Irina Anyukhina

Irina Anyukhina

Partner
Irina Anyukhina

Chambers Europe

Irina Anyukhina is high knowledgeable and dedicated. She has a strategic and business-oriented approach. Clients appreciate Irina for her thoughtfulness and ability to clearly enunciate the core of the matter.

Biography
Recent work
Publications and Insights

Irina Anyukhina is an ALRUD Law Firm partner heading Labour and Employment practice.

Irina is a recommended expert on Labour law, advising international and Russian companies on international and cross-border workplace issues, reductions and restructurings, senior executives and expatriate issues.

Irina operates at the interface of employment and corporate laws in cases involving mergers and acquisitions, implementation of incentive programmes, executive compensation and benefits, global and local employment policies, outsourcing, and employee privacy issues. Irina is often involved in cross-border and internal investigations of employees’ misconduct. Irina represents clients in out-of-court settlements and disputes with employees.

Irina Anyukhina joined ALRUD in 2002 and became partner in 2007. Clients praise Irina for her business-oriented approach, outstanding communication skills, thoughtfulness and ability to clearly enunciate the core of the matter.

Irina graduated from the Moscow State University of International Affairs with Ministry of International Affairs of Russia, Public international law division of International law department.

Irina is a member of International Bar Association and American Bar Association.

Includes advising and representing:

Uber

in its major business merger deal with Yandex on a great number of employment and HR-related questions.

Akzo Nobel

with separation of its Specialty Chemicals business unit, development and implementation of employee restructuring plan.

Philip Plein

on the development of HR policies, including bonus policy for sales employees.

An internationally leading medical device company

with staff restructuring to ensure balanced shareholder control over business operations.

Olam

on the legal and tax implications of implementing the international employee share plan.

The major analytics company

with a complex internal investigation of alleged misconducts of two employees of the Russian subsidiary.

One of the leading Japanese manufacturer of commercial vehicles and diesel engines

with reviewing the evidences concerning incompliances of one of the top manager, and developed the strategy for protection of the Client’s and its CEO’s business reputation.

The group of music companies

in 4 litigations with the conflict employee who had access to the financial resources of the Client.

