2019 is a transition year regarding the abolition of paper work books

Latest news about the cancellation of work books 2019

The government will submit a bill on electronic work books to the State Duma in the spring session, writes Parlamentskaya Gazeta. The head of the Ministry of Labor Maxim Topilin told the deputies about this during the “government hour”

According to Maxim Topilin, on the bill on electronic work books, “all positions have already been agreed upon with social partners.” The various demands of trade unions and employers are taken into account. He noted that there are still a number of unresolved issues regarding the document, but the Government plans to introduce a bill before the end of the spring session. The initiative has already been reviewed by the Presidential Administration.

As part of the “government hour,” the head of the Ministry of Labor spoke in the State Duma about improving the pension system, implementing state policy in the field of social protection of the population, as well as measures taken by the government to improve the living standards and incomes of citizens, and to promote employment.

Myth and reality about the abolition of work records

There is more and more talk that work books may be cancelled. At the same time, practically no information is provided about how this will happen.

Thus, many believe that labor will be abolished altogether, and, accordingly, the recording of length of service will cease. This is absolutely wrong; there is absolutely no talk of a complete refusal to record the professional activities of employees.

In reality, there will be a gradual replacement of work books on paper with their electronic counterpart. Thus, we are talking about changing the form of recording professional activities.

History of work books

The above-mentioned document has its own history and has gone through a number of transformations. The work book first appeared back in 1918 according to the decision of the Code of Labor Laws of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (KZoTom RSFSR). From that moment on, any worker was required to have a work book with him. The system for maintaining and issuing documents was almost the same. Regulations were introduced on the rules for its conduct. And no one even imagined further activities with the abolition of work records.

Later, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK of the RSFSR) introduced a decree “On work books for non-workers.” Now, for citizens who could not carry out activities (temporarily), work books were introduced. Their official uniform was established. The document was used as an identification document, instead of the usual passports.

At the beginning of 1939, the Council introduced a single model of work books. It was used everywhere throughout the Soviet Union. A resolution was developed on the procedure for maintaining the document.

The regulations were changed several times. So, in 1973, the procedure for conducting labor was again changed by a new resolution. It was valid for a long time, until December 2003. In 1975, a collective farmer’s work book appeared. It was provided to employees of certain categories operating in agriculture.

Then no one could have thought that work books could be canceled in 2020. However, the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, which arose at the beginning of 2004, on a new form of maintaining a document and the rules for its issuance continues to be in effect to this day. So is it worth panicking about this? Perhaps this is just disinformation that has spread?

What is a work book

A work book is a basic paper document that every working citizen of the Russian Federation is required to have. It contains information about the professional activities of the owner.

The circulation of this document has a long history in our country. It appeared almost simultaneously with the Soviet regime. According to the law of those times, every worker was required to have a work book. Some time later, it became necessary for non-working citizens to obtain this document. He then served as an identity card.

Reference! Soviet peasants on collective farms did not have this document for a long time. Only in 1975 did specially designed paper for collective farmers appear.

Work books have repeatedly changed in their design and order of execution. After the collapse of the USSR, Soviet-style books were issued for a long time on the territory of the Russian Federation. Since 2004, citizens who are just starting to work must have a new document. Soviet labor, despite all this, continued to circulate; they were not replaced in any way (except for those cases when a duplicate document was issued due to its loss or damage). If the old-style document runs out of space, then a corresponding insert is purchased for it.

Document functions

It performs several important functions at once, among which the following should be highlighted:

Recording the professional activity of a citizen . The document must include information about its owner’s education, qualifications, places of work and positions held. In addition, the labor report contains information about the employee’s incentives (previously, entries were made about disciplinary sanctions) and the grounds for dismissal. Thus, the document in question is the main source of information about the citizen’s work activity, work experience and professional qualifications.

Definition of experience. A work record book or its certified copy is often required to confirm work experience, both general and at a specific place of work. This document is required by the pension fund to assign appropriate payments, by social security authorities when assigning certain benefits, by employment centers, etc.

Will work books be canceled in 2019?

This question is on the lips of many citizens and the media. It all started with the economic and technological transformations that Russia has continued to experience for decades. A powerful impetus for the emergence of this issue was the repeated amendment of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation - first in 2006, and six years later (in 2012). We discussed this topic long and hard. Until 2020, when the verdict was finally made on the need for selective abolition of work records in Russia. This was especially true for small businesses.

