Refugees tend to be hired at a lower level than their qualifications as the procedures for certificate recognition isn’t adapted yet. Photo: Shutterstock

Refugees tend to be hired at a lower level than their qualifications as the procedures for certificate recognition isn’t adapted yet. Photo: Shutterstock

The European Commission has issued a set of recommendations to help Ukrainian refugees in the recognition of their qualifications and diplomas.

“Refugees often work below their qualification level and are at risk of poor working conditions,” the Commission stated in a press release on 6 April, adding that women--who represent a larger part of the more than 4 million refugees who have entered the EU since the start of the war--are particularly vulnerable to this type of scenario.

To counter this, the Commission has set up a number of tools to accelerate the procedure of recognition of documents. The EU executive created a resource hub on Ukrainian qualifications, meant to be a space where information can be shared which would fast track the administrative procedure. An eTranslation tool for Russian and Ukrainian has also been adapted to speed up diplomas translations. As many fled without their qualification documents, the Commission asks member states to be flexible in their recognition of diplomas, and to reissue certificates in a digital format.

French EU commissioner Thierry Breton, who is in charge of the internal market portfolio, stated that: “The right to access the labour market is a key aspect of temporary protection. With this recommendation, we are taking a crucial step towards making it more effective.”

In Luxembourg, as in other EU countries, Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war are under temporary protection which gives them access to a residence permit, education and the labour market. Refugees also do not need a work permit to apply for work. The grand duchy’s employment agency Adem also asked employers to open their postings to the general public.

The department for the recognition of diplomas usually processes all demands, for a mandatory tax of €75. This is the case regardless of whether the application was successful or not. An additional €300 can be added to this if a compensatory measure such as an adaptation period or an aptitude test is required. Delano has contacted the department to find out whether Ukrainian refugees will have to pay this fee.

At the start of this week, on 4 April, 4,069 refugees had requested temporary protection in Luxembourg, of which 1,040 had already been processed,

At an EU level, a group has been tasked by the Commission to follow up on the recommendations.

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