The Ministry of Labor has adjusted the form of the work book form, updated the instructions for its maintenance and storage. The changes were approved by order of the Ministry of Labor dated May 19, 2021 No. 320n.
In the updated workbook, the proportion of margins allocated for the work and awards sections has been changed. Now there are 14 of them in the information about the job instead of 10 (in the inserts there are 12 instead of 9). And in the information section on the granting of spreads, there are 7 instead of 10 (in the inserts it became 5 instead of 8).
The ability to use the old forms of workbooks and inserts available to the employer is convenient for employers, says Svetlana Cheremisova, a human resources specialist at SKB Kontur.
“If you need to, you can continue to start them,” he explains. And when you hire employees who have opted to keep a paper employment record, continue to work with the old-style workbook provided. You don’t need to switch to a new one. For employees who get their first job after December 31, 2020, no paper workbooks are issued, information is stored electronically.
When keeping a workbook up to date, there are several nuances. Added “When available” wording in print space, which is in line with current legislation as some organizations may not legally have a seal. The same rule applies to the patronymic of the employee, if it is not there, it does not need to be indicated on the cover.
The signature of the person responsible for maintaining the workbooks no longer needs to be legible. “The wording about its readability raised a lot of questions,” notes Cheremisova. “And this is understandable, since there is no mandatory format for all signatures. It is individual for everyone.”
The requirements for filling out the books have been simplified: now there is no need to take notes only with a pen or gel pen, says Olga Merkulova, head of the department of personnel and social policy at RosDorBank PJSC.
Entries can be made manually or printed on a printer, in the form of a stamp. The employee’s signature is only required on the cover to certify personal information. And at the time of dismissal, only the boss or the person responsible for storing work books puts signatures under the corresponding entry.
Starting in the new year, workbook forms become protected print products of protection level “B”. To protect against forgery in the production of forms, it is necessary to use special papers, paints and graphic elements in accordance with the technical requirements of the Ministry of Finance.
“Employers will buy workbooks from dealers: trade organizations, individual entrepreneurs, legal entities or order forms from manufacturers on their official websites,” says Marina Atonova, a senior lawyer at the European Legal Service. The list of distributors of workbook forms is indicated on the website of the GOZNAK Association.