Thus, on April 20, 2020, a draft Federal Law “On Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regarding the specifics of regulating the labor of persons working for employers - small businesses that are classified as micro-enterprises” appeared. The project was considered by the State Duma. And the result of its adoption was a new chapter in the Labor Code.

During its discussion, 5 editions of the draft chapter being introduced were studied at once:

edition No. 1 dated October 09, 2020,
edition No. 2 dated April 20, 2020,
edition No. 3 dated May 13, 2020,
edition No. 4 dated June 14, 2020,
edition No. 5 dated June 22, 2020.

They all differ from each other. So in No. 1-2 - some information about the worker may not have been recorded in his work book, and during the first official employment, the worker could carry out activities without it at all (the document simply was not created). But this was carried out only with the consent of both parties to the employment contract. And the actual date of the worker’s entry into the performance of his duties and his subsequent dismissal was recorded only in the employment agreement. Later, in revisions No. 3-5, all these points were canceled.

Situation for the current year 2020

On July 3, 2020, the Federal Law “On Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation regarding the specifics of regulating the labor of persons working for employers - small businesses that are classified as micro-enterprises” was adopted. The beginning of its official action is considered to be January 1, 2020. Why this particular date? Because, it was decided to consider the law valid after 180 days from the date of its actual adoption.

The law states that the previously established procedure for maintaining work books continues to apply for employers. Records are recorded in a document for those citizens who continue their activities at the enterprise for more than five working days.

However, the bill on electronic work books will be submitted to the State Duma 2020 during the spring session. This was announced by the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Maxim Topilin during the “government hour”. Consequently, in 2020 there is a high probability that a law on the abolition of work records will be introduced into the Duma.

Myths and reality about the abolition of work records

In 2020, they started talking about the abolition of labor at the level of federal ministries, and a corresponding bill was submitted to the State Duma. In this regard, rumors have appeared that paper work books will cease to be valid this year or in 2020. However, this is not entirely true.

Will it still be canceled in 2020?

According to the head of the Ministry of Labor Maxim Topilin, in Russia they will indeed begin to abandon work records, but this will begin to happen in 2020 . In this case, naturally, we are talking about converting them from paper to electronic format. The corresponding database will be maintained by the Pension Fund.

The minister especially noted that the procedure will occur gradually, and also assured that those citizens who nevertheless decide to use a paper labor document can do so after 2020.

A work book is one of the most important documents for a citizen, which reflects all his professional details. Its current format is outdated. In this regard, the state is beginning a smooth transition to the formation of electronic labor. This process is likely to be lengthy and voluntary for citizens.

Why weren't work books canceled earlier?

Work books have the right to exist, if only because they store valuable information about their owner. In the absence of this document, the employer will not be able to find out about the length of service of the new employee and, importantly, about his possible departure “under the article”. Yes, the relevant authorities can find this information, but this takes time and money. And many organizations often lack one or the other.

Work books can be converted into electronic form. But then there is no guarantee that the services will be protected from hacking by intruders. After all, it is not difficult to change electronic information even for a schoolchild.

Additionally, problems may arise with the calculation of pensions, subsequent employment, etc. It is simply not profitable for the government to cancel the validity of such a document. This means there is no need to worry about this yet. But active work in this direction is underway!

What will happen instead of a work book?

The new document will be called “Information on Labor Activities.”
It will be maintained personally for each citizen in electronic form. The pension fund will deal with the issues of maintaining, updating, verifying the accuracy and ensuring the safety of this information. At the same time, employers will be required to provide information about their employees to the OPFR. Formats, frequency and methods of transmitting information will still be clarified. As a result, this will lead to the cancellation of entries in work books. After dismissal (on the day of termination of the employment contract), the person will be given an extract about his professional employment at this enterprise (date of hire and dismissal, position, transfers (if any), grounds for dismissal, etc.).

If on the day of termination of the employment relationship it is not possible to issue an extract, for example, the employee did not show up for work, refused to take work, etc., then this information will be sent in certified form to the dismissed person at his postal address.

But canceling dismissal in the work book does not eliminate the maintenance of other documentation, for example, an employee’s statement, an order for the enterprise to terminate a contract, etc.

To see what will change in the work of HR and accounting department employees, watch the video: