Bauke van der Meer Tax&Legal Services

27/12/2021

Dear colleagues and friends,
We at BVDM Tax & Legal send you our warmest wishes for the upcoming New year of 2022! Let the festive season be joyful and memorable. Despite all the restrictions around us we hope you can find happy moments with your loved ones.
Thank you for your projects, requests and inquiries that kept us busy this year. We appreciated seeing you online and offline and let us hope we can have more of these personal meetings in the upcoming year, as that is what makes our daily lives vibrant and meaningful.
Stay healthy and hopeful!

Best regards from Moscow and Amsterdam,
Your BVDM Team

30/10/2021

We took part in the charity event of the Rotary Club Moscow International in support of RestartU Project which helps to provide special equipment for handicapped children, allowing them to move independently. This event gathered many participants at the beautiful Embassy of Armenia in Moscow.

10/02/2021

"Is remote work our new reality for the near future or a daily nightmare for the employer?"

Well, the answer to the question above is philosophical from the psychological side, yet rather down-to-earth from the legal side.

As qualified lawyers, we shall say that if you have your HR documents in order there will be no obvious cons in remote work.
Russian legislation has become more remote-work friendly this year, especially for employees.

On January 1, 2021, amendments to the Russian Labor Code came into force, which clarified the legal framework for remote work.

In Russia, remote work signifies situations when the employee performs his/her job functions
• remotely, i.e. away from the location of the employer or other place which controls the employer
• with the use of the Internet or other means of communication.

From now on, remote work in Russia can be a combination of regular visits to the employer's office and working from home. However, all employers need to check that their HR documents are in line with the new laws.

For more details, please refer to the new article (available in Russian only), written by our Senior Lawyer, Yulia Shmagina:
https://shortread.ru/novoe-regulirovanie-udalennoj-raboty-chto-popravit-v-kadrovyh-dokumentah-chek-list-dlya-rabotodatelya/?fbclid=IwAR29h3HsGSFR2IX3f8_H10X5CGbXxPOyabYdjJD1zMUeTFsSijJ73ZlFPxM

P.S. Dressing for remote work now can be the most stressful thing. Monday to Friday: black yoga pants or blue pajamas? Employers beware of your employees’ dress code!

16/12/2020

❤️ proud of mama as always

16/12/2020

Dear colleagues and clients,

We are honoured to present to you an interview of our amazing Director, Mrs. Nadia van der Meer, in the latest December edition of the most well-know Russian HR and legal magazine Trudovye Spory https://www.facebook.com/tspor.ru/

Nadia speaks about COVID measures in the Netherlands and explains the differences between Dutch state aid to entrepreneurs/companies and the corporate situation in Russia. Both countries are willing to do their best to protect people and are offering new effective legal mechanisms of remote working and collaboration. Please find the full text of Mrs. Van der Meer’s interview in Russian language under the link https://e.tspor.ru/855149

Many thanks and sincerest regards to the wonderful editor-in-chief of Trudovye Spory, Ms. Oksana Wolkova, for giving us this opportunity to voice our thoughts on COVID isses https://www.facebook.com/wolkovaoksana

Without a doubt, everyone in the world is waiting for offline events and networking to begin again. We are amongst the ones who love interacting with and talking to our clients in person, as this helps build a more trusting relationship.

We strongly hope and wish that 2021 will bring us the ‘gezellig’ moments of meeting each other tete-a-tete, without masks, travel restrictions and other temporary limitations.

The motto of our company is, as always, “Two worlds – One Team” so let us re-unite without any restraints in the new year, and until then, let us stay connected virtually.

We wish you all the very best, for the upcoming Christmas and New Year!

Stay healthy and keep in touch.

Sincerely yours,
BVDM Tax & Legal Team

05/08/2020

“It always seems impossible until it is done” - Nelson Mandela once stated.

And yes, it was done, unbelievable … BVDM was on top of Mount Elbrus!

This year our BVDM Lawyer, Yulia Kotova, showed that there are no boundaries for fulfilling one's true dreams.

Accompanied by a small group of alpinists, Yulia climbed the great mount Elbrus. This is the highest peak in the Caucasus Mountains, which rises 5,642 m above sea level. Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago, and the volcano is currently considered dormant.

