Labour and employment

Pragmatic employment advice that you can trust.

As labour and employment regulations get ever more complex, and the penalties for non-compliance get ever more severe, it’s vital that your advisors don’t just understand the law, but also have the sort of in-depth experience of the local market that enables them to make difficult judgement calls – what conditions are really enforceable in practice, or when to fight and when to settle.

At Stankovic & Partners (NSTLAW) we are committed to understanding our clients’ business needs and aims. We offer tailored and pragmatic solutions across the spectrum of contentious and non-contentious labour and employment law. This includes advice on the drafting of labour contracts, including contracts for high level executives, assistance with the preparation of employee handbooks and procedural rules, and help with the regulations on the employment of foreign citizens. Our skilled experts also have considerable experience in handling complex union and employee negotiations, as well as advising on the transfer of personnel following mergers, demergers, outsourcings or group restructurings.

Our employment team is fully integrated into the corporate, finance, dispute resolution and other practices, allowing us to work as part of larger teams, anticipating issues that may arise in a range of deals. For example, with Stankovic & Partners’ strong name for big-ticket restructurings and insolvency proceedings, our employment team has gained a corresponding reputation for creating and implementing major redundancy programmes. A similarly strong reputation in the technology sector has seen us acquire outstanding expertise in employee data protection and privacy issues, while other focus areas include health and safety, pensions and benefits, and social and health insurance.

The final word must go to our clients – and we are proud to say that almost all of the firm’s clients, including the Serbian operations of many global businesses, rely on our labour and employment expertise.

Our client list includes high profile names drawn from a wide variety of sectors, such as Sutherland Global Services, Apatinska pivara (a member of the Molson Coors Group), Marina Dorcol, Uniqa Insurance (one of the leading insurance groups in the CEE region), Takeda GmbH, Imlek AD Beograd (member of Mid Europa Partners), Hauzmajstor, VOJVODINAPUT, Technomer doo Belgrade, Lanus, CCBill (one of the largest global third party payment processors), Novartis, Jelen Do (part of Carmeuse Group), Gopa Consultants, Monster Energy, Rand Investments Canada, Dominion Voting and Radical Instal.

Recent highlights:

  • acting for the Serbian arm of a leading global food and drink corporation in a multi-party employment dispute concerning the alleged non-payment of overtime;
  • acting for Swedish investor Savana Holding AB, on issues relating to the transfer of employees following its purchase of a hotel and shopping mall in Podgorica from a Montenegro company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Turkish Gintas Group;
  • advising the German arm of an international pharmaceutical group on an important project involving the collection and processing of personal data for employees, as well as doctors and healthcare workers, in a centralised database, including assisting with international data transfer issues;
  • acting for Uniqa Insurance in relation to a wide range of employment issues, including negotiations with employees, preparing collective agreements and employment disputes;
  • acting for Takeda Pharmaceuticals on everything from redundancy and downsizing exercises to employment negotiations and disputes, including drafting employment policies and procedures;
  • assisting CCBill, one of the largest global third-party payment processors, on all aspects of employment in Serbia and the assignment of employees to work abroad, including policies and procedures, employment contracts and day-to-day employment issues such as maternity leave, terminations and disputes;
  • advising Imlek AD on employment issues relating to a wholly-owned subsidiary and its reorganisation of the company’s management structure;
  • providing US-based global business Sutherland Global Services with comprehensive advice on Serbian regulations governing employment, health and safety, and harassment and discrimination, as well as the employment of foreign nationals, the protection of whistle blowers, employment tax, mandatory social insurance and other issues;
  • advising Dominion Voting on a range of employment issues, including drafting contracts and other documentation, and acting on a number of advisory and contentious labour matters;
  • advising the Japanese Business Alliance in Serbia (JBAS) and Canadian Serbian Business Association (CANSEE) on a huge range of employment matters.