The main document confirming an employee’s length of service is a work book. Experience is necessary not only for calculating a pension, but is also of interest to employers during subsequent employment; in accordance with it, the employee can be given bonuses and awards. That is why it is very important to get an official job with registration according to the Labor Code.
When registering an employee in accordance with the Labor Code, the employer is obliged to maintain the employee’s work book. You will learn from this article where a person can get a work permit when applying for a job for the first time, as well as when re-employing.
Law on the transition to digital format of information about experience
The law on the introduction of electronic work books in Russia has already been adopted (Law dated December 16, 2019 No. 439-FZ). It came into force on January 1, 2021.
During 2021, there will be a gradual transition to electronic work books.
But is it necessary to switch to electronic work books? Yes, employers are now required to submit information about all their employees to the Pension Fund to generate information about their work activities in electronic form (Article 66.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
But workers are not required to switch to electronic work books. They have the right to inform the employer that they want the work record to be kept on paper, as before.
Let's sum it up
- A new work book is issued upon the employee’s initial employment, as well as if it is lost or damaged (if it is impossible to obtain a duplicate).
- If the book is lost, the employee must contact the previous employer for a duplicate.
- The work book (its duplicate) is issued by the employer based on the employee’s application.
- An employer cannot require an employee to purchase a book form, but has the right to reimbursement of expenses for its purchase.
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Forms and samples of notifications and applications
The forms of notification and statements are not established . Each employer must approve them independently.
This is important to know: Forgery of a signature: article under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
We offer possible forms for applications from employees and notifications about the transition to electronic (digital) work books in 2021:
- Form 2021 notification of the transition to electronic work books: forms Sample 2021 of filling out an employee’s notification of the transition to electronic work books in 2021:
Expert opinion
Davydov Alexander Yurievich
Civil law consultant with 20 years of practice. Author of numerous articles on legal topics
To notify each employee in writing about the transition to electronic work books no later than October 31, 2021 , you can use the following notification:
- Form 2021 for an employee’s application to maintain a paper work book: forms Sample 2021 for an employee to fill out an application to maintain a paper work book: download an example
If an employee wants to continue to keep a paper work record book, he submits the following application:
- Form 2021 application for transition to an electronic work book: forms
- Sample 2021 for an employee to fill out an application to switch to an electronic work book: download example
To start generating information about work activities in electronic form and abandon the paper work book, you need to receive a special application from the employee about switching to digital. Here's a possible example:
ConsultantPlus has detailed step-by-step instructions on how an employer can prepare for the transition to electronic work books in 2021. Free 2 days when registering access to the K+ system.
Employees must submit applications by December 31, 2021. However, according to the law, you can submit an application after 2021 (Article 2 of Law No. 439-FZ dated December 16, 2019).
Under an employment contract, but without labor contract: responsibility
Without a work book, you can work part-time for an individual’s employer and in the case where the relationship is formalized not as an employment relationship, but as a civil law one.
Labor legislation protects the employee, provides him with special rights and guarantees , and if the employer abuses the right and bypasses the law, instead of an employment contract, draws up a civil contract (author's, contract, etc.), he will be held administratively liable under Article 5.27. Code of Administrative Offenses, and for repeated violations the punishment is more significant.
If an employee abuses his right, and a civil contract was concluded precisely on his initiative in order to avoid paying mandatory contributions, and this happens to the employee systematically, he can be held accountable for illegal business, for example, under Art. 14.1. administrative code.
The work book confirms the existence of labor relations and indicates their specificity, serves to certify the labor rights of a citizen and indicates his length of service. Its necessity in labor relations is directly provided for by law.
It is in the interests of both the employee and the employer to thoroughly comply with these requirements. This will protect the relationship and avoid inevitable liability for violating a mandatory law.
How to get a work book
The question of how to obtain a work book for the first time is regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the Rules for maintaining and storing work books - it must be issued by the employer (approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 16, 2003 No. 225).
An organization or individual employer issues a new employment form for an employee within a week in the following cases (Articles 65, 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause 8 of the Rules):
In any of these cases, you need to write an application requesting a new work book.
If the employee did not provide such an application upon admission, the employer requests his employment record. In its absence, he must create a new form, since the legislator obliges all employers to keep work books for employees when (Part 3 of Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):
- for the employee, work activity at this enterprise is the main one;
- the employee worked more than 5 days.
What is the price
The cost of the document varies depending on the region and the place of purchase. On average, a form can be purchased for 300-400 rubles. You can do this yourself in the following places:
- newsstands;
- stationery stores;
- other retail outlets that have entered into an agreement with JSC Goznak;
- websites on the Internet (the cost of forms here is slightly lower - 200-250 rubles).
When applying for a job, you should check with the organization’s personnel service to determine the amount of deductions that will be made from the first salary.
If the cost of the form in the organization significantly exceeds its price at nearby retail outlets or on websites, it is more advisable to purchase the document yourself and bring it to the HR department.
It is important not to forget to check its authenticity.
Application for registration of a work book for the first time: sample
An application for registration of a work permit for initial employment is written in free form. It must include the following details and information:
- Full name and position of the head of the company.
- Full name of the person being employed.
- The text of the application must indicate that the person is entering work for the first time.
- Date and signature.
The application can be written by hand or typed on a computer. It is stored either in the employee’s personal file or in the work book.
What information is included on the title page?
The title page contains the following information:
- FULL NAME;
- Date of Birth;
- education;
- speciality;
- Date of completion.
At the bottom of the title page is the company's seal and the signature of the HR department employee. As a sign of familiarization with the records, the employee also puts his signature in the space provided for this. On the next page, according to the rules for filling out forms, an entry is made confirming the fact of employment.
