Filling out a work book: basic rules

When you don’t need to keep a work book

• You enter into a contract agreement (GPC) or an apprenticeship agreement. Such relations are regulated by civil law, not labor law, so a recording is not needed.
• You enter into an employment contract for remote work. By agreement of the parties, it is possible not to keep a work book and not to draw up a new one. This is written in Article 312.2 of the Labor Code.

Entrepreneurs do not reflect their entrepreneurial experience in their work books. The pension fund will calculate it based on the insurance premiums paid.

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Insert in the work book

The insert is inserted and sewn into the work record when there is no space left in the main document about the length of service and there is nowhere to enter new information. The shape of the insert is approved by Government Decree No. 225. It looks like this:

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Important things you need to know about the insert:

• it must be sewn in (directly with threads, in what way - it does not matter, it is important that it is attached);
• when filling out the insert, the personal data in it must match the data indicated on the title page of the employment contract;
• the insert number is entered into the labor movement record book;
• all other filling is identical to the labor one.

According to the law, an individual entrepreneur has the status of an employer. Therefore, he cannot enter into an employment relationship with himself, since there will be no other party (employee) in it. Therefore, the individual entrepreneur does not make an entry in the work book for himself (Article 56 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Where to get a work book

The employer maintains work records for all employees who have worked for him for more than 5 days. When a person gets a job, he brings his work book.

If an employee has lost his work book or it is damaged, prepare a new one for him.

If an employee gets a job for the first time, issue a work book within a week.

According to the rules, you can only buy forms from organizations that meet the requirements of Goznak. We looked at the manufacturer’s website - there are only 6 authorized organizations, but in fact there are many more sellers.

To avoid buying a counterfeit form, ask the seller for permission and an agreement. It is better to spend time finding a reliable supplier than to receive a fine for violating labor laws.

Additional questions

Is it possible to skip lines in TC

Inscriptions must be made without skipping lines. However, if there is a stamp on the previous entry that takes up one or two lines, then they need to be skipped.

It is unacceptable to enter information about your organization on someone else’s seal.

What pen should I use to fill out a work book?

When entering information about work into a book or insert, as well as when filling out the title page, entries must be made carefully, without any erasures. To do this, the personnel officer should have a blue, purple or black ballpoint pen that does not smear and is not too pale.

The recording must last a long time and be clear. If it gets smeared, it will have to be restored. They can rewrite the entry and declare it invalid even if the color of the information text is excessively dull, which makes it difficult to read.

The instructions also cover the use of ink. Currently, this permission is actively neglected by personnel officers, since there are practically no specialists left who master calligraphy, which requires the use of ink. If an ink blot is created when using them, the book may be considered damaged.

Is it possible to fill out a work book with a gel pen? Regarding helium pens, there are no direct instructions prohibiting their use. At the same time, their use is strictly not recommended:

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1. Their use can lead to damage to the work page, where entries have already been made on the reverse side. Helium paste can damage them, making the text illegible.
2. Helium paste does not always make the recording legible, as it leaves a wider groove.
3. Gel pastes are more easily smeared and even erased, which can ultimately render the TC unusable.

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If the pen is used improperly or if smudged or poor-quality entries are made, the labor inspectorate may impose a fine.

How to certify a copy of a work record book

There are often cases when an employee requires a copy of the employment document. To receive it, you need to write an application addressed to the employer. The application form is not established, but it is advisable to adhere to the established rules of execution:

• in the upper right corner of the sheet - data of the manager and employee;
• By ;
• then the text of the petition itself (in our case, the text may be as follows: “On the basis of Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, I ask you to give me a copy of the work book, certified in the prescribed manner”);
• date and signature.

After acceptance of the application, a certified copy of the work report must be prepared and issued within three days.

IMPORTANT! It is important to remember that as of July 1, 2018, the new GOST R 7.0.97-2016 “National Standard of the Russian Federation” came into force. System of standards on information, librarianship and publishing. Organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for document preparation”, which made minor changes to the procedure for certifying a copy of the work book.

