How a copy of a work book is certified: procedure according to GOST and common mistakes

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Published: 06/20/2018

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A work book is a document containing all the basic information about a citizen’s work activity. The functions of the work book are reduced to reflecting the actual length of service, the reasons for dismissal from each place of work, as well as information about education, qualifications and the presence of labor incentives or penalties.

A work record book is created upon the first official employment of a citizen. All operations for its maintenance and storage are carried out by employees of the personnel department of the employing organization in accordance with legally approved norms and rules.

• Copy of the work book: necessity, registration and validity period Requirements for registration of the copy
• Copy validity period

The original work book can be issued to an employee only upon dismissal, as well as when he receives a labor pension - in the latter case, the document is issued for a limited time. In other cases, the issuance of original work books to employees or other persons who do not have the appropriate clearance is prohibited by law.

No application - no documents

Before we talk about how a copy of the work book is certified, let us remind you that the work book itself is the property of the worker.
But it is temporarily kept by the employer so that he can enter into the document all the necessary information about the citizen’s professional activities. In order to receive a work book, an extract from it or a copy, according to Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, a person must not only ask a personnel department employee to prepare the document, he must contact his superiors in writing. Below is a sample application for a copy. Its form is not established at the legislative level, so the appeal can be drawn up arbitrarily, but taking into account the requirements for personnel documentation (to whom and from whom it is written, the reason and grounds for the appeal, date and personal signature of the applicant). The application can be drawn up by hand or using a computer, as the sample shows. In the latter case, it is important that the application be signed personally by the applicant.

Sample application for issuance of a copy of a work record book

Please note that local regulations of the company may establish another form of applying for labor.
In this case, the corresponding form is issued to the employee, who fills it out according to the prescribed rules. A very important point: the reasons for applying for a copy can be different - to obtain a loan from a bank, obtain a foreign passport, provide data on work experience to the Pension Fund, etc. But in the application, the worker is not required to answer the question why he needed it. This is not provided for by law. Therefore, if in the application forms developed at the enterprise it is required to indicate why it was necessary to certify documents related to the work, GIT inspectors may regard this as a violation of legal norms.

Personnel officers should also remember that it is necessary to consider an employee’s request for a copy of the work book or other documents within three days. And not only to consider, but also to have time to correctly prepare the requested extracts. All of them are provided free of charge. Please note that the employer cannot refuse to provide a copy; this is contrary to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Certification rules

The work book contains information about the dates of employment indicating the position, about special awards and incentives, about transfer to another position, as well as the date and reason for dismissal. According to the law, the original of this document must be kept by the employer throughout the entire period of the employee’s employment. That is why, if it is necessary to provide information about employment or work experience, the employee can only receive a copy. However, simply copying the document will not be enough; it must be certified. Otherwise it has no legal force.

The rules for certifying a copy of a work record book provide for the implementation of this procedure at the current place of work in the personnel department of the enterprise. This can also be done by either the head of the department or another HR specialist. In some organizations that do not have a human resources department, this responsibility is assigned to the accountant. The head of the organization can also assure the labor record.

Sample: how to properly certify a copy of a work record book

A copy issued at the request of the employee, in our case, is an official document. Therefore, it must meet certain requirements. Let's look at them in detail to find out how to properly certify a work record book.

1. You need to scan (print) all completed sheets, starting with the title page.
2. Each sheet must contain printed text on one side only. If the text is printed on both sides of the sheet, it may not be accepted.
3. The text after printing should be clear and easy to read.
4. The sheets must be numbered and stitched, as is done by notaries. On the back of the last sheet, you need to “seal” the ends of the thread with a paper sticker and write how many sheets have been collected.
5. Each page must be certified. This must be done by a person who is granted such a right by a local regulatory act of the organization or a power of attorney. Otherwise, the personnel officer is obliged to certify the papers from the general director.
6. According to clause 5.26 of GOST R 7.0.97-2016 “National Standard of the Russian Federation. System of standards on information, librarianship and publishing. Organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for document preparation”, the person certifying the document writes “Correct”, then indicates his position, signs and deciphers, and puts down the date.
7. The certification note must be supplemented with a record of the place where the original is stored. The inscription “The original document is located in (name of organization) in file No. ... for ... year” is necessary so that the recipient of the copy is informed about the place of storage of the original - please note that the sample certification of a copy of the work book shown in the article contains such a line.
8. According to GOST, the employer can use a special stamp to mark the certification of a copy of the work book.

9. It is believed that the accuracy of the data must also be confirmed by the seal of the employing organization. However, in the Russian Federation, some companies are exempt from the obligation to have round seals, so they physically cannot affix them. But the documents certified by them will have the same force, even if there is no stamp.
10. Regarding the location of the “Correct” entry, the signature and date of the person certifying the duplicate, the seal. All this should capture the data being certified, but not cover or overlap it. Otherwise, the recipient will not be able to read the information and the employee will have to return.
11. In some cases, the employee may ask to write the phrase “Currently working.” There is no legal prohibition on this, so it is permissible to make an appropriate entry.

Please note that all of the above requirements are described in GOST, which is voluntary. Therefore, banks, Pension Funds and other organizations may have their own requirements for document certification. They should be clarified in advance.