Does the application need to be certified?
Expert opinion
Davydov Alexander Yurievich
Civil law consultant with 20 years of practice. Author of numerous articles on legal topics
The application must be certified by the personal signature of the employee. Upon receipt, the employer's responsible person will need to record the date of receipt in the incoming correspondence log.
This is necessary for drawing up a report to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. The report form contains a line where you need to indicate the date of receipt of the application from the employee. And by the 15th of the next month, all information must be transferred to the Pension Fund.
For example, accountant P. submitted an application on March 18, 2021; her choice must be reflected in the report and sent to the Pension Fund by April 15.
If you choose to maintain a work record book only in digital form, the paper version is given to the employee. In this case, the last entry is made with the date of issue and the basis containing information that the work book was issued in accordance with the employee’s application and Art. 66.1 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Records of the current employer, as well as information about incentives, must be certified by a seal.
An employee found something missing
As you can see, the situation with the loss of a work book is resolved quite simply. Difficulties begin if the employee subsequently finds his work book, wants to cancel the new book and get a record of his current work in the previous work book.
Let's start with the fact that this issue is not regulated by law at all and, strictly speaking, does not require regulation. After all, the employer has a handwritten application from the employee, where he asks to be issued a new work book due to the loss of the previous one. The presence of two work books will also not affect the pension rights of an employee in any way - both the periods under the first work book and the second will be counted towards the length of service. The law does not say that receiving a new book automatically cancels the lost one.
Finally, replacing a work book is difficult purely technically. The fact is that the organization must keep a book recording the movement of work books and inserts in them. And in this book the employee’s new work record book has already been “lit up”. Moreover, there is also a receipt and expenditure book for recording work book forms and the insert in it. This book also reflects data on the issuance of a new work book to an employee. It turns out that now it will be necessary to cancel the entries, invalidate the new work book form, resolve the issue of its payment, etc. In general, there are a lot of difficulties.
Therefore, our advice is to refuse the employee’s request to cancel the new work book and make an entry about the current work in his previous (once lost, and then found) book. At the same time, the employee must be explained that having two work books does not entail any negative consequences for him. You also need to give him a certified copy of his application for a new work book (in case in the future you need to explain to employers where the previous work experience went and where the second work book came from).
Where is it stored?
The method of storing a paper document on work experience depends on which option for maintaining a work record book is chosen by the employee:
- independently, if the application contains a method for generating only an electronic document. All responsibility for storage then lies with the citizen himself. The paper work book does not lose its relevance when confirming the work path until 2021. Records will be generated in the ETC starting in 2021;
- from the employer in accordance with the rules for maintaining and storing work books, if the employee has chosen to duplicate records in paper form. In this case, nothing changes, the book is in the custody of the employer and the entries are simultaneously entered into both the ETC and the paper version.
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Document storage
Once a work book has been created, the employer is responsible for it to the employee. There are certain rules for storing work records that must be strictly observed by employers.
The employer must store documents in a safe or cabinet for important documents, to which there is no public access. After all, damage to a document may entail a fine from supervisory authorities and a requirement for compensation and restoration of the document from the employee. Losing a document for an employee is extremely undesirable, because it is not easy to restore such a document; important work experience or awards may be lost.
To control the storage of labor records, it is recommended to periodically ask the employer how these documents are stored and whether they are securely protected.
An interesting fact is that even an employee will not be able to get his work book from his employer without a reason. Thus, if an employee works successfully in an organization and wants to look at his work history, he must have good reasons for doing so. The conditions for issuing a work permit are as follows:
- Dismissal;
- Employee’s application for provision of information from the labor record (a certified copy is issued);
- Death of an employee (the work record can be issued to relatives, and if they do not need it, it must be kept by the employer for up to 50 years).
If an employee is fired, he must ensure proper storage of the document, which he will subsequently have to transfer to the next employer.
Over the past few years, the possibility of canceling labor documents has been discussed at the legislative level, but so far this topic is only at the discussion stage and it is not yet clear when the innovation will come into force.
Registration procedure
When an organization employs an employee without work experience and, accordingly, without a formalized employment record, the personnel officer or entrepreneur will need to not only purchase it, but also fill it out independently from scratch.
The first page of the book is the title page. It contains information about the owner of the document:
- His full name;
- Date of Birth;
- Specialty and education.
At the end of the work report, the date of its completion, the signature of the owner, the seal of the organization that issued the document and the signature of the person responsible for filling it out are placed. The company's seal can be replaced with a similar mark from the human resources department, if the company has one. It must be remembered that all data entered into the book must be based on official documents submitted by the employee.
In practice, there are often situations when employees, out of ignorance, independently fill out the title page of the work report or are obliged to perform this action by the management of the enterprise. This is a direct violation of current legislation, since only the employer must formalize the employment certificate.
After filling out the document, it is stored at the enterprise. The personnel officer or other authorized person is responsible for accounting and maintaining books. If the employer is an individual entrepreneur, then these responsibilities are assigned to him.
What documents are required to issue a book?
When applying for employment, the employee must provide the documents necessary for registration of the book. These include:
- A document confirming the citizen’s identity (passport or birth certificate);
- Certificate of education or certificate, grade book, if the citizen continues to study or has not completed his studies.
These papers are required to fill out the title page of the book. In practice, enterprises often require additional documents. They are not required to be provided, therefore such actions are not allowed on the part of the enterprise management. The exception is situations when, in the event of loss of employment, papers are required confirming the citizen’s work experience at other enterprises. Documents about military service or receiving additional training may also be required. education.
