Labour Disputes
Services
Pre-trial and out-of-court settlement of conflicts:
Negotiating with employees and primary trade-union organizations.
Strategy development focused on the peaceful resolution of a conflict with an employee.
Resolving a conflict at the claim stage.
Out-of-court support for a labour dispute, including the development of a defence strategy, analysis of the prospects of the dispute and risks, and selection of the most promising and effective way to uphold the interests of the company.
Client representation in disputes with government bodies:
Challenging the acts of state organisations (e.g. IGL, GDM MIA, and the Prosecutor’s office) in disputes in order to compel organisations and their officials to fulfil their responsibilities.
Client support in disputes about decisions made in relation to citizens with migration issues.
Litigation support:
Full-service support of a labour dispute before the courts in all aspects, including representing the client in the process, obtaining all the litigation documents, formulating and submitting all the required documents in the name and on behalf of the client, organizing expert examinations, carrying out all necessary actions directed to collecting and processing evidence in the case (including lawyer interviews, notarial provision of evidence, selection of experts, translators and witnesses).
Monitoring the client’s legal proceedings. Timely receipt of documents from the court, support of communication with representatives of the judicial authorities.
A strategic approach to concluding an amicable agreement between the parties, if this approach is the most promising in the case. Negotiating with the other party, agreeing on the most profitable conditions for client.
Recent projects
Provision of consulting services and successful support to the world’s largest biotech company
on the issue of layoffs. An employee obstructed the dismissal process in various ways (e.g they did not attend work and refused to accept dismissal documents) and this complicated the dismissal procedure and required the development of a strategy. The employee challenged the dismissal in court, considering it to be unfair. They demanded re-employment and compensation for moral damage to the total of 50 million roubles. The court, together with the prosecutor, took a very strict approach and in doing so agreed with the legal position developed by ALRUD. The former employee’s claim was completely rejected.
Support provided to a leading American cosmetics, skincare, perfumery and personal care company
in ten labour disputes with employees across Russia. The employees demanded re-employment, substantial amounts of compensation for lost earnings, compensation for regional benefits, and bonuses, etc. The complexity in the case was that a union was formed by the employees who were in dispute and, along with the disputes, the employees also filed complaints to the state labour inspectorates in different regions of the Russian Federation. The cases were successfully resolved in favour of the client, including the cessation appeal.
Support provided to a leading car manufacturer
in a labour dispute with an employee who was fired for the disclosure of a commercial secret. The key issue was to convince the court that the employee had disclosed commercially sensitive information that was appropriately protected by the client as a commercial secret. ALRUD specialists managed to present evidence that the client had taken all possible measures to properly protect the commercial secret. The plaintiff's claims were rejected in full.
Provided comprehensive support to a multinational mobile technology leader
in a complicated project to terminate the employment of an employee due to redundancy in one of Russia's regions. The dismissal was fraught with abuse on the part of the employee, including multiple sick leaves and acquisition of protected status during the redundancy notice period. Following a seven-month redundancy procedure, the employee was dismissed, which he appealed to the court through a lawsuit from the Prosecutor's Office. We successfully represented the Company in court proceedings and judicially confirmed the legality and propriety of the redundancy.
The ALRUD team successfully represented the interests of the largest manufacturer of automatic door systems
in a litigation with a former employee regarding the payment of a large bonus. The former employee based his claims on forged documents. During the trial, the ALRUD specialists managed to obtain the report of an examination of the documents and thus proved that they were fake. The employee’s claim was rejected in full. The team not only helped the client to win the case, but also developed measures to reduce the risks of fraud within their document flow.
Support provided to a leading company involved in the development, production and supply of equipment and systems for warehousing logistics
in a dispute with the Russian migration bodies. The client did not notify the migration bodies about a wage payment to the General Director – a foreign employee. The ALRUD team developed a defence strategy with a wide range of arguments, including breaches of procedure committed by the migration body, as well as release of the client from liability due to insignificant breach. The case was successfully closed.
Protection of the interests of one of the largest oil producers in Russia
in a unique trans-border dispute with an employee in two instances. The case concerned not only issues of Russian labour law, but also foreign labour-legislation. The team developed a strategy, collected evidence and presented a position before the court that helped to win the case both at the first instance and on appeal. The particular complexity of the case arose from the fact that the employee was transferred from Russia to work in a foreign country, and then faced criminal prosecution in the foreign state. The employee sought reimbursement from the Russian company for a significant amount of unpaid wages, as well as a tax refund.
