Margarita Egiazarova: employer risks in employee-initiated termination

Margarita Egiazarova, PhD in Law, Partner and Head of the Labour Practice at ALRUD, has published an analytical article in the journal Labour Disputes, focusing on current judicial trends in disputes related to employee-initiated termination.

The article examines the latest approaches of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to assessing whether an employee’s resignation was genuinely voluntary. Courts are increasingly moving away from a purely formal review and instead assess the full context of the situation, including the wording of the resignation letter, the employee’s conduct before and after its submission, as well as personal circumstances such as health, family status, and financial situation.

A separate section of the article is devoted to the so-called “background of dismissal”. In litigation, courts closely scrutinize employer actions preceding the resignation, including unjustified bonus reductions, restricted access to work systems, de facto expansion of duties without additional compensation, and other managerial decisions that may be interpreted as pressure on the employee.

Margarita also analyzes the additional procedural expectations courts now impose on employers, including the obligation to explain the employee’s right to withdraw a resignation, to clarify the reasons for leaving, and to properly document these discussions. The article includes illustrative examples from cassation court practice and offers practical guidance on mitigating litigation risks — from handling resignation statements correctly to preparing an effective litigation strategy.

The article will be of interest to HR directors, in-house counsel, and executives involved in employment decision-making under increased judicial scrutiny.

The full article is available in the latest issue of Labour Disputes.