An international company's Ukrainian subsidiary won a labour dispute in December 2024 over a claim filed by a former employee seeking to have the order of dismissal canceled and his job reinstated.

As part of the company's organizational restructuring in 2024, manpower rationalization was implemented across its divisions. Following the audit results, the company's commission decided to reduce the number of employees due to the decrease in the number of employees visiting the office.

Ilyashev & Partners’ clients adhere to operational excellence and respect employees' rights, strictly complying with Ukraine's laws.

After the dismissal, the employee filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming he was neither notified 2 months in advance of job cuts, nor offered a transfer to another vacant position that would have fit his expertise and qualifications, and that he was allegedly dismissed without the trade union's consent.

To prove the client’s operational excellence and strict compliance with employment laws, Ilyashev & Partners’ experts collected irrefutable evidence of the employer’s compliance with the dismissal procedure. 

Ilyashev & Partners' attorneys showed in court that the employee had no basis for claiming the union had not consented to the job cuts and had been notified timely and properly. At the same time, the claimant failed to provide proper and admissible evidence that he had informed the company that he was a member of a particular trade union. Offering vacant positions in the context of the reduction in the number of personnel has its own specifics – the court accepted the grounded legal position of Ilyashev & Partners’ team and confirmed that the claimant’s dismissal from the company was carried out in compliance with employment laws, namely: the claimant was timely notified of the upcoming dismissal, and actions were taken to offer vacant positions. 

The Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv City ruled in favor of the company and confirmed the legality of the employer's actions and decisions. The claimant’s claim was rejected.

The case was handled by Valeriia Gudiy, a Partner at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm.