Do you need a work book now? If the personnel officer is the owner of the labor

Deputy Minister of Health and social development RF: I believe that it would be quite possible and appropriate to make a decision ( on the cancellation of work books) in 2012.
(Can) provide a 10-year transition period for those people who are accustomed to a work book, so that they can complete their work activities with it.
Work book should be cancelled. It is the employment contract that is the most effective method protection of employee rights.
Work book in Soviet era was perhaps the only document confirming the rights of workers.
Previously, a work book ensured the registration of a pension file. Now this replaces personalized accounting in the Pension Fund. The work book no longer fully performs this function.
The work book is also morally outdated because the system for assigning qualifications to an employee has disappeared. Each qualification is earned through a person's career.

Andrey Isaev, head of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation: I think that overall the initiative is correct. Work books exist today only in Russia. No civilized country in the world has such an instrument for regulating labor relations.
I would suggest making a smooth, gradual option. Starting from 2012, stop issuing work records to newly hired citizens. The state does not need a work book to exist.
For a certain part of workers, labor is an extremely big nuisance. Let me give you an example of a case where, at the age of 19, a man was fired for absenteeism because he went out late with a girl and overslept the next day. As a result, this incident remains a stain for the rest of his life that prevents him from finding a normal job.
At the same time, there are many people who value their work books and the entries in them. I am sure that the employee must be given the right to choose.
For those who already have a work book, you can make its further filling optional. That is, if the employee wants, then he presents the book to the employer and has the right to ask him to make an appropriate entry, but the employer will not have the right to demand a work book from him.
Moreover, such a right can be reserved to the employee not for a certain period, but for life.
Currently, upon reaching retirement age, benefits apply to certain categories of people - those with extensive experience or those who have received government and departmental awards (information about them is now recorded in the labor report). All benefits will remain.
Retirement benefits provide certain rewards, as well as length of service. All awards are confirmed by appropriate certificates. And the length of service is recorded by the pension fund. The pension fund has absolute completeness of information about where and when a person worked, in what position, and what salary he received.
In the process of regulating labor relations in modern society state insurance certificate pension insurance quite enough.

Alexander Pochinok, member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, ex-Minister of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation: The work book is truly an absolute anachronism, because there is a database of the Tax Service and the Pension Fund. The calculation of a pension does not depend on the work record; it depends on the data received by the Pension Fund. It is very easy to forge a work record book now.
Therefore, it is necessary to amend the legislation to allow citizens to obtain data from the Pension Fund database and the Tax Service database. Everything is there.
That is, if you don’t want to show where you used to work, then you don’t show it to anyone. If, on the contrary, you think that your work is useful, you use materials from the state database, it contains everything about you, your length of service, work experience, and so on. If it's useful to you, you take recommendations from former employers; if it's not useful to you, you don't take it. That's all.
The point is not that data about you may become known, this is a security issue. Another thing is that the databases of both the Tax Service and the Pension Fund contain more complete, detailed, clear information than in work books. And using data from a person’s work record, in principle, won’t do much harm. Another thing is that now the employer can say: “I’ll write you a wolf ticket, I’ll write dismissal under the article in your work book, and then go wherever you want.” But now there will be no such threat to humans, and this is very, very good. Agree, forcing a person to carry 10 kg of all sorts of papers with him is an absolute anachronism. You, we, everyone now has electronic passports, which contain personal identification data. We have universal electronic cards, which have everything, why still need an unnecessary document? By the way, it costs money, by the way.
Those who want to keep it can do so. Who is used to it, well, why not? But forcing people who have been surfing the Internet since the age of three to fill out paper books is an anachronism. You can’t do anything instantly, you can’t undo and forget everything. If a person is used to a work book, yes please! Let him have it. If he doesn’t want to work with the Internet, if he’s used to living the way he lived, then let him walk around with these documents. That is, they will not cancel the validity of work books, but will introduce a transition period, make it voluntary for the person, and allow the country to gradually abandon them. Not in any developed country no work records.

Oleg Sokolov, director of the department of social and labor relations of the FNPR: Work books do not have a “semantic” load, so their cancellation will not affect the accounting of labor relations in any way (accounting length of service, pension calculations). On the other hand, work books are a positive credit history; rewards are recorded there, while punishments are not noted.
The main problem with the abolition of work books is the perception of the population accustomed to them. This is why a long transition period is a priority new system labor accounting.
At the same time, employment contracts, as the main labor accounting documents, must have a clear legal basis. To begin with, the Ministry of Health and Social Development and Rostrud must resolve issues of popularizing employment contracts, achieve legal implementation of the Labor Code regarding the existence of an employment contract, and then we can think about abolishing work books.
In this case, pension accrual will not be affected. For a pension, it is not the time worked that is important, but the insurance payments. It turns out that work books are not needed for this.

