Combination of professions or positions is the performance by an employee, along with their main job, of additional work in another profession or position at the same enterprise, without being released from their main job. Such work is performed within the established duration of working time, and not in free time from the main job. That is why combination (суміщення – sumishchennya) should not be confused with holding multiple jobs/moonlighting (сумісництво – sumisnytstvo), which is characterized by the performance of other paid work under a separate employment contract in one’s free time.

The first common error is assigning additional duties without the employee’s consent. The employer has no right to demand the performance of work not stipulated by the employment contract. Therefore, the safe option for an HR specialist is to obtain the employee’s written consent or an application for consent to combination before the start of performing additional work. If the combination is established at the initiative of the employer, the rules for changing the essential conditions of labor should be considered. During martial law, notification of a change in essential working conditions is carried out no later than prior to the introduction of such conditions.

The second error is the absence of a properly executed order. Combination must be formalized by an employer’s order. In the order, it is advisable to specify the position or profession for which the combination is established, the content of the additional work, the start date, the term or condition of termination, the amount of the surcharge, and the basis for its establishment. If the order simply states “assign duties” without specifying the scope of work and payment, the employee may demand a recalculation of salary in a dispute.

The third error is formalizing a combination for a position that is not in the staffing table (staff list) or is not vacant. To combine a position, it must be provided for by the staffing table and actually unoccupied. If the employee performs the work of a temporarily absent employee, it should be correctly called precisely the performance of the duties of a temporarily absent employee, and not the combination of a vacant position. The State Labor Service also notes that the combined position must be in the staffing table and remain vacant.

The fifth error is using combination to actually increase working time without proper payment. Combination is performed within the established duration of the working day. If the employee actually works overtime, this can already raise questions about overtime work and its payment, and not just about the surcharge for combination.