There are several climbing routes. Yulia did not take the easy route but climbed the east route which required more commitment and training, as it has fewer outlined paths.

“This is where the real adventure starts. The climb took 14 hours. It was very challenging – sandstorms, bitter cold that turned into burning sun in several hours, stormy weather. I had to be strong and just keep pushing on. Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing. Just follow your dream, believe in it, and you will succeed, no matter how big it is. Finally, I have made it!” – Yulia said.

The whole BVDM team feels very proud of Yulia who found her courage and determination to carry on and climb mountains! This is when we say 'a lawyer by profession and an adventurer at heart'.

And after all… please do not forget, the best view comes after the hardest climb! 😉

15/04/2020

Many companies regarded 2020 as an important milestone for the development of their commercial activities.

Intercompany programs like Vision 2020 were planned, and companies were seeking to achieve challenging business goals and look for further investment opportunities.

However, this year changed the attitudes and plans of practically all companies and people. The current situation affected not only business but also our personal lives.

The COVID-19 crisis, and the impact it will have on the economy is felt worldwide. It changes reality and our daily routines in such an unprecedented way so that we have to find the optimal legal tools to overcome this difficult period with minor losses.

For companies in Russia this means the following:
1. Keeping employees safe and letting them work remotely from home;
2. Documenting work from home in a diligent manner;
3. Changing the workload and offering new business lines; or
4. Optimizing costs for employees etc.

For more information on this topic, please refer to the new article of our Senior Lawyer, Yulia Shmagina https://e.law.ru/806946 (available in Russian only). If you have any questions or look for legal advice during these challenging times, you may directly contact our lawyers ([email protected]).

We will do our outmost best to keep you updated, and we trust that these recent events will develop in a positive way.

Be healthy, stay calm and be at home!

Sincerely yours,
BVDM Team… working from home for you

Президент объявил нерабочий месяц с 30 марта по 30 апреля, в регионах ввели ограничительные меры. В таких условиях компании теряют прибыль да еще и вынуждены платить ...

17/03/2020

The Director of BVDM Tax & Legal Mrs. Nadia van der Meer was invited to deliver a speech at the 3rd Women’s Day Networking Event at the Dutch Consulate General in St. Petersburg.

Around 40 participants attended the event.

Mrs. van der Meer highlighted the working standards for women in Russia and in the Netherlands touching on topics such as gender equality, social pressures and expectations, and legal rights for women.

At the end of the speech, Mrs. van der Meer concluded that being a female boss often means fighting stereotypes and proving assumptions wrong, and that there is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.

This presentation received very positive feedback from all the participants and audience.

12/03/2020

An inspiring speech of our Director, Nadia Van der Meer, at the Dutch Consulate General in St.Petersburg.

06/03/2020

BVDM Tax & Legal represented by its graceful Director, Mrs. Nadia van der Meer, is taking part in all events of the Association of European Businesses in Russia. This time we were happy to visit the beautiful Ambasciata d'Italia a Mosca.

15/01/2020

Happy New Year to all of our clients and partners!

As they say, only lawyers and painters can turn white to black and vice versa. The BVDM team wishes you only positive and colourful emotions for the new decade!

January 2020 starts with new articles by our lawyers.

What are the consequences of backdating legal documents? To learn more about this, please check out the article of our Senior Lawyer, Julia Shmagina:

https://e.law.ru/780438

29/03/2019

We presented at the business breakfast organized by our partners, Adecco Russia, on 28 March 2019.

During this three-hour workshop, BVDM Tax & Legal addressed migration issues which companies have to consider in Russia, focusing on Russian state migration authorities' inspections.

This event gathered over 70 participants, including HR directors and legal councils of multinational companies from various industries.

Мы выступили на бизнес-завтраке, организованном нашими партнерами, Adecco Russia, 28 марта 2019 года.

В ходе этого трехчасового семинара BVDM Tax & Legal рассказали про миграционные требования, которые компании должны учитывать при работе в России, сосредоточив внимание на проверках со стороны государственных миграционных органов.

В мероприятии приняли участие более 70 человек, среди которых директора по персоналу и правовым вопросам из мультинациональных компаний, представляющих различные отрасли промышленности.