One of our clients, a foreign shareholder in a Russian company, found inconsistencies in its reports. During the audit and legal audits, facts were revealed that a number of employees, including the company's Russian CEO, were inefficient and highly questionable. As a result, it was decided to dismiss him.

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The procedure for firing a CEO and transferring current affairs is very important, as he has access to company accounts, passwords and documents, data from employees, customers and suppliers. It is extremely important to determine exactly how to convey the news of the decision to him and the rest of the employees and how to ensure that all necessary information and documents are transferred so that the company's future activities are not affected. In such a situation, the most important thing is not to take rash actions that are not coordinated with lawyers. This will help to avoid destroying documents, “leaking” or stealing information or property, and other undesirable actions.

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BBNP lawyers are constantly faced with the issues of dismissing directors and are quite successful due to a thorough study of the action plan, as well as the proper and timely preparation of documents.

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After analyzing and discussing possible options with the founders, BBNP lawyers developed an action scenario. They held a number of meetings with employees and the CEO and reached a pre-trial agreement with the director without affecting the company's operations. The cases have been properly transferred, and a new leader has been registered.

Thanks to the competent and coordinated actions of BBNP specialists, the client changed the management of the subsidiary company without any complications and at no extra cost.

Many foreign companies operate in Russia through their subsidiaries and branches. Managers who are selected by foreign founders through recruitment agencies without sufficient legal review are often appointed as managers of the Russian business segment, trusting only the agency's opinion.

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Unfortunately, the recommended staff is not always honest. The goal of the activity is not the development of the company and its growth, but personal enrichment. Founders receive incomplete information, distorted data, and when hiring for key positions, they lobby their friends or relatives if they are not sufficiently qualified. All this can have a very detrimental effect on the company, both in terms of revenue and in terms of the atmosphere among employees who are trying to work effectively. BBNP lawyers have repeatedly faced this situation at a late stage of its development, when foreign founders decided to close a very successful business due to its unprofitability. Of course, the consequences can be minimized and eliminated at an early stage, while in advanced cases even the best specialists are powerless.

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In legal practice, there are several options for dismissing a person acting as a sole executive body. These options have different legal implications for the company.

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Since such employment contracts are often of a fixed-term nature, the safest way to terminate a relationship is to expire and refuse to extend it. In this case, it is possible to avoid significant payments and legal claims from an unreliable manager.

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If the proposed option is unacceptable, the head of the organization can be dismissed for other reasons: - an unreasonable decision made by the head of the organization, which resulted in a violation of the safety of property, its illegal use or other damage to the organization's property (article 81, part 1, paragraph 9, of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);

- a single gross violation of their work duties (article 81, part 1, paragraph 10, of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

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This method requires thorough legal review and is complicated by the fact that violations of duties by the CEO must be properly recorded. In the event of dismissal on these grounds, no payments are made, which may result in legal proceedings.

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It is also always possible to dismiss a decision by the authorized body of a legal entity, or the owner of the organization's property, or by a person (body) authorized by the owner to terminate an employment contract (article 278, paragraph 2, of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, the dismissed employee is expected to be paid at least three times the average monthly salary, unless the employment contract provides for a higher compensation. However, this option rarely suits the founder himself, since it is undesirable to pay such compensation to a person whose actions caused harm to the company. In this case, appropriate negotiations can be held with the employee being dismissed, and if there is proper reasoning, the amount of compensation can be reduced.