Internal policies and local regulations

What is happening

The company dismissed an employee for breach of discipline, and in court it emerged that the internal work rules did not set out the duties he had breached, and there was no signed acknowledgement at all.

Bonuses are paid at the director's discretion, but the pay policy says they are part of salary and paid monthly. A former employee is claiming a year's unpaid bonuses, and the wording of the document works against the company.

A sales manager has left for a competitor, taking the client database with him. It turns out that no trade secret regime was ever introduced: there is no list of protected information and no agreements with employees, which makes it hard to prove the database was protected.

What the law says

• The Labour Code requires an employer to adopt internal work rules and a holiday schedule; the pay and bonus system is set by a collective agreement, other agreements or internal regulations.
• Employees must acknowledge, by signature, the internal regulations relating to their work before signing the employment contract, and new regulations once they are adopted. Without that it is difficult to rely on a regulation in a dispute with an employee.
• Internal regulations that put employees in a worse position than employment legislation are not applied. If there is a primary trade union organisation at the company, certain regulations are adopted taking account of the opinion of its elected body.
• Federal Law No. 152-FZ of 27 July 2006 "On Personal Data" requires an operator to publish, or otherwise make freely accessible, its personal data processing policy and to adopt documents setting out how data is processed and protected.
• A trade secret regime is established by the measures listed in the Federal Law "On Trade Secrets": a list of protected information, rules on access, a record of those given access, provisions in employment and civil-law contracts, and marking of documents.
• The Labour Code makes special provision for micro-enterprises: they may dispense with internal regulations in whole or in part by including the relevant terms in employment contracts based on the standard form.

What we do

• We take stock of the documents in force: what exists, what is out of date and what contradicts other documents or the employment contracts.
• We find out how processes really work: working hours, bonus arrangements, access to information, remote working.
• We draft or rework the documents: internal work rules, pay and bonus policies, remote working, personal data processing and trade secret policies.
• We prepare the orders bringing them into force, acknowledgement sheets and supplementary agreements to employment contracts where terms change.
• Where the trade union's opinion must be taken into account, we prepare the documents for that procedure.
• We explain to HR and managers how to apply the documents in practice and what to keep in case of a dispute or inspection.

What we will need from you

• The internal regulations in force and the orders approving them.
• Standard employment contracts and job descriptions.
• The staffing schedule and details of the company's structure, branches and remote workers.
• A description of how pay, bonuses and access to confidential information are organised.
• Whether there is a trade union and a collective agreement.
• Information on any past disputes with employees and inspections.