4339-IX «On Amendments to the Labor Code of Ukraine Regarding the Improvement of Legal Regulation of Certain Issues of Home-Based and Remote Work» (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 4339-IX) came into force. It regulates several basic formats of remote employment, each of which has its own characteristics and requirements for formalization.

🧑‍💻 Remote work

When working remotely, an employee performs work outside the employer’s premises — in any chosen location (for example, at home, in a coworking space, or in another territory). This format is suitable for IT specialists, marketers, designers, content managers — professions where the result is more important than the place of performance.

Features:

• A remote work agreement can be concluded online using an electronic digital signature, and all HR documents are kept in digital form, including time sheets and orders.
• Since 2025, Law No. 4339-IX allows employees to be sent on business trips even when working remotely, if this is specified in the employment contract.

🏠 Home-based work

Home-based work is a format that is relevant for production processes (assembly, packaging), where the employer provides materials and monitors performance. The employee works at home or at another location agreed upon with the employer.

Features:

• the employee cannot independently change the location for performing their duties without the employer’s knowledge;
• this format is especially relevant for parents of children who study online — according to Law No. 4339-IX, one of the parents can apply for a transfer to work from home for the duration of the child’s distance learning.

🕰️ Flexible work schedule

A schedule agreed upon between the employee and the employer that determines when the workday begins and ends, as well as the number of hours worked during the month.

Features:

• allows to combine working hours with personal or family circumstances;
• flexible schedule, like remote work, requires the conclusion of an appropriate agreement, which specifies the schedule, communication times, and responsibility for results.

How to set up remote work: step-by-step instructions for HR

When implementing a remote format, employers must comply with labor law regulations. Let’s take a step-by-step look at what needs to be done.

✅ Step 1. Sign a contract with the employee

If an employee is hired directly for remote work, the employer signs a written employment contract with them using the standard form approved by Order No. 913-21 of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade, and Agriculture of Ukraine dated May 5, 2021.

The agreement contains:

• the terms and conditions of work;
• the procedure for reporting and recording time;
• compensation for the use of personal equipment or the internet;
• the possibility of business trips (if necessary).

For employees who already work for the company, an order can be issued to transfer them to a remote form of work. During martial law, remote work can be introduced by order without the mandatory conclusion of a written agreement, but the employee must be familiarized with the order within two days.

Sample order for remote work:

✅ Step 2. Conduct occupational safety training

Despite the remote or home-based format of work, the employee must undergo occupational safety training, and the employer must provide the relevant materials and record this in the training log (in paper or electronic form) in accordance with the requirements of Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine «On Occupational Safety».

The employer may conduct the training remotely, for example, via video link (Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine «On Occupational Safety»). After that, the employee signs an electronic document to confirm that they are familiar with the occupational safety rules.

✅ Step 3. Keep track of working hours

The employer is obliged to keep accurate records of the work performed by the employee, even if the employee works remotely. This is necessary for calculating wages and complying with the provisions of Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine «On Remuneration of Labor».

Working hours must not exceed the national standards set out in the current labor legislation. Electronic timesheets are used to confirm the hours worked remotely. Online tools can also be used to automate the recording of employee attendance at the workplace, tasks performed, and duties fulfilled. All HR documents can be drawn up in electronic form and signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES).

How to organize a flexible work schedule

A flexible work schedule can be implemented with the written consent of the employee and reflected in the employment contract or order, specifying:

• the start and end of the working day;
• periods of mandatory presence/availability;
• the total number of working hours per week/month;
• reporting and communication procedures.

When implementing a flexible schedule, the employer is obliged to comply with all the provisions of the Labor Code of Ukraine, in particular regarding rest, vacations, social guarantees, etc.

List of documents required to formalize remote work

• employment contract for remote work;
• order on introducing the remote work regime;
• occupational safety briefing (with electronic confirmation);
• timesheet for recording working hours;
• regulation on reimbursement of expenses (internet, electricity).

How the Vchasno.Kadry service helps organize remote work and flexible schedules

The Vchasno.Kadry service is a modern platform for automating HR processes at all stages of remote or flexible work. It allows to:

• quickly formalize employment relationships using standard templates for electronic HR documents;
• manage electronic HR document flow — from applications and orders to timesheets and reports;
• process vacations and sick leaves in accordance with all legal requirements;
• automatically upload employee documents from the Diya application for hiring;
• reduce the administrative burden on HR managers and executives.

Vchasno.Kadry is part of the Vchasno ecosystem of services for business. Integration with Vchasno.EDO, Vchasno.KEP, and other digital tools guarantees the legal validity of documents and simplifies the control and analysis of HR processes.

Documents are securely stored in an electronic archive in accordance with all legal requirements. The Vchasno archive is located on Amazon S3 servers in the EU. Documents are protected from any cyberattacks or unauthorized access.

When organizing remote work in a company, HR managers must take into account many legal nuances related to occupational safety, working time accounting, etc. Digital services such as Vchasno.Kadry automate most of these processes, ensuring the legal validity of documents and reliable data storage.