Electronic work books. Clear instructions on what to do in 2020

What is an electronic work book?

An electronic work book is a digital analogue of a paper work book, which will display all the same information as in today's paper books. With the exception of information about education and awards, they will not be available in the electronic version.

All data on the labor activity of citizens will be collected in the information system of the Pension Fund, which began to be formed in 2021. To do this, employers will have to transfer to the Pension Fund all information about personnel changes.

All information on electronic work books in 15 minutes in our expert video:

Work books by the beginning of 2021

By the beginning of 2021, the majority of working persons had to decide in which option (paper or electronic) their work record book would continue to be maintained by submitting to the employer a statement of the choice made (clause 2, clause 7 of Article 2 of the Law of December 16. 2019 No. 439-FZ “On Amendments...”).

Refusal of the paper version entails (clause 3 of article 2 of law No. 439-FZ):

• entering into a paper work book kept by the employer an entry indicating that it was issued to the employee in connection with his choice of an electronic method for generating information about work activity, indicating in this entry the date of issue and details of the application submitted by the employee;
• transfer of a paper work record book to an employee who becomes responsible for its further storage.

After completing this procedure for both parties to the employment contract, Art. 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 66.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, dedicated to information about labor activities maintained in electronic form.

For an employee who chooses to continue issuing a paper work record book, nothing fundamentally changes in the management of this document. At the same time, he receives the right (clause 4, clause 5 of Article 2 of Law No. 439-FZ):

• continue to prepare this document on paper when applying for employment with another employer;
• at any time refuse the paper version by submitting an application to your current employer to switch to an electronic work record book (ELC).

The reverse transition (from the ETC to the paper version) is not provided for by law.

For a person who did not have the opportunity (due to a long absence from work or lack of work itself with work experience) to make a choice between a paper and electronic work book by the end of 2021, maintaining this document will continue on paper (clause 6 of article 2 of the Law No. 439-FZ) until the moment of filing an application for the transition to the ETC, regardless of which employer (former or new) the employee is currently working for (Letter of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated 02/11/2020 No. 14-2/B-141). Such an application can also be submitted at the time of employment.

Advantages of an electronic work book

An electronic work book, unlike a paper one, cannot be lost. A person will always be able to obtain up-to-date and reliable information about his work activity from the PFR information base. He will not have to make and certify copies of the digital work report for various authorities, plus it will become easier to get a job remotely.

Starting from 2021, employers will no longer have to create, maintain and store paper work books. An exception is cases when the employee did not want to give up paper. Then the employer will have to comply with both the old and new rules.

What to do when switching to a new format

You must:

• As before the reform, submit reports to the Pension Fund no later than the 15th of each month.
• When hiring and dismissing personnel, send information to the Pension Fund no later than the next day after the order is issued.
• At the request of the employee, provide him with certificates of work for the previous period - until 2021.

You can:

• After transferring an employee to ETC, give him a paper work record book - you are no longer obliged to keep it and be responsible for it.
• Request from the employee information from the ETC when hiring, as well as certificates from previous places of work - he is obliged to provide them to you.

If your employee at his previous place of work decided to keep a paper work book, then he retains this right, and you must keep both the electronic work record and the paper one.

What will happen to paper work books?

After January 1, 2021, employers will issue paper work books to employees. But only to those who choose the electronic labor option and write a corresponding application before the end of 2021.

If an employee does not want to give up paper work, he will have both paper and electronic ones. Employers will continue to keep labor records on paper, and at the same time will submit information about all personnel changes to the Pension Fund information base. If this employee changes jobs, the new employer will also be required to continue to maintain his paper work record and keep it.

At any time, a person who left a paper work record will be able to write an application and switch only to the electronic version, then they will give him the old one.

only those who already have one or will get a job for the first time this year have the opportunity to keep a paper work record Starting from 2021, paper work records will no longer be issued for new employees, and those who get a job for the first time have no choice: there will only be a digital option.

