Keeping work books is the most important responsibility of every law-abiding employer. If an employee carries out his professional activity for more than five days, then this document remains at the relevant enterprise. Many citizens are interested in the question of when labor books in Russia will be canceled. Still, the digital era should significantly affect the development of automation processes. Will labor books be canceled in our country? The answer to this question will be presented in the article.
Workbook History
The first official document attesting to the employment of a citizen appeared in 1918 in accordance with the Code of Labor Laws of the Soviet Republic. From that moment on, every employee had to confirm his position with a work book. The system for issuing and processing a document a century ago was practically no different from today's.
A little later, an SNK decree appeared on the need to have work books for unemployed people. Moreover, the document could completely replace the passport. Positions have repeatedly changed. The last time the work book has undergone changes in 2004. And today, in the age of digital technology and global informatization, a very serious question is being raised: when will work books be canceled in Russia?
Cancellation Prospects
The problem of canceling work books was raised in 2004 and 2006. More recently, the government again raised the issue of canceling the documents under consideration. According to some decisions of 2014 and 2015, the process of transferring work books to electronic format was supposed to begin in January 2017. But, as you can see today, nothing of the kind has yet been observed.
At the moment, all information about the seniority of workers is being sent to the Russian Pension Fund. A strict personified record is kept of each employee. Accordingly, confirmation of work experience by presenting a work book is not at all mandatory. So what prevents the current government from completely abolishing paper versions of documents? Still, joining the world standard would not hinder the Russian state at all.
Is there an alternative to a work book?
Of course, the abolition of work books should entail the full maintenance of guarantees of confirmation of work experience. This is understood by both the employer and the employee, and the state itself.
What alternative may be present here? Many experts talk about an employment contract. But the requirements for this document should change significantly. The content of the contract should be protected from possible falsification. Only the introduction of certain amendments, due to which the work experience will not need to be confirmed, optimizes the work of both labor organizations and the FIU.
As soon as all the nuances are finalized, a worthy bill will be introduced to the State Duma.
What will the cancellation lead to?
Thus, the question of whether labor books will be canceled in Russia remains a little unclear. But what are the consequences of the cancellation? Experts say a sharp reduction in personnel costs. All human resources will be immediately optimized. Accounting, storage of work books, the issue of salaries to personnel officers - all this will be greatly simplified.Among other things, the responsibility for the transfer or storage of work books upon dismissal will be removed: it is worth recalling that personnel officers may be punished for neglecting the papers.
But there are some disadvantages to the abolition of work books. In particular, it is worth highlighting the possibility of hiding the employee the true reasons for dismissal from a previous job, because they will not be displayed anywhere. We should not forget about the possible falsification of resumes and recommendations. Of course, all of these shortcomings can be easily eliminated, the introduction of certain additions will help correct the situation.
Will it be easier for workers?
The pros and cons of the process under consideration on the part of employers and personnel officers were mentioned above. But will something change for the workers themselves? The fact that keeping work books is no longer necessary will somehow affect ordinary workers? This will be described later.
The first drawback worth highlighting is the insecurity of the digital system. Any failure in the program, and the whole process of working with electronic versions of work books will stop. If the data is completely lost, then the employee will have to contact the previous employers for confirmation of their experience (and not the fact that they will have similar information). The second drawback is the possible dishonesty of the employer. Constantly monitoring how management pays the required amounts to the Pension Fund will not be so simple. It is quite possible that an employee will simply lose experience due to dishonesty of his superiors.
But there are advantages. Still, the question of when labor books in Russia will be canceled is not in vain raised so often. So, with the transition of the document under consideration to digital format, the future pensioner will get rid of paperwork, which is so much present today. It is worth recalling how much a work book costs. So, in the kiosk "Rospechat" it can be purchased from five hundred rubles. The amount is small, but for many residents of the country, one can say, "inconvenient." Of course, the abolition of work books will entail the abolition of the need for their purchase.
Will labor books be canceled in the Russian Federation?
As already mentioned above, some government decrees stated that the registration and storage of work books in Russia would cease at the beginning of 2017. But on July 3, 2016, the Federal Law on Amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation was issued in Russia. The beginning of the bill was designated on January 1, 2017. What does the presented law say?
In short, then employers are pointed out the need to act according to previously established rules. That is, no new procedure for maintaining work books is being established again. Records in documents are usually recorded during work over five days at one enterprise. We are not talking about any electronic versions yet.
Thus, in 2017 you should not expect significant changes.
Why not cancel?
So why is the state so slow in canceling paper documents confirming seniority? Why do I need a work book in an outdated non-digital form? Accurate answers to these questions, as usual, cannot yet be obtained. But to guess the reasons for the conservatism of the authorities is not so difficult.
First of all, the reason for the preservation of work books is the value of the information available in them. It is worth mentioning about possible problems with pension accruals, layoffs, transitions to new jobs, etc. Digitalization of books costs a lot of money. And the government, as you know, does not like to spend much on social needs.
The opinions of lawyers
What do experts think about the current situation? When will labor books be canceled in Russia, according to lawyers?
According to most experts, the abolition of work books in Russia should only be beneficial. For the state, according to experts, the existence of paper work books does not matter.For many years, employers have made contributions to the FIU, and therefore information about the “paper” work experience simply becomes unnecessary. For workers, the question of how much the labor book costs will disappear, and the problems of paperwork will also disappear. The Russian authorities should strive for world standards. The advantages of canceling books, as experts in the field of labor law assure, will affect all interested groups.
And some experts think otherwise. In their opinion, the abolition of work books will greatly affect Russians, and negatively. Given the conservatism of many citizens, the abolition of paper versions of the document will entail only a wave of discontent. If the books are canceled, then not for long, experts say, most likely, many citizens themselves will demand to return them back.