To do everything right, you need to adhere to a certain algorithm:

1. Make copies of all completed sheets. In this case, copies must be single-sided.
2. Number and stitch the sheets. On the back of the last sheet, you need to seal the ends of the threads with a paper sticker, on which you write how many sheets there are.
3. Each copied page must be certified (if not stapled into one file). This must be done by a person who is granted such a right by local regulations. If there is no such person, then the general director must certify the copies.
4. Then the person certifying the document writes “True”, puts down his position, signature with transcript and date. You can put the seal of the organization (if there is one), but the law does not oblige you to do this.
5. You also need to add one more entry regarding the original work report: “The original document is located in (name of organization) in file No. ___ for ___ year” (this is written when the employee needs a copy to provide it to a third-party organization).
6. Sometimes an employee asks to add “Currently working.” This is not prohibited by law (banks usually ask).

What to do if an entry is missed

Entries must not violate serial numbers. If this happens, making an entry should be based on the general error correction algorithm in the TC. That is, under the next serial number you need to make an entry stating that an error was made (an entry was missed), and under the next serial number you need to make it.

But such actions cannot be carried out arbitrarily. In order for such an error to be corrected, a special order and grounds for correction are required. If the entry was missed by another employer, you must:

1. Make a request regarding an error.
2. Receive the necessary documents from the person responsible for the error.
3. Force him to correct his mistake.

Keep in mind that the mistake must be corrected by the employer who made it. In some difficult cases, it is necessary to seek correction of the error through the courts. Arbitrary interference is unacceptable.

This is very important because a missing entry can appear in two cases:

1. By mistake of one of the employers.
2. In case of fraudulent transactions with the work book on the part of the employee himself.

In both cases, vigilance and caution must be exercised.

When can you use the letter “ё” in writing your full name?

Many people are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to use the letter “е” in writing a first or last name.

Refer to the employee's passport.

If this letter is written in your passport, then you can safely put it.

If “e” is written in your passport, then you should not deviate from the passport data. Everything is extremely simple.

How to fill out a work book

The filling rules are described in Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated October 10, 2003 N 69 and Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2003 N 225. Below we will tell you about the main thing.

Write in a book with a black, blue or purple pen, without abbreviations. You can't write "pr." instead of "order" or "trans." instead of "translated".

Write in Arabic numerals. The day and month are in two digits, the year is in four digits. If you hired an employee on August 12, 2021, make an entry in the work book: “08/12/2019.”

What information to enter

• about the employee;
• about the work being performed;
• about transfers to another permanent job and about dismissal;
• grounds for termination of the employment contract;
• information about awards for success in work;
• about part-time work - at the request of the employee.

Each entry in the work book about work performed, transfer and dismissal is duplicated in the employee’s personal card.

How to fill out the title page

When registering a new work book, fill out the title page.

1. Enter the employee's last name, first name, and patronymic without abbreviations. Make an entry based on your passport or other identification document.
2. Enter your date of birth in the format “day, month, year”.
3. In the fields “education”, “profession, specialty”, make an entry based on your diploma or certificate. The education record may look like this:

Education: higher professional

Profession, specialty: accountant

1. Indicate the date of completion and ask the owner to sign.

The person responsible for maintaining work records must sign on the title page. The person responsible may be the individual entrepreneur himself, an accountant, and in large organizations - a personnel inspector or the head of the personnel department. Place your organization's seal here, if you have one.

How to register for a job

In your work book, open the “Job Information” section. It comes immediately after the title page.

1. In column 3, as a heading, the full and abbreviated name of the company, if any. Instead of a handwritten name, you can use a stamp with the name of the organization. Rostrud confirmed this in Letter dated August 19, 2015 N 1922-6-1.
2. Below the heading, make a note that you hired the employee and write the position. The position, as a rule, corresponds to the staffing table. An exception is when federal laws provide benefits or impose restrictions on certain professions. Then the names of these professions must correspond to the names and requirements from the qualification directories. This is a rare situation and we hope you don't encounter it.
3. In column 1 put the serial number of the entry, in column 2 - the date of hire.
4. In column 4, write the date and number of the order under which the employee was hired.

