The question of whether an individual entrepreneur can reserve an employee is becoming increasingly common today. For many small businesses, this is not a formality, but a matter of survival: if a key specialist is taken away, the entire process will come to a halt — production, customer service, and supply.
However, reservation for individual entrepreneurs is much more complicated than for large companies. And the problem is not the lack of a mechanism, but how the criticality of the business and its functions is determined.
When an individual entrepreneur may have grounds for reservation
In practice, the issue of reserving employees from sole proprietorships is considered using the same logic as for enterprises:
does the activity have social or economic significance, without which a certain supply chain, service, or critical service is disrupted?
In other words, it does not matter how large the business is — what matters is whether it can be proven that it ensures the continuity of a certain system.
This could be:
- maintenance of equipment that affects safety or infrastructure;
- production of components or materials needed by other enterprises;
- services without which a state or humanitarian structure cannot function.
If the sole proprietorship’s activities actually fulfill such a role, then theoretically it is possible to reserve it.
The key word is “proven.”
Why most sole proprietors are rejected
The main reason is the lack of formal status as a “critical infrastructure enterprise” or a clear legal link to government or defense contracts.
Many sole proprietors work in retail services or seasonal businesses, where it is difficult to prove their impact on economic stability.
Another common reason is unpreparedness for submission: when the process is not described, the employee’s role is not explained, and why they are critical is not explained.
Even if this is actually true, it is difficult to prove without a systematic approach.
What entrepreneurs should do
The best solution for small businesses is to unite.
In practice, there are already examples of several sole proprietors working in the same industry or in the same territory applying through a public association, association, or cooperative structure.
Then their activities look like part of a larger production or service chain.
Such an application has a higher chance of being considered, because the justification becomes systemic (“we provide a production cycle”) rather than individual (“I am a craftsman”).
In the future, it is likely that this form — through an association or cooperative — will become the main route for small entrepreneurs to obtain reservations. It allows for the coordination of documents, provides legal support, and does not create an administrative burden on a single applicant.
What you should have right now
Even if the booking procedure for sole proprietors is not clearly defined, entrepreneurs can prepare the groundwork in advance:
- a clear description of their activities (what services or products they provide);
- proof of stable work (contracts, acts, payment receipts, customer reviews);
- arguments as to why the business would cease to operate without a specific employee;
- logic of impact on the wider sector or community.
Such documents do not guarantee a decision, but they create a foundation for further submission — independently or through an association.
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Reservations for sole proprietors are not only a matter of legislation, but also of managerial maturity.
While large companies are building systemic cases, small entrepreneurs have the chance to become part of joint platforms that protect jobs not individually, but collectively.
The main thing is not to wait for a “simplified procedure,” but to describe your activities now, structure your documents, and look for partners for joint representation.
Effective submission is not about status, but about the ability to argue why this particular business is an important part of the economy that cannot be lost.