Sergei Vostretsov, chairman of the trade union association Sotsprof: Work records do not play any role now; they are a relic of the Soviet past. Therefore, they can be abolished without resorting to a ten-year transition period.

Lyudmila Aivar, lawyer: The work book has become obsolete a long time ago - from the moment the market appeared in Russia and labor became free.
In Soviet times, the work book was the main document confirming the place of work and length of service. In our time, it has already outlived its usefulness. You can put any entry in the work book and, thus, plug any gap in labor activity.
The work record is not relevant, for example, for individual entrepreneurs and lawyers. The legal profession does not provide for work books, since it is a non-profit partnership. The status of a lawyer actually replaces a work book. We are registered with the tax authorities and pay taxes.
In order to confirm your length of service and receive a pension, a certificate from tax authorities. If work books are replaced with another document, then I don’t see anything seditious in this.

Yuri Virovets, President of HeadHunter: I am sure that it is high time to abolish work books. They have become a pure bureaucratic formality that wastes the resources of enterprises. Instead of paying more attention to the real problems of personnel management, personnel departments are forced to practice unnecessary calligraphy.
In order to confirm a person’s length of service, it is enough to raise the personal accounting data in the Pension Fund or look at employment contracts. In addition, no one canceled calls to previous places of work and letters of recommendation from managers with contacts.
In August 2010, our company conducted a survey among 330 Russian companies on the topic of the need for work records. Only half of HR specialists agreed that modern conditions work book is a necessary condition during employment. At the same time, 23% of personnel officers admitted that they could painlessly refuse to use them in their companies right now. Another 26% noted that a work book is needed only in a number of cases, but not always.
19% of surveyed companies believe that the work book can be replaced with a single information base, for example, tax, pension, insurance or similar. Another 15% believe that the work book can be replaced with its electronic counterpart. 14% are confident that letters of recommendation can replace employment documents, 6% - an employment contract. Only 16% of companies do not see a replacement for the work book.

Valery Borshchev, MHG: Apparently, the work book itself is indeed an atavism.
 We need to abandon it, but it is important that the rights of the employee are respected.
The main thing is that the personalized accounting, which is planned to be introduced instead of the work book, is transparent.

I have a work record. Next to the entry “department manager, member of the editorial board,” the next entry is “firefighter of the Taganka Theater.” I got this entry in 1980, when I became a dissident.

But having a work book had certain advantages. This is a passport of labor and professional activity.


The work book was invented to record work experience and came into force in 1918. In addition, ration cards were issued based on the work record. But in modern world, the institution of work books is losing its relevance, although the current labor code defines this document as the main one for recording a citizen’s labor activity.

Why do you need a work book and its meaning?

The country has introduced personalized accounting in the state insurance system. Personal accounts contain more complete information about the labor activities of Russian citizens than a work book. In addition, the amount of the assigned pension is determined from the amount of money received by the Pension Fund, and not only on the basis of length of service. However, applying for a pension without of this document You won't succeed. This is the main answer to the question of why a work book is needed in the modern world.

Moreover, if errors were made in the document (Natalia is written, not Natalia, for example), even if everything is correct in the personalized accounting, you will have to restore your rights through the court. Although all legislators loudly repeat that a work book is not needed, that it does not carry useful information(for example, about income level), however, no one plans to cancel it yet.

Main functions of a work book

It is believed that the work book serves as a “letter of recommendation”. A potential employer can look at the work history of an applicant for a position and find out why he was fired from previous jobs, although in practice, personnel officers open the work book for the first time after making a decision on hiring.

The work book has one more function - “protecting the rights of the employee.” If he was wrongfully dismissed, based on the entry in the work book, he can challenge this dismissal in judicial procedure and be reinstated. But this is also a controversial issue, entries about this will remain in the book forever, and it is difficult to predict how the future employer will react to them. Thus, the work book in its current form guards the interests of the state, and not of workers and employers, and interests that are not at all related or have little connection with the problems of labor activity of citizens. Among other things, when traveling abroad, you will be required to present a certified copy of your work record book. This is done to limit the travel abroad of citizens who have access to state secrets.

Grigory Milov

The main function of a work book is to record work experience. However, in modern conditions this is not the most effective way solve this problem.

Work books, with the addition “for non-workers,” first appeared in 1918 in Soviet Russia as a document on the basis of which ration cards were issued (“they were issued to workers” at their place of work). In their current form, the Labor Code defines them as “the main document on the employee’s work activity and length of service.” “But their time is inexorably running out,” notes Lydia Pedchenko, lawyer and member expert council National Union of Personnel Officers.

