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 (Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause 8 of the Rules):
- a person signs an employment contract for the first time;
- the employee lost his previous work record.
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.
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When applying for a pension, the pension authorities of our city require original work books from the employees of our organization. However, they do not justify this requirement with any regulations. Books are confiscated for a month or more. In accordance with the law, the employer is obliged to issue a work book to the employee only upon dismissal. Therefore, the personnel officer is forced to issue a work book based on the employee’s personal application, although this is contrary to the law. Is the demand of the pension authorities legal? What should the HR officer do in this case and what documents, in addition to (or instead of) a personal statement, should he take from the employee?
THE PENSION FUND'S REQUIREMENTS ARE UNLAWFUL
In accordance with clause 13 of the List of documents required to establish a labor pension and a pension for state pensions in accordance with the Federal Laws “On Labor Pensions in the Russian Federation” and “On State Pensions in the Russian Federation” [1] (hereinafter referred to as the List ), in confirmation of the right to a retirement pension, original documents on the length of service, with the exception of the work book , and average monthly earnings, as well as originals or copies of other documents provided for in the List, containing reliable information and issued by competent authorities or officials, are accepted.
In the letter of Rostrud dated March 18, 2008 No. 656-6-0 (hereinafter referred to as the Letter), in this regard, it is clarified that, in order to confirm the length of service, both the employee’s work book (its original) and its notarized copy, which partly contradicts the previously cited provision of the List.
At the same time, the Letter emphasizes that the employer is obliged to hand over a work book to the employee only upon the latter’s dismissal[2]. At the same time, the Letter draws attention to the fact that liability for the loss of a work book in the event that an employee is issued a work book for a short period (temporarily), even if against receipt (based on a written application), will nevertheless be borne by the official responsible for the safety of the work records of the organization’s employees. In general, this is an inspector of the personnel department or another person appointed by order (instruction) of the head of the organization.
Taking into account the above, the requirement of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation should not be considered as lawful, since it, firstly, contradicts the provisions of the List and, secondly, can be fulfilled by the person responsible for handling the work books of the organization’s employees only by violating the requirements of Art. 84.1 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
WHAT SHOULD AN EMPLOYER DO?
In accordance with the Rules for maintaining and storing work books, producing work book forms and providing them to employers[3], the employer is responsible for organizing work (proper organization of handling) with work books of employees.
Issues of organizing the handling of work books that are not directly regulated by current regulations, but require regulation (its clarification, including the establishment of a procedure for the temporary issuance of work books to employees), including in connection with the assignment of relevant powers to the employer’s officials, can be regulated by on the basis of local regulations in force for a given employer , adopted by it within its competence[4], and in compliance with the procedure established by Art. 372 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
In the situation under consideration, we believe it is appropriate:
1) regulate the procedure for the temporary issuance of work books to employees of the organization through the adoption of relevant local regulations . For example, this could be a job description of the person responsible for handling work books, instructions on the procedure for temporarily issuing work books to employees of the organization, etc. Such instructions should also include a clause obliging the employee who has temporarily received a work book to return it to within the established period, safe and sound, responsible for handling the work books of the organization’s employees. You can also make the necessary additions to the employer’s local regulations. After these local acts (amendments to existing acts) come into force (this primarily concerns the instructions on the procedure for the temporary issuance of work books), it is necessary to familiarize the organization's employees with their contents against signature: the person responsible for handling work books - unconditionally , and workers who have declared the need for temporary issuance of work books to them, including for submission to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, - before the temporary issuance of work books in their hands;
2) consider the advisability of including in the employer’s internal labor regulations (another local normative act establishing the procedure for bringing the organization’s employees to disciplinary liability) provisions establishing disciplinary liability for violation of the employer’s local regulations, including acts regulating the procedure for temporary issuance of labor books. Responsibility can be provided for failure to ensure safety, untimely return to the organization of a work book temporarily issued to an employee, through the fault of this employee;
3) study the possibility of providing in advance for employees who have reached retirement age and therefore have expressed a desire to resign, with copies of work books (extracts from them), prepared in the manner prescribed by Art. 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, for their subsequent presentation to the territorial body of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, other authorized bodies (organizations);
4) agree with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation on the procedure for providing original work records upon a written request sent by the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation to the organization. If such a procedure is agreed upon, the basis for temporarily issuing the original work book to the employee of the organization will subsequently serve as a corresponding request. In this case, personal disciplinary responsibility for the safety of the work book from the moment of temporary receipt until the moment of its return to the person responsible for handling work books must be borne by the relevant employee (owner of the work book).
[1] Approved by Resolution of the Ministry of Labor of Russia and the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation dated February 27, 2002 No. 16/19pa (as amended on March 12, 2010).
[2] Article 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
[3] Approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2003 No. 225 (as amended on May 19, 2008).
[4] Article 8 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Who buys and pays for the work book form
An employer does not have the right to require a new employee to buy an employment form himself. Work books are strict reporting forms produced by Goznak, which the employer must keep records of in a special income and expense book. Forms are purchased from their manufacturer or distributor on the basis of an agreement with him (clauses 3 and 4 of the Procedure for providing employers with forms, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated December 22, 2003 No. 117n).