In order for existing employees to know about the upcoming changes and their right to leave paper work, employers are required to notify them about this in writing, ask them to make a choice and write an application by the end of 2021. More details about this below in the step-by-step instructions on switching to ETC.

What you need to know about electronic labor

Your employer must inform you in detail about the essence of the changes by October 31, 2021. Briefly they are as follows:

1. For already working citizens, the transition to electronic labor is voluntary. For those who decide to acquire an electronic work record (and write such an application), the employer will hand over the paper book and will no longer be responsible for its storage. The last entry in the book will be like this.
2. If you want to save the document in its traditional form, you also need to submit a corresponding application to the employer (in any form or on a form provided by the employee responsible for maintaining work records). Then the employer, along with the electronic book, will continue to enter information about work activities in the paper version.
3. Those who get a job for the first time in 2021 will immediately have an electronic work record; no one will give them a paper one, even if they want to. Those applying for their first job in 2021 can still receive a paper work permit.
4. When applying for a job, an electronic work permit can be submitted to a new employer either in printed form or in electronic form with a digital signature. He will give it to you in the same form upon dismissal.
5. There is no need to worry about the safety of electronic work record books. The Pension Fund guarantees a high level of security for its information systems. The foundation says it is virtually impossible for a failure or hack to result in data being altered or destroyed. Personal account information is recorded in distributed storage systems, which eliminates the risk of data loss.

How information will be transferred from old work books

From old books, employers will transfer only information about the last place of work to the electronic database of the Pension Fund. There is a new report for this SZV-TD .

Earlier information about the employee’s work experience will not be lost - it is already in the Pension Fund of Russia databases, because since 1997, with the entry into force of Law No. 27-FZ “On individual (personalized) accounting in the compulsory pension insurance system,” individual personal accounts have been opened for working citizens and Based on employers’ reports, information about the insurance period was uploaded to them.

True, from this information you can find out the length of service and the name of the company, but not the position held. When applying for a new job, a person will be able to confirm the positions he held before 2020 only using a paper work report that he will have in his hands. There will be no such information in electronic labor documents.

We will eliminate any possibility of fines for errors in personnel records

Accounting from 2100 rubles per month

Submit your application

Pros and cons of the new format

The new system has only one drawback - additional hassle for the employer and personnel officers. But this is only during a transitional time. Timely sending of the report will replace storing, maintaining paper documents, and purchasing forms. In other respects, ETCs are much more convenient than paper ones:

• it is impossible to lose or damage the document;
• easy access to your data, even from a mobile phone;
• Changes cannot be made retroactively.

Legal documents

• Labor Code of the Russian Federation
• Art. 66.1
• Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
• Federal Law N 439-FZ

Documents for dismissal and employment according to the ETC

When a person who has chosen the electronic option of maintaining a work record is dismissed in 2021, as a document reflecting the fact of work, he will receive from the employer a document drawn up in the STD-R form and containing information about labor activity for the period of work with this employer (Article 66.1 Labor Code of the Russian Federation). This document can be generated either on paper or electronically. The choice of the type of document remains with the employee.

Maintaining electronic documentation while saving a paper version

The employee’s choice of a paper version of maintaining a work record book does not relieve the employer of the need to submit information about his work activities to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the data in the database, for the formation of which the Pension Fund is responsible, will be accumulated in any case, and this will facilitate the transition to the ETC if the employee decides to stop using the paper version of the work book.

Persons who have not refused to keep a work record book on paper are required to provide this document to the employer upon employment (Article 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), and the employer is obliged to keep it, make entries in it reflecting personnel events and return it to the employee upon dismissal (Article 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). 66 Labor Code of the Russian Federation). When maintaining a paper work record book, the employer does not need to create a document in the STD-R form upon dismissal.

