Electronic labour books to be available in Russia from 2021

Employment history records will have to be held in electronic form from 1 January 2021. Legislative amendments which provide for this and other related requirements will come into force on 1 January 2020.

These amendments cover two main points:

• maintenance of employees’ labour books; and
• personalised accounting in the mandatory pension insurance system.

Maintaining labour books

Employees must submit applications to their employers by not later than 31 December 2020, electing either that their employment information continue to be maintained by their employers in paper labour books or that such information be maintained electronically (“Application”).

If an employee elects that his information be maintained electronically, the employer must provide the employee with his paper-format labour book, whereupon the employer will have no further obligation to maintain the paper-format book.

If an employee does not make an Application to his employer, the employer must continue to maintain that employee’s labour book in paper format.

Employees who initially choose to keep their labour books will be able to change their mind at any time and may elect for their employment information to be held electronically.

Starting from 1 January 2021, employers will no longer be required to establish and maintain labour books in paper format for persons in their first employment.

Employers will be obliged to provide employees with their paper labour books or information on employment that is held electronically (as applicable) on the employee’s last day of employment.

In addition, employees who elect for their information to be held electronically may themselves request their employers to provide their employment information (including by email).

Personalised accounting in the mandatory pension insurance system

Due to the introduction of electronic labour books, employers will also have new reporting obligations to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation.

Changes from 1 January 2020

The employer must file with the Pension Fund information on the Application and on the employee’s labour activities as of 1 January 2020. This information must be filed not later than the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the Application is made.

Employers will also have to provide, by 15 February 2021, the Pension Fund with information regarding employees who do not make any Application.

Changes from 1 January 2021

If an employee is transferred to another job or submits an Application, the employer must inform the Pension Fund about this not later than the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the Application is made.

When hiring or terminating the employment of an employee, the employer must also report this to the Pension Fund by not later than the next business day following the day on which the hiring or firing decision is formalised.

Comments

In order to prepare for these new requirements, employers should take the following steps in 2020:

• Notify all employees in writing that they should submit an Application by 31 December 2020. This notice must be delivered to employees by not later than 30 June 2020.
• Adopt or amend existing internal policies and procedures, and amend collective agreements in order to reflect the new procedure for maintaining information on labour activity.
• Be technically ready to submit information on labour activity to the Pension Fund in electronic form. To this end, the employer will also need to obtain an enhanced qualified electronic signature and to install the necessary software.

The amendments are available here and here in Russian.

If you have any questions on this eAlert, do not hesitate to contact CMS Russia experts Valeriy Fedoreev, Christophe Huet and Ekaterina Elekchyan or your regular contact at CMS Russia.