The employer cannot accept new employment forms from people applying for a job, since he has no way to verify their authenticity. In addition, Art. 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation directly obliges the employer to draw up work books for employees, for which the enterprise must have a supply of blank book forms and inserts for them (clause. Rules for maintaining and storing work books).
The employer may charge the employee the cost of the work book, taking into account the costs of acquiring it. In practice, this means that the price may include not only the price of the form itself, but also, for example, transportation costs.
How to write an application to receive a work book
It goes without saying that in order to issue a work book to its owner in the event of the need to issue insurance payments, an application from the employee himself is required.
Otherwise, how can the head of the organization know who needs the original documents and for what purposes.
The legislator does not impose any special requirements on the application form.
It can be written by hand or printed in any way: on a typewriter or computer.
- Any statement begins with a so-called “header” located in the upper right corner of the page.
- The full name of the position of the head of the enterprise and his personal data must be indicated.
- In the line below, write down the details of the applying employee (position, last name, first name, patronymic);
- The name of the document (in this case, the application) is written in the middle of the new line.
- The essence of the appeal is stated from a new line - a request to issue a work book for applying to the Pension Fund and calculating the length of service that gives the right to issue insurance payments.
- It must be indicated that the employee is familiar with the provisions of Art. 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on the obligation to return the employment document no later than three days after receiving the book from the Pension Fund.
- The date of drawing up the appeal is indicated and a personal signature is placed.
The manager must impose a resolution to issue the document on the HR inspector or the person responsible for maintaining records.
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.
How can an employee obtain information from an electronic work record book?
The employee does not have to write a statement; he can independently obtain information from the Pension Fund of Russia (this is a more extended form compared to STD-R), and not for one employer, but for all of them at once. You can do this:
- through your personal account on the Pension Fund website - pfrf.ru;
- on the website of the Public Services Portal - gosuslugi.ru;
- from the employer by writing a statement.
The employer can generate the STD-R form in the Astral Report 5.0 service. Users of the service have access to the functionality of generating an extract based on the SZV-TD data sent to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the ability to adjust it - adding missing measures.
Instructions for forming STD-R
Connect Astral Report 5.0 - submit reports, fill out electronic work books, work with electronic sick leave, switch between different companies whenever it is convenient for you - even while filling out a report.
Statement about the absence of a work book: sample
In the case when the work book is started again because the old one is lost, the application is written in the same form as the previous one, except that the fact of the loss of the work book is indicated.
An employer does not have the right to refuse an employee to obtain a new employment record, and the person does not have to prove that it was actually lost.
In the case when a person gets a job that will be his main one, and at the same time he does not have a work book, the employer is obliged to get him a new one, at his request.
Registration of pension
Very often a situation arises when a working employee acquires the right to a pension due to reaching a certain age, but does not plan to quit. As a rule, when making this type of payment, the authorities of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation require future pensioners to provide an original document confirming their length of service or a notarized copy. For this reason, employees make a similar demand to the employer.
It should be noted here that according to clause 13 of the List (dated 02/27/2002 N 16/19pa), only original documents that confirm length of service are accepted to confirm the right to receive a pension. Regarding the presentation of the original work book, this paragraph provides an exception to the general rule and does not contain a condition on its mandatory provision.
Explanation
In accordance with the letter of Rostrud dated March 18, 2008 N 656-6-0, to confirm the availability of the required length of service, it is allowed to provide a notarized copy of the work book to the territorial bodies of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation. In accordance with this clarification, issuing a work book to an employee to confirm the availability of the required length of service is not mandatory.
Thus, the legislation on pension provision does not impose an obligation on citizens to submit the original work book to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.
In cases where, despite the arguments presented, officials of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation continue to insist on providing the original (notarized copy), the following options for behavior are possible:
- Go to the authorities of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation together with the employee, and independently present the original work book on the spot.
- Issue a notarized copy of the document.
- Give the employee the original.
The first of the proposed behavior options, according to many experts, is the most optimal. By acting in this way, the person appointed responsible for the safety of work books will protect himself from liability in the event of a possible loss of this document. In accordance with the letter of Rostrud dated March 18, 2008 N 656-6-0, responsibility for the safety of the employee’s work book in any case rests with a specially authorized person of the employer.
Thus, taking into account the above explanations, even in cases where the work book is handed over to the employee against signature and for a short period of time, the official is responsible for its safety.
Notarization
If a justified need arises, an employee of the enterprise’s personnel service can independently contact a notary so that he can certify copies of the necessary documents. Please note that, in accordance with current legislation, the amount paid for this service cannot be recovered from the employee.
Issuance of the original
Considering the above, the conclusion suggests itself that there is no clear answer to the question of in what cases a work book is issued to an employee. The employer is obliged to hand over the book to the employee only upon dismissal of the latter.
If for some reason a decision is made to issue the original of this document to a working employee, you must try to correctly prepare the accompanying documents.
