Lately, Russian courts have demonstrated unprecedented creativity in supporting employees. In the latest example of this trend, the Moscow City Court recently overturned the consistent and long-held court practice on dismissals for multiple offences (case No ? 33-25751/2021).
The court reinstated the employee in her job, stating that the company violated the disciplinary procedure as (i) it did not present to the employee the results of the internal investigation and (ii) the timeframe between the first warning and the dismissal was only 20 days, which did not give the employee enough time to correct her performance.
The above obligations do not follow from the law or previous court practice. In the past, companies were free to discipline an employee for repeated misconduct, even if it occurred the very next day after the first warning.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel
Since the courts are increasingly supporting employees, employers should intensify their efforts to separate by agreement, instead of dismissal for cause. Employers should send the results of the internal investigation to the employee and collect confirmation of receipt (preferably blue signature) and then wait at least one month before disciplining the employee again.
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