03.02.2023

UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS WILL WE HAVE THE ELECTRONIC EMPLOYMENT RECORD BOOK

Comment from the specialist

The employment record book is an official document certifying the circumstances related to the labor activity of the worker or employee entered in it.

It includes circumstances regarding the data from the worker's or employee's personal documents, his education, the agreed remuneration, the position held, date and reason for termination of the employment relationship and other related to the employment relationship.

Is it possible to create an electronic register for this information, containing similar data, which would also be an "official certifying document" for employees to use if necessary, answers labor law expert Dr. Todor Kapitanov.

First of all, in order to create such a register, the possibility of using the relevant electronic records with employee data as evidence in case of possible disputes should be specified very carefully. This means that these intentions should be regulated in a specific law, and not by reference to a by-law.

The issues related to the content of the register, its creation and maintenance, the processing and access to the data from it, the deadlines for submitting the data to the register, the possibility of corrections in the register, etc., should be clearly defined by the legislation.

It is necessary to guarantee the security of data and access to them in the electronic labor register. Including guaranteeing workers and employees that all the information contained in the employment record book until it is transferred to electronic form will be preserved in its entirety, including providing for liability in the event of inaccuracies in the transfer of data from the paper employment record book to the electronic one and the possibility of contesting them in court, including when there are errors in the automatic calculation of their work experience. Also, the person responsible for making entries in the electronic employment record book should be determined by law.

We cannot help but pay attention to the fact that workers should be guaranteed free access to their own electronic work record. In most cases, practice shows that in working with the administration, citizens should pay to receive information from an administrative body, even though this information concerns their personal data.

The example of the administrative procedure for issuing a criminal record certificate, which in many cases is required when entering a job and for which citizens should pay, is an illustrative example of a procedure that should be avoided when requesting information on personal data on any occasion.

Of course, in addition to the interests of employees, we must not overlook those of employers. Therefore, it is important not to allow the creation of an unbearable additional administrative burden for employers, as well as to provide for a sufficient transition period after the adoption of the regulatory changes and the creation of the electronic register, so that employers can fulfill the obligations assigned to them by law.

What does "electronic employment record" mean?

The topic of the electronic employment record book is again on the agenda, after a bill was submitted for consideration, which aims to create an electronic employment record to replace the existing paper work (service) book of workers and employees, including civil servants.

The intention is to create an electronic register of employment, maintained by the Employment Agency, in which all data from the worker's employment book are entered. The employment record book should be replaced by an "electronic employment record" to which workers and employees will have access.

A transitional period for scanning and sending the data from all employment record books by the employers is also planned. It is also foreseen to automatically calculate the length of service of the persons and delete the texts from the Labor Code regarding benefits payable by the employer in case of illegal retention of the employment record book.

There is hardly a person who is against the idea of introducing modern technologies and methods for processing information related to individual data accompanying and reflecting the work path of every worker or employee, including government ones, as well as facts and circumstances that are relevant to their work.

However, what are the features and risks of a possible change in the legislation in this direction and how can they be avoided.

Upon a more in-depth and expert study of the matter, the otherwise good idea of introducing an electronic work record hides a number of risks that should be secured. Many more questions for reflection arise than are contained at first glance.

One of these questions is who and how will have access to the database contained in the electronic employment books, especially since under the current legislation these documents are the property of the workers/employees.

Another question that should be answered in advance is who and in what way will provide an additional administrative burden for employers, for example in the process of scanning employment record books, entering the database into the special register and most importantly - who and by which way will be responsible for wrongly entered data.

In summary, the proposals made do not sufficiently protect the rights of workers, insofar as the employer will have access to the benefits paid for non-compliance with notice on termination of the employment relationship, compensation for unused paid annual leave and other similar data, which are calculated on the basis of the remuneration of the person therefore employers will have access to salary information from the prospective applicant's previous employment.

In this situation, potential candidates for a new job will be put in a less favorable position when they have to negotiate the amount of their remuneration, and in the employers' arguments, the starting point will always be the amount of salary from the candidate's previous job.

These are only a small number of examples that show how a good idea, when it is not sufficiently specified and the element of protecting workers' rights is omitted (perhaps deliberately) can become a huge topic of dispute between the different parties in labor relations and practically cannot be implemented.

Bulgaria definitely needs digitization not only in the area of the employment book, but also in all processes related to the administrative commitments of the parties in labor relations. For this to happen, it certainly needs to be approached on a much larger scale, but also much more expertly.