How to record a change in an employee's position

1. In column 1, indicate the serial number of the entry.
2. Column 2 shows the date of entry.
3. In column 3 write: “Transferred to position...”.
4. Column 4 contains details of the transfer order. The entry must be made within a week from the date of the order.

How to record a resignation

1. In column 1, enter the serial number of the entry.
2. Column 2 shows the date of dismissal.
3. In column 3, make an entry about the reason for dismissal with a mandatory reference to the paragraph of the article of the Labor Code.

For example: “Dismissed at his own request”, paragraph 3 of Article 77 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.”

1. In column 4, indicate the basis document, its date and number.
2. Issue a work book with a notice of dismissal on the last day of work.

Sample of filling out a work book

The work book form was approved by government decree No. 225 of April 16, 2003.

Let's look at how to fill out a document section by section and what the title page should look like.

The document consists of three parts:

• title page containing basic information about the employee;
• information about work - information about hiring, transfer and dismissal;
• information about awards.

Let's look at how to draw up a work book, step by step.

How to change an employee's full name in the employment record

If the employee has changed his full name, correct the entry on the title page. Cross out the previous last name, first name or patronymic with one line, then write down the new data.

Corrections cannot be made based on the employee’s words. Changes can be made only on the basis of a passport, marriage or divorce certificates, and other documents. It is mandatory to refer to their number and date. On the inside cover of the work book, write the basis document, put the signature of the person responsible and the employer’s seal, if any.

Responsibility for errors

As in any activity, errors when filling out the cover pages of work books lead to negative consequences. Their suppression is carried out using the following sanctions measures:

• Officials in case of a primary violation of the rules for filling out work books are liable in the amount of 5 to 50 minimum wages, and in case of a secondary violation they are disqualified for 1-3 years.
• For the first violation, legal entities are fined 300-500 minimum wages, and in the event of a repeat violation they may be completely suspended from their activities.

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Sample dismissal order

All penalties from the above entities are carried out by the Labor Inspectorate.

How to correct an incorrect entry in the Job Details section

Inaccurate or incorrect entries in this section cannot be crossed out. Please add the correction on a separate line.

1. In Column 1, enter the following serial number.
2. In Column 2, indicate the date the entry was made.
3. In column 3, write: “The entry for number so-and-so is invalid.”
4. Then, on the same line, make the correct entry: “Accepted for such and such a profession (position)” and in column 4, repeat the date and number of the order from which the entry was incorrectly entered into the work book, or indicate the date and number of the order on the basis of which the correct entry was made record. This is stated in paragraph 1.2 of the Resolution of the Ministry of Labor.

If you made a mistake in the name of the organization, then you do not need to indicate the next serial number.

Write in column 3 “There was a mistake in the name of the organization” and on a new line - the correct name of the organization.

Section "Job Information"

Each page of this section consists of 4 columns:

1. Serial number of the current record.
2. Date of hiring, firing, awards and other events.
3. Information about the organization, job title and department. The facts of hiring, dismissal, and transfer to another position are also recorded here.
4. Confirmation of the entry made - the name, date and number of the order according to which the entry was made.

Information in this section is included within 7 days from the date of issuance of the order on hiring, transfer to another position, awards, incentives, etc.

The reorganization of the enterprise is reflected in this section of the work book. These records will help explain the different stamps upon hiring and dismissal, and the size of the employee’s future pension and other social benefits depends on the correct completion of the work book.

When transferring

The transition from one position to another is reflected in the “Job Information” section.

There are two types of translations:

• internal - an employee changes position while in the same organization;
• external - the employer changes, the previous contract is terminated, a new one is concluded.

When transferring internally, in the third column of the book they write “Transferred to position...” and indicate the new position and the name of the department, if it has changed.

When transferring externally, the number and date of the order for dismissal from one organization and the number and date of the order for employment in another organization are indicated. In both cases, we indicate the position of the employee.

When working part-time

Information about part-time work is also included here. The registration is made on the basis of submitted documents from another organization, i.e. the employee brings a certificate to the main place of work, which must contain:

• full and abbreviated name of the organization;
• name of the employee's position;
• date of hire;
• organization details.

Along with the certificate, the employee submits an application written in free form and a certified copy of an order from another organization confirming that he has been hired. If these documents are completed correctly, the head of the enterprise, which is the main place of work, issues an order to make an additional entry in the book.

An example of filling out a work book upon dismissal

This section of the book is filled out in the same way upon dismissal.

The third column indicates the grounds for dismissal, and the fourth contains the details of the order on the basis of which the contract was terminated.

These entries in the work book are certified with the seal (if any) and signature of the HR department employee. If the enterprise does not have a personnel department or someone responsible for preparing and maintaining work books, then this is done personally by the head of the organization.

How to record and store work books

The employer stores and records work books. If the organization does not have a personnel department, assign someone responsible using an order. When changing the person in charge, transfer work books according to the act of acceptance and transfer of cases. The act must indicate the number and actual composition of work books and inserts in them.

Work books and inserts are strict reporting forms. They must be stored in safes, metal cabinets or in rooms where unauthorized persons have no access. Forms can be issued only to the person responsible for maintaining work records, upon request. If the individual entrepreneur himself is responsible, he freely disposes of the forms and does not write the application to himself.

Otherwise, there are no concessions for entrepreneurs and small businesses: you need to keep records according to all the rules.

For accounting you will need:

1. Receipt and expense book for accounting of work book forms and the insert in it;
2. Book of accounting of the movement of work books and inserts in them.

In the receipt and expenditure book, write down from whom you received and to whom the forms were issued. Indicate the name of the responsible employee or the name of the organization. Record the series and numbers of each form.

An example of filling out a cash book for recording work book forms and an insert in it

In the traffic record book, register all work books: accepted from employees and issued again.

An example of filling out a book for recording the movement of work books

When an employee resigns, ask him to sign the work record book and personal card.

Both books must be numbered, laced, certified by the signature of the head of the organization or individual entrepreneur, and also sealed with a wax seal. This is stated in paragraph 41 of the Government Resolution.

At the end of the month, the person in charge is obliged to report to the organization’s accounting department about the availability of forms and the amounts received for issued work books and inserts in them, attaching a receipt order from the organization’s cash desk. Damaged forms must be destroyed and a write-off report drawn up. If there is no accounting, then there is no need to report.

Employers must always keep spare forms of the work book and its inserts.

Legislative regulation of the issue

Filling out work books in 2021 is regulated by the following regulatory documents:

• Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation;
• Rules for maintaining and storing work books, producing work book forms and providing them to employers, approved. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2003 No. 225;
• Instructions for filling out work books, approved. Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated October 10, 2003 No. 69.

It should be borne in mind that the specified standards are not recommendations for implementation, but clearly written standards that approve the sample work book, and failure to comply with which is punishable under Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Electronic format of the work book

Note! In 2021, the transition to electronic work books began. All working citizens can choose the format independently.

In accordance with the law of December 16, 2019 No. 439-FZ, by the end of 2020, each employee had to submit an application on how to keep his work book - paper or electronic. If the first option is chosen or the application was not submitted for some reason, then in 2021 a paper TC will be filled out. However, the right to choose remains with the employee. If he writes an application to switch to an electronic format of the work book, the employer will stop keeping it in paper form.

The Ministry of Labor explained the procedure for switching to electronic labor codes in a letter dated August 12, 2020 No. 14-2/OOG-12933. Each employer had to notify its employees about the possibility of switching to an electronic version of the document by October 31, 2021. If the employee chooses the second option, a paper Labor Code is issued to him. Before this, a record is made in it that the employee submitted to the employer an application for the transition to an electronic format of the work book.

Then information about work activity, including the fact of filing an application for the transition to an electronic labor code, is sent to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation as part of the SZV-TD form. Deadline - no later than the 15th day of the month following the one in which the employee wrote an application to change the format of the book.

After switching to an electronic TC, the employee will no longer be able to return to maintaining it on paper.