1. EU vs Ukraine workplace: the hidden
differences
Alla Penalba (Resheten)
QA Lead
InvisibleCRM

2. Who am I?
• I’m a QA engineer since April 2007
• QA experience:
• 3 years in UA product company (banks and
telecom)
• 1 year in EPAM on e-commerce project
• 3 years in Belgian product company
• Few months in UA product company
• Lived for 4 years in Belgium and
came back to Ukraine 6 months ago

3. Overview
• Myths & truths
– You earn more in Europe ?
– Free social protection ?
– Taxes are high ?
• Difference in hiring process
– Legal constraint
• Working attitude
– Team work & overtime
– Growth & promotion in company
• The good, the bad, the ugly

4. Myths & truths : You earn more in Europe ?
• Income & taxes on 3000€ salary in Belgium
• 42% in your pocket : 1250 €
• Income & taxes on 1500€ salary
in Ukraine (self-employed)
• 90% in your pocket : 1350 €
• Gross & Net are 2 different world

5. Myths & truths : free social protection
• Lot of taxes but at least social security is great !
– 40% of salary goes to social security…. (hardly free)
• Hospital costs : pretty much free
• Doctors : 30-50% reimbursed
– GP : 10$
– Dentist : 50$
• Appointment ? Earliest one is in 3 weeks, interested ?

6. Myths & truths : taxes are high ?
• Euphemism 
• Taxes on income : up to 50%
• Taxes on bonus : up to 70%
• Social security : up to 40%
• Engineers with salary above 2500$ a month will pay up to 60-70%
of taxes

7. Difference in hiring process
• LinkedIn is more used
• Majority of recruiting company
• Length of process :
– Multiple interview (recruiter, HR, technical lead, manager, HR)
– Legal constraint : work permit (couple weeks), residency permit (months)
• Contract signing & package negotiation

8. Working attitude : teamwork & overtime
• Internal resources : cheaper, hard to fire
• Consultant : expensive, easy to fire
• Outsource : SLA based, expensive
• Paid/compensated overtime

9. Working attitude : Growth & promotion
• Internal growth :
– Training
– Promotion
– Salary increase
• Promotion
– depending on internal turnover & external
turnover
– Age/gender based

10. Good, the bad & the ugly
• Good:
– Job safety
– Benefit in kind : company car, phone, home internet, hospital protection
– Vacation, parental leave, sabbatical leave
– Social security : hospital, unemployment (non limited in time…)
• Bad
– Salary increase (1-2% a year)
– Difficulty to get promotion
– Legal constraint : work permit, residency
– Cultural challenges & mentality
• Ugly
– Taxes

12. www.goit.com.ua
facebook.com/goITclub
vk.com/goITclub