Labor & Employment

Thebroad scope of labor and employment practice enables Vasil Kisil & Partners to arrange legal coverage for impressive number of clients, inter alia, Avito Ukraine, Danone Ukraine, Dentsply International Inc., Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp, Du Pont Ukraine, Ferrero Ukraine, Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center and others. Further, enhancing its international capabilities in the past year the firm became a member of Ius Laboris, the largest global alliance of leading labor law firms. The employment team acts on numerous high profiled mandates including remuneration, retention schemes, migration, employment and confidentiality agreements, termination and appointment, compliance, tax, business restructuring. Notable instructions of late included advising AXA Belgiumin a range of complicated legal matters of employment termination, compensations and taxation issues; Air Liquide Ukraine on salary issues, forms of remuneration under Ukrainian law; MAQUET and Sakhalin Energy Investment Companyon retention of contingent workers under both employment and services agreements to perform temporary work in Ukraine. Partner Oksana Voynarovska enjoys market recognition for her long lasting expertise. Tetyana Ivanovych and Valeriya Savchuk are the core practitioners of the team.

 

Sayenko Kharenko demonstrated growing offering from the complex dismissals (including for violating the provisions of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to developing sophisticated corporate policies and procedures in the employment area. In 2013 the firm reported on over 60 employment law projects, including advice to one of the world’s largest production companies on the complex, know-how, simultaneous FCPA related dismissal of CEO and top managers of its Ukrainian subsidiary; one of the largest Russian companies on the Ukrainian law regulation of the personnel outsourcing; a European renewable energy investment company on the labor safety matter related to the serious injury of one of the company’s contractors and others. The firm represented one of the leading retail corporations relating to a dispute with regard to the relationships with the trade union. Counsel Svitlana Kheda is a recognized expert in the areas of labor and employment, personal data protection, and anti-corruption regulation.

 

Baker & McKenzie maintains a busy workload of its Kiev team that derived by the instructions of top names. Over the past year the office continued supporting ArcelorMittal on its business activities in Ukraine: regular employment and migration law advice, top executive engagement, labor agreements, termination, trade unions, collective disputes.The team acted for Forever Living Products Ukraine Tzov on corporate, employment and migration issues; and for SAP Ukraine, major Ukrainian business software provider, in connection with compliance with Ukrainian personal data protection requirements. Lina Nemchenko, partner, is a lead partner in subsequent projects. Of counsel Mariana Marchuk is a highly recognized practitioner on the market.

 

Arzinger pays close attention to the labor law area, including contractual work, internal rules, personnel dismissal, and confidential employment issues. Guided by partner Pavlo Khodakovsky, head of employment practice, the team advised on the layoff of employees from the Kiev office of a leading investment company on Central and Middle European markets due to office liquidation; drafted a number of documents for formalization of labor relations within legal support of the establishment of a daughter enterprise for Camper. Arzinger’s clients Louvre Hotels Group, Dorma, Nestle, Porsche were supported on various employment issues. Noteworthy, Arzinger substantially added in market recognition points. Alesya Pavlynska and Tetyana Didorenko are the core practitioners of this team.

 

Asters is active throughout a broad range of employment issues including transactional support, collective bargaining and agreements, reorganizations and redundancies, workers’ compensation and workplace safety, compliant labor policies, mediation and litigation, etc. The recent workload featured with ongoing advice to Wizz Air Ukraine Airlines including preparation of employment agreements and contracts, job descriptions and other internal regulations, obtaining work permits for foreign employees. Well-known professional Armen Khachaturyan led the majority of projects, with contributions from other partners, namely Oleksandr Padalka* and Vadym Samoilenko.

 

The Kiev-based office of Dentons is a popular choice for international business in Ukraine. The firm advises on transactional employment issues, immigration, secondments, personal data, remuneration, social benefits regulation, as well as labor disputes. Partner Volodymyr Monastyrskyy splits his time between labor, corporate and competition practices.

 

Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners (EPA&P)boosted with labor and employment assignments that covered regulatory advice, contractual work,incentive programs, compliance policies, data protection and anti-fraud matters, immigration and foreign employee employment as well as labor disputes. The Kiev team recently advised Oikocredit on structuring of labor relations with its top management in Ukraine. The practice is led by Aleksandra Yevstafyeva, senior associate. Partner Ilona Zekely is especially active across assignments from German and Austrian clients.

 

ILF, a Ukrainian law firm with offices in Kharkov and Kiev, demonstrates solid track records of labor and employment projects. Recent highlights include employment of top managers, foreigners and compatriots; resettlement; employment of persons with additional guarantees; reinstatement of employees; providing advice on issues of bringing to book for breach of labor legislation and staff reduction and layoff in connection with liquidation of companies. The scope of work also covers mediation, contract work, data protection. Partner Sergiy Silchenko is in charge of the practice.

 

The DLA Piper team in Ukraine does a lot of labor-related work, including within the frames of transactions, as well as separate projects of employment, its termination, adjustment, including issues of employment and dismissal, availability and compliance of internal labor policies. The team also advises on personnel transfers and outsourcings. The recent work derives from such clients as Adobe, ENI, East Balt, General Electric, Slavutich Carlsberg Group, InterContinental Hotels Group. Galyna Zagorodniuk and Alla Kozachenko, legal directors, are the key labor law advisers in the Kiev office. Margarita Karpenko, managing partner, oversees the practice.

