The Supreme Court's Grand Chamber has established the criteria for granting unemployed status to attorneys.

The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has determined the conditions under which a lawyer can be granted unemployed status.

In the course of the case, the lawyer was granted unemployed status and allocated unemployment benefits. Subsequently, the city employment center discovered that the defendant, while registered as unemployed, was also registered with the Bar Association and had the right to engage in legal practice. As a result, the city employment center terminated his registration and the payment of benefits. The center also informed the lawyer of the need to return the funds that had been disbursed, which he did not voluntarily repay, leading to a lawsuit for the recovery of the unemployment benefits paid.

The Supreme Court ruled that a lawyer whose right to practice law has not been suspended or terminated is considered a person engaged in independent professional activity (self-employed) and is categorized as part of the employed population, which excludes the possibility of granting him unemployed status.

The Supreme Court took into account that there was no information in the case materials regarding the suspension or termination of the defendant's right to engage in legal practice. Therefore, he could not be recognized as unemployed, and the unemployment benefits he received are subject to recovery based on part 3 of Article 36 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory State Pension Insurance in Case of Unemployment".

Decision of the Supreme Court dated August 28, 2024, in case No. 761/38813/21.