Sample: how to certify a work book according to the current GOST

Need for a copy

An employee may need such a document in various situations. The most common ones are:

1. As confirmation of a person’s job availability for a credit institution when making a loan request.
2. To confirm the information specified in the application form, for example, to obtain certain documents.
3. To determine the duration of the total length of service , as well as the consistency of work in the last place. This information is often necessary for credit institutions.
4. To determine the reasons for dismissals from previous places . Such information may be important to a new employer if a person is trying to find additional work.
5. To confirm employment when applying for benefits and allowances.

Previously, a certified work record was required to obtain a foreign passport. This document is not currently required, but some departments may occasionally require it. Be aware that this is illegal, since all government agencies are required to act according to strictly established regulations, which must include a list of required documents.

Sometimes a copy of your employment record may be required when applying for a visa to enter another state. Since it is important for them to know that something connects you with your country, and you must also have a constant source of income.

Common mistakes

If the personnel officer incorrectly certifies a copy of the work record book, the employee will bring it back and everything will have to be redone. To prevent this from happening, you can print out and keep on hand a sample copy of the work book certified by the employer.

What mistakes do experts often ignore?

• Due to the seal imprint, part of the text is hidden, which makes it difficult for the recipient of the document to understand the records. Place the seal correctly so that it does not interfere.
• The seal itself is worn out, it is difficult to make out which organization it belongs to.
• There are no signatures, position or other information and the person who certified the copy of the work book. Or this employee is not authorized to perform such actions.
• Errors were made when making entries and corrections were made. Any blots are unacceptable; because of them, the document may be declared invalid and returned to the person. If an error is made during certification, the sheet must be scanned again, printed, and the correct information entered.
• Not all sheets are certified. This is only permissible if all sheets of the copy are stitched, numbered and sealed.

Carefully study the sample on how to certify a copy of a work record book and remember the proposed instructions. It will be needed more than once, since the authenticity of other documents relating to the professional activities of workers is similarly confirmed.

Recommendations

I advise all people who are officially employed:

1. Keep a certified copy of the document at home . In this case, you need to request it every time you make a new entry in the book. This way, you can check that it is filled out correctly at any time. And also in case of damage or loss, you will have a document confirming that there were such entries in the book. Then you can very quickly restore your book by receiving a duplicate of it, which will contain all the same entries that are indicated in the certified copy.
2. When receiving a copy in your hands, be sure to check that it is filled out correctly . Pay special attention to the common mistakes that are made when preparing such copies.

All officials are required to know how to correctly draw up such documents, so they are required to be interested in all innovations in labor legislation.

Where else can you get a certified copy of a work book?

Until now, we have considered the situation when a person works, and his work book is kept by the employer - in the personnel department or accounting department, if it deals with personnel documentation. But if a citizen is unemployed, he has a work book in his hands, and he needs a certified copy, he must contact a notary. Additionally, you need to take your passport. In a notary office you can certify a copy of a work document for a working person. To do this, he asks the employer for a document against receipt, and then returns it.

The notary copies the necessary pages (usually only completed sheets), stamps them, dates them, and signs them.

But keep in mind that a notary can only make copies of the original work book. If the employee makes copies in advance and brings them, the papers will not be accepted. Because the lawyer checks all the records before copying and only then can certify the work book. By the way, if a notary finds errors or inaccuracies in the records, he will suggest that the person first correct them with the employer, and then make a certified copy.

Notary services are always paid. It is better to check the cost at a specific notary office.

Why write a statement?

The work book is a strictly recording document, therefore certain norms and rules have been developed in relation to it, including those regarding maintenance and storage.

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After an employee is hired, he submits his work record book to the company’s human resources department. Here all the necessary information is entered into it and here it is part of the employee’s personal file and is stored until his dismissal. Responsibility for its contents and safety usually lies with a specialist in the personnel department, who has no right to either make any “extra” entries into it or hand it over to anyone, even the owner. If the latter needs to provide information from it to any authority, the personnel officer must make a copy or extract from the work book. But the trigger for starting this process is a written statement from the employee.

How long does a copy last?

At the legislative level, it is not stated anywhere during what period it is possible to present a copy of the work record book certified by the employer or a notary. But credit institutions, Pension Funds and other organizations may have certain requirements. Typically, the “expiration date” of the document is no more than 30 days. When applying for large sums, they may require a copy prepared within 3–14 days.

Please note that if a new entry appears in the work book, then the copied copy made earlier is no longer considered valid. It needs to be redone.

Responsibility for untimely issuance or refusal to issue a copy of a document

Penalties are provided for delay or refusal of issuance. These measures are regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses (Article 5.27). For a violation committed for the first time, the penalties presented in the table are provided.

For repeated violations, the amount of penalties increases. The amounts are presented in the table below.

Is the employer required to keep duplicate copies of former employees?

The legislation does not stipulate the employer’s obligations to store copies of work records of dismissed employees who have withdrawn their work records. However, they are often saved in the form of photocopies or electronic documents for subsequent inspections by the Social Insurance Fund, Tax Service and Rostrud.

This may be useful for an employee if he has lost the original work document and needs to restore data about his previous job. Work books and their duplicates that were not received upon dismissal by the employee or his immediate relatives are stored in the organization until required.

Unclaimed books are stored for 75 years according to the order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558 on the storage periods for standard management archival documents. The requirements for their storage are established by Federal Law dated October 22, 2004 No. 125 FZ “On Archiving in the Russian Federation.”