 

CMS Cameron McKenna demonstrated a busy year covering transactional matters and regulatory workload. The Kiev team handled acquisition related advice, regional and industry collective bargaining agreements, redundancy procedures, work safety requirements. The team advised a major oil and gas company on employment law matters in relation to the activities of the client’s representative office in Ukraine and assisted the client on employment and immigration law matters regarding implementation of the Production Sharing Agreement with the Ukrainian Government. Nataliya Nakonechna and Victor Chykyrynda are supervised by Olexander Martinenko, senior partner.

 

Given its diverse offering AstapovLawyers international law group has a particular focus on comprehensive projects. Labor and employment advice derives from a perfect array of clients projects. Throughout the previous year the team advised Academy for Educational Development, GERMES, Nvision, Solar Systems Development, Quitsystem, Puma, BBDO and others. The group stands out for having a number of luxury brands producers on its client list. Trussardi instructs the group on handling its corporate and employment related requests. Oleh Malskyy, head of corporate and M&A, supervises the practice.

 

International Legal Center EUCON is recognized for its dispute track record. Over the past year the firm has demonstrated an increase in labor disputes representation and developed its compliance practice. Among the recent representations is acting for Hansa Ukrainein a number of labor disputes and support to Plastics-Ukraine in ensuring compliance with labor law provisions, preparation of state employment agencies inspections. Tatiana Samsina, senior partner, practice head, and Aleksandr Melnyk are dedicated to handling judicial representation in courts. Andrii Romanchuk and Lidiya Klimenko provided employment compliance service.

 

Known for its healthcare and pharmaceutical dedication, Legal Alliance Company offers both contentious and non-contentious work. Among its clients are Apotex, MSD, Astellas, Novartis Consumer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Mega Lifesciences, EU Pharmacia, Delta Medical, Rinat Akhmetov Foundation for Development of Ukraine. During the previous year the firm provided legal support in a number of labor disputes with employees of the representative office of a major pharmaceutical company. Illya Kostin and Alexander Bondar covered the bulk of the subsequent work.

 

Marchenko Danevych, established inDecember 2013 with the merger of Danevych Law Firm and Ulysses, is often attracted as a legal counsel by the life science clientele. Borys Danevych, partner, became the practice head. His team’s offering includes employment agreements, financial and disciplinary liability, data protection. Recently the team represented Johnson & Johnson Ukraine in a labor dispute and advised on implementation of its internal policy with regard to outstaffing employees.

 

Founded in March 2013, the Vox Legum law firm enjoyed a number of projects despite relatively short market presence. The range of recent practice led by partner Mykhailo Spasov, included providing legal advice to J.B. Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd in connection with representative office employment relations with General Directorate for Services of Foreign Representative Offices and advising foreign individuals on obtaining residence permits for foreigners.

 

The recent workload of Peterka & Partners featuredcomprehensive advisory project. Representative work encompasses consulting Oney, the Ukrainian subsidiary of Banque Accord from Oney group, in connection with corporate and employment issues; Wipro Limited on secondment and taxation of foreigners in Ukraine; PSA Peugeot Citroёn on complex employment law matters. The client list of the Czech firm includes Konica Minolta, ICZ a.s., Campari. Alexander Poels and Nina Sydorenko are the main contacts.

 

Ilyashev & Partners, as led by Mikhail Ilyashev, is known for its strong litigation performance. Among the latest representations is the case of NetCracker in a dispute against the Invalids Social Protection Fund in connection with implementation of employment standards for disabled people. Galyna Lefor is a known practitioner.

 

Kibenko, Onika & Partners, Kharkov-based firm, is active in a dispute work and arranging legal support to regional players. During 2013the team, as led by partner Maxim Sheverdin,  represented the interests of the State Forest Resources Agency and Kharkov Regional Administration of Forest and Hunting Sector in labor litigation. The team of Olena Kibenko was chosen by a clinic of reproductive medicine as a legal advisor in matters connected with employment of medical and non-medical stuff.

 

Konnov & Sozanovsky customarily acts on contentious and non-contentious matters. Throughout 2013 the firm rendered advice to Canon Ukraine Ltd and Spaczynski, Szczepaniak i Wspolnicy S.K.A. Alexey Pokotylo, senior lawyer, is the main point of contact.

 

KPMG Ukraine is often chosen as a preferred counsel in course of comprehensive projects. Among recent work highlights islegal and tax support of a leading truck importer in Ukraine on staff movements in connection with business restructuring. Tatiana Zamorska and Yuriy Katser are the primary contacts.

 

Due to the firm’s impressive industrial client base, Lavrynovych & Partners is addressed for employment issues coverage. Recently the firm, as led by partner Iryna Marushko, advised MoneyGram on dismissal procedures and other legal issues.  

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* In early March 2014 Oleksandr Padalka left Asters and joined Sayenko Kharenko.