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We would like to introduce you to our new project, Podcast in English – “Be Aware and Share”! In this series of discussions, we explore the topical legal challenges faced by business and, together with experts, analyze significant cases and provide solutions. Click here to learn more.

6 episodes are available right now:

• Teleworking in Russia: digital turn in employment.
• Employment solutions for commercial secrecy.
• Internal investigations in Russia.
• Hiring individuals without legal presence in Russia.
• Labour Dispute Resolution in Russia: Process and Trends.
• Cross-border incentivizing of employees in Russia: pensions and long-term plans.

These episodes are available on all major listening platforms.

More details about the episodes:

Teleworking in Russia: digital turn in employment

In this episode, we will talk about the changes in the legal regulation of teleworking from 2021 and the corresponding legal challenges that business may face. This topic is extremely popular in Russia and in other countries, mostly because almost all employers were forced to transfer employees to remote work during 2020 and thus teleworking have been spreading instantly all over the world. We will also touch today upon the issue of digital execution of documents and distant communication between employee and employer.

Employment solutions for commercial secrecy

In this episode, we will explain how Russian employers can protect their commercial secrets. This topic has become very important, since still many employees continue performing their job duties remotely, due to current pandemic. In such circumstances, the employers’ abilities to keep control over confidential information are limited. Thus, employers have to enhance the legal protection of confidential information.

Internal investigations in Russia

In this episode, we discuss key implications of conducting internal investigations in Russia. Russian law does not specify the procedure of conducting internal investigations. In the meantime, based on the general constitutional provisions, labour and data protection laws, some compulsory formalities shall be accomplished by the initiator of the investigation. Besides, these legislation is very employee-protective and therefore creates a number of limitations for the employers’ conducting internal investigations.

Hiring individuals without legal presence in Russia

In this episode, we will talk about the most relevant issues and key practical aspects, related to the engagement of independent partners in Russia. Instead of establishing legal entities in Russia, many international companies prefer to engage Russia-based specialists as individual contractors. From the Russian law perspective, such arrangements strongly differ from employment relations and shall be regulated by civil law agreements. Hiring individuals located in Russia, by international companies, which do not have a corporate presence in Russia, may trigger permanent establishment risks, taxation issues, re-qualification of such arrangements into actual employment which, in its turn, may cause further labour law risks. Such arrangements shall also comply with mandatory Russian law requirements to allow the enforceability of terms and conditions, ensure IP rights’ protection and transfers as well as validate personal data transfers and processing outside Russia.

Labour Dispute Resolution in Russia: Process and Trends

We will address process features and key trends in labour litigation. The peculiarity of labour disputes in Russia is that they rarely start with large financial claims of employees. They are more aimed at the company's brand, its reputation, and the like. However, practice shows that, due to the length and formality of the litigation, originally-insignificant financial demands can develop into rather large ones, over time. Another quite sensitive specific of Russian labour litigation is that one of the core demands in dismissal challenging cases is reinstatement at work. This also means compensation for the forced unemployment for the whole period of litigation, in case the court sustains the claim. As such, labour disputes should be treated with the highest degree of care.

Cross-border incentivizing of employees in Russia: pensions and long-term plansIncentivizing of employees exerts a strong influence in terms of their strategic impact and can be an effective tool for employers, particularly during times of economic uncertainty. Incentivizing enables employers to retain key talents, implement new skills and behaviors, and drive organizational transformation. The fast-changing employment environment, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, can also inspire the need for changes to the employees’ incentivizing. Now, as organizations have adjusted to a new reality, they have an opportunity to reevaluate their pay plans and introduce some program changes that could help them thrive, within a rapidly changing economic reality. In this episode we will address these issues that are crucial to organizations and discuss the acceptable types of employee motivation and incentive in Russia.