Irina Anyyukhina and Elena Chershintseva prepared an article for the international review of antidiscrimination laws
Irina Anyukhina, ALRUD Labour Practice Partner, and Elena Chershintseva, ALRUD Labour Practice Senior Associate, PhD in Law, participated in preparation of the international review of antidiscrimination laws organized by Lewis Silkin LLP. Their report ”Review of Russian anti-age discrimination law” was published on the AGEDISCRIMINATION.INFO information portal. The experts described how the Labour Code of the Russian Federation and other federal laws provide certain age differentiation in labour conditions, restrictions, and preferences basing on the performance requirements and labour conditions. The following issues were also covered: To whom the legislative requirements apply? What legal remedies exist? How common are the claims in this regard? What claims are most common and what issues prove to be most problematic for the employers? Does the legislation provide any particular exceptions? Retirement age Full text is available on the portal website.
04 December 2023
New migration requirements for foreign nationals
Please be informed that Federal Law No. 316-FZ dated 10 July 2023 (the “Law”) made changes to legislation regulating the legal status of foreign nationals in the Russian Federation, including highly qualified specialists (“HQS”). The amendments will come into force starting from 2024.
07 November 2023
Full-service support in challenging situations caused by confrontations involving the local management of companies
Numerous foreign companies have recently decided to exit the Russian market or restructure or suspend their operations. The rapid implementation of these business decisions within constrained timeframes not only entailed legal risks for companies, but also led to practical difficulties in cooperation between global and local management. The unique legal status and significant scope of powers that Russian law grants to a company’s general director may further complicate communication processes and adversely affect the company’s future outlook. This situation has led to increased demand for full-scope legal services that aim to establish and ensure a framework of control over local management and a procedure for it to cooperate with the foreign owner of the business. This document provides a list of the practical issues that most clients of ALRUD Labour and Employment Law Practice face in crises arising from confrontations involving the local management of companies and the services we provide to resolve them.
28 September 2023
Irina Anyukhina and Elena Chershintseva prepared a review for the IBA
The International Bar Association Global Employment Institute (IBA) published its 11th annual global report on general international trends in human resources law with examples from 55 countries. Irina Anyukhina, Partner of ALRUD Labour Practice, and Elena Chershintseva, Senior Associate of ALRUD Labour Practice, PhD, covered a block of issues related to current regulatory trends and developments in Russian labour and migration law, including flexible working, alternative workforce, unions, labour disputes. The global report can be found here.
14 June 2023
Corporate transactions. Key labour issues
Business reorganization is a commonly utilized strategy to enhance efficiency and reduce costs within a business. Reorganization not only impacts corporate changes, but also has an effect on labour relations, which can pose certain risks. We have summarized the key labour issues that illustrate the red flags associated with corporate transactions, along with practical issues that should be taken into consideration.
06 June 2023
Step-by-step plan: What should an employer do in the event of an occupational accident?
ALRUD experts have prepared this material for HR directors, compliance officers and heads of legal departments, detailing the obligatory and recommended actions that should be taken in the event of an occupational accident. The purpose of this step-by-step plan is to provide high-level guidance on how to protect the interests of affected employees, investigate occupational accidents and thus mitigate risks of administrative and criminal liability for the employer and its officers.
21 March 2023
ALRUD team managed to save the business of an international manufacturing company
ALRUD specialists provided comprehensive support in all aspects of sanctions compliance for the Russian division of a major international welding materials and tools manufacturing company. ALRUD developed and implemented effective solutions to preserve the client's business in Russia under sanctions pressure, in particular: structured large-scale HR solutions for production employees and office staff, represented the client in communications with state authorities and counterparties, conducted claims work on commercial contracts and provided legal assistance on corporate issues, including the possibility of dividend distribution. Thanks to ALRUD's comprehensive support, the client was able to retain its business and minimise its risks under the current sanctions regime. Leading Partner - Irina Anyukhina, Head of Labour Practice. The project was run by Margarita Egiazarova, Senior Associate, PhD. The ALRUD team included Dmitry Kuptsov, Dispute Resolution Partner, Sergey Khanaev, Corporate and M&A Practice Partner, and lawyers from the Labour Law, Dispute Resolution, Tax, Corporate, Commercial law, Crisis Management, Economic sanctions and Compliance practices.
13 March 2023
Checklist: Mutual separation – what else to consider before and after concluding the agreement
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, When terminating employees and senior executives, including in case of a conflict, the main focus should be on negotiating separation terms and concluding a mutual termination agreement (“MTA”). However, protecting the company’s interests and ensuring that any related processes are legally compliant and unhindered, entails a much wider range of issues and actions that need to be considered prior to and once the agreement with an employee has been reached. We have created a checklist that will guide you through such issues making your separation process smooth and safe for the company. --table-- --table-border-- --table-header-- Issue What to consider Choosing a termination date (i) Termination on a day-off or holiday is permitted but entails numerous complexities (final settlement when banks are not working, payment for the work of an HR team outside of normal working hours, etc.)(ii) Check if it is required to notify the employment center on termination upon mutual consent (subject to regional regulations and simultaneous staff redundancy of other employees)(iii) Check employment-related documents for special conditions on the date of employment termination Isolation of potentially “malicious” employee before separation (i) No concept of “garden leave” in Russian law (ii) Downtime (paid partially or in full), paid/unpaid leave and remote work (subject to an employee’s consent) may be used as alternatives Processing employee’s personal data (PD) in a due way (i) Separate consent on former employee’s PD processing is required for saving data in corporate resources and assuring continuity of its processing (ii) Deal with cross-border transfer of employee’s PD if it is transferred to any company within the group abroad, including a head company Protecting company’s IP rights and confidential data (i) Ensure that the proper secrecy policy is in place, check employees’ due familiarization with its most recent version(ii) Obtain separate NDA(iii) Establish non-disclosure obligations in the MTA(iv) Consider possibility to include non-compete and non-solicit clauses (v) Consider limiting access to corporate resources and databases to mitigate data stealing risks before separation. However, note that a complete restriction of an employee’s access to corporate systems and company premises may be considered as labour law violation Transfer of properties (i) Prepare inventory list along with transfer & acceptance act for retrieving properties from the employee (ii) Prepare documents formalizing sale (in some cases cash register equipment is required) or free transfer of company’s properties to the employee (iii) Estimate terms and processes necessary for transferring properties to/from and exchanging documents with remote employee Payment issues (i) Incentives due to the employee and deferred bonuses: decide how much to pay and when(ii) Shareholders’ approval of compensation upon one or few MTAs (in aggregate) as major transaction: check whether the amount exceeds the criteria(iii) Loans provided to or by the employee: the parties may agree on their return before the separation or discuss how the respective relations will be continued or ended after it(iv) Parachutes and termination conditions in the contract, side letters and other agreements: assess applicability and influence on the process Specifics of top executives’ termination (i) Termination of the CEO and other members of the executive body require adopting shareholders’ resolution and registration within Russian tax authorities (ii) Separation with the CEO and other managers (including the Chief Accountant) may be subject to further precautions as finding the substitute in advance, PoA withdrawal, notification of the bank and proper transfer to the substitute of documents, logins, etc. The last day of work (i) Complete the transfer of properties (ii) Carry out HR formalities (iii) Remember to notify the Social Fund We hope you find this checklist useful! ALRUD specialists have extensive expertise and will be glad to provide any legal support on issues related to mutual separation processes. For more information on this and other frequently faced issues listen to our podcasts “Be Aware and Share”. Note: Please be aware that all information provided in this letter was taken from open sources. Neither ALRUD Law Firm, nor the author of this letter, bear any liability for consequences of any decisions made in reliance upon this information. If you have any questions, please, do not hesitate to contact ALRUD team.
13 February 2023
New rules for engaging individuals under civil law contracts
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, On 1 January 2023, Federal Law No. 237-FZ dated 14 July 2022 (the “Law”) came into force. The Law changed the way companies cooperate in terms of the engagement of individuals under civil law contracts. The text of the Law is available in Russian here. Considering the latest recommendations from the Russian Ministry of Labour, companies also need to consider these changes in relation to contractors who live abroad. The Ministry of Labour explained that it is recommended to conclude civil law contracts when formalizing relations with such individuals (Letter of the Ministry of Labour No. 14-2/OOG-5755 dated 9 September 2022). Follow the link to learn more. Note: Please be aware that all information provided in this letter was taken from open sources. Neither ALRUD Law Firm, nor the author of this letter, bear any liability for consequences of any decisions made in reliance upon this information.
23 January 2023
ALRUD Labour Practice experts upheld success at the Fourth General Court of Cassation in a labour dispute with an election commissioner employee
On December 1st the Labour Practice team successfully proved the success of a 9 month complicated redundancy case involving the dismissal of a protected election commissioner employee in the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction. ALRUD team working on the project included labour dispute experts Margarita Egiazarova, Senior Associate, PhD and Ekaterina Bronitsyna, Associate, as well as Anastasia Petrova, Labour and Employment Practice Of Counsel of ALRUD. The project was led by ALRUD Labour and Employment Practice Partner Irina Anyukhina. The details of the case are provided here.
07 December 2022
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