How to switch to ETC

In 2021 and early 2021, businessmen must take a number of steps step by step to implement a new format of work. Let's look at the transition order:

1. Change documents that mention work books: personnel regulations, employment contracts, etc. In all of these acts, you need to add information about the transfer of information to the Pension Fund and the issuance of statements to employees.

It is important that the “old” provisions on the conduct of BTK must be preserved. The fact is that it is unlikely that all company employees will immediately abandon the usual BTK. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for both options.

1. Issue an enhanced qualified electronic signature if the employer decides to provide employees with the STD-R form in electronic form.
2. During 2021, submit the SZV-TD form for hired, dismissed, transferred employees, as well as for those who decided to keep the BTK or requested an extract on their employment.
3. By 10/31/2020, notify all employees in writing of the right to switch to the ETC or keep the paper version.
4. Until December 31, 2020, collect statements from employees about the choice between ETC and BTK.
5. Within three working days after receiving the applications, issue the BTK to employees who have chosen the electronic format (letter of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated March 13, 2020 No. 14-2/B-260).
6. By 02/15/2021, submit the SZV-TD form for those employees for whom information was not provided in the “transition” year 2021. Thus, in February 2021, the Pension Fund of Russia will form a complete database of all employees.

How to work with employee data in a new format in 2021 and beyond

In 2021 and beyond, all employers must comply with the following responsibilities for electronic exchange of employee experience information:

1. Provide the SZV-TD report to the Pension Fund:

1. when hiring or dismissing an employee - no later than the next working day;
2. when making an internal transfer, submitting an application for maintaining a BTK or a request for an extract of experience - until the 15th day of the next month.

The SZV-TD report must be submitted, including for those employees who have retained the BTK. For violation of the deadlines and procedure for submitting the SZV-TD form, officials are subject to a warning or a fine in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles (clause 2 of Article 15.33.2 of the Administrative Code).

1. Provide employees who switched to ETC with information about their length of service in the STD-R form: on the day of dismissal or within three working days upon application.
2. If an employee decides to switch to ETC, then issue him a BTC within three working days.

How to register an e-book

Until October 31, 2021, the employer must inform each employee in writing about the right to choose a paper or electronic work record book. The employee must write a statement about his choice by December 31, 2020.

If you choose an electronic work book, the employer will return a paper one with a record of the transition to electronic media. The paper book cannot be thrown away - it will contain work records until 2021. The electronic one will contain information about work starting in 2021.

If you choose a paper one, the employer will keep both a paper and an electronic book. This will happen until the employee wants to switch to an electronic book by writing a corresponding application.

If you do not submit an application during 2021, the employer will continue to make entries in paper and electronic books.

How is an employee’s transition to ETC carried out?

Whether to switch to ETC is a voluntary choice of each employee. Employers are required to notify employees in writing of the possibility of a transfer by October 31, 2021. Working citizens must make their choice by December 31, 2021.

If an employee chooses the electronic format, he will be given a paper work report. At the same time, the document does not lose its significance, and it must be preserved, since the ETC will contain information only from 2021. It should be borne in mind that if the paper labor code is rejected, the employee will no longer be able to change his decision.

The application form for an electronic work book is free. It might look like this, for example:

The employee’s choice will be recorded in the database so that the Pension Fund, as well as the future employer, will be aware of it.

The employee also has the opportunity to inform the employer that he wants to keep a paper work record book. Then the HR department, in accordance with the new federal laws of December 16, 2019 No. 436-FZ and No. 439-FZ, will fill out both the electronic form and continue to make entries into the paper document manually.

If an employee decides to leave a paper Labor Code, he should write a statement in the following format:

Upon new employment, the employee’s right to maintain a paper labor documentation will remain. If the employee changes his mind, he can always switch to the electronic format by writing a statement to the employer at his main place of work.

If the employee does not make a choice and does not submit a written application to the personnel department of his organization, he will retain a paper work record book.

However, those who get a job for the first time starting January 1, 2021 will no longer have paper work records.