“With the introduction of personalized accounting in the state pension insurance system, the work book loses the function of accounting for length of service, which was the most important criterion for calculating a pension,” says deputy Oleg Shein, deputy chairman of the committee State Duma on labor and social policy. A personal record in the state pension insurance system contains significantly more full information about the labor activity of a citizen of the Russian Federation, which can be reflected in the work book. In addition, as a result of the pension reform, the size of pensions of citizens of the Russian Federation is calculated on the basis of income to the Pension Fund, and not only on the basis of length of service. “But nevertheless, it is almost impossible to apply for a pension without presenting a work book,” notes Pedchenko: it still needs to be presented “live.”

Moreover, if there is an error in at least one letter in the work book (for example, Natalia is written instead of Natalia), government bodies may deny a person a pension, and, despite the data stored in the Pension Fund, justice will have to be restored through the courts. Legislators also see this contradiction. “When applying for a pension, a work book will soon no longer be needed,” says Shein. “After all, it does not carry any information, for example, about income level.” But nevertheless, it is still considered the main document confirming work experience, says Tatyana Kuznetsova, head of the document flow department of the document flow faculty of the Russian State Humanitarian University.

It’s too early to cancel work books, Shein believes. “By documenting work history, it can serve the same role as letters of recommendation,” he argues. The employer can see the reasons for leaving previous jobs, which may influence his decision to join labor relations with the candidate, Pedchenko notes. However, in practice, the personnel services of enterprises first open the work book of a potential employee after the decision to hire him has been made, she reminds.

Another function of the work book is “some protection of the rights of the employee,” says Shein. If an employee is fired, the law obliges the employer to make a record reflecting the specific article of law under which the dismissal was made, he says. “This gives the former employee an opportunity to challenge the legality of his dismissal,” he adds. However, even if the employee manages to be reinstated, the record of dismissal will remain with him forever, and the next employer will be able to see that they tried to fire the employee, but he was able to be reinstated by a court decision. “Employers can draw very different conclusions from these records,” notes Pedchenko. “In the current conditions, a work book protects the interests not of the employee or the employer, but of the state, and interests that have little to do with issues of labor activity,” says Olga Suvorova, managing partner of the recruiting company Suvorova and Partners. “Its certified copy must be presented when applying for a foreign passport, which makes it possible to limit the travel abroad of people admitted to state secrets.”

The rules for its maintenance and execution are discussed in (Article 66). This is the BASIC document confirming between the employee and the employer. The work book contains personal information about its owner, the citizen’s work activity and his work experience. It reflects all the changes that occur to a person in his working life (promotion, dismissal, change of position, etc.).

According to the labor code, an employer does not have the right to hire a person without a work book. The list of documents required for the conclusion is presented in Article 65 Labor Code. This list includes a work record book, which indicates the obligation of a citizen entering work to present the work record or its certified copy (if) to the employer.

For some reason a citizen may not have a work book. The law provides for the following cases:

• The citizen has not previously worked. If a person gets a job for the first time, the employer issues a work book for him on the basis of accepting the person for the first place of work;
• Labor The book is lost and in disrepair(damaged). The employer issues a new one based on the future employee’s statement about the loss of the old one.

The employer must do entry in the work book about a person being hired for work in the first five days. All records are certified by the personal signature of the owner of the work book.

Working without a work book. What are the disadvantages?

By getting a job without a work book, a person deprives himself of the guarantees and protection of the state.

If the employer does not make an entry in the labor record, he does not register the employee in the state, does not submit information about it to the tax, pension fund and social and health insurance . This means that:

• work experience is not accrued(is an important circumstance when applying for labor pensions or when applying for new job);
• The funded part of the pension does not increase(22% of the employee's annual income);
• taxes are not paid;
• sick leave and vacation are not paid(although some organizations allow themselves such expenses, everything can change at any time);
• absent (for example, with);
• is not officially recorded anywhere (like the employee himself), its stability depends solely on the conscience of the employer;
• It's hard to get everyone after you've been fired. due payments(but possible, with );
• weak development opportunities (a company hiding from taxes has rather low prospects, active growth attracts attention - the likelihood of exposure);
• there is a high probability that the enterprise will be closed (if violations are detected).

The abundance of cons is obvious. The main thing is that Having got a job with such an employer, a citizen finds himself practically defenseless in court. In case of fraud or any other infringement of rights, it will be difficult for a person to prove his case.

Working without a work book is possible, but carries with it big risk and small prospects.

Part-time work. Do you need a work book?

Sometimes a citizen has time to work in several places. A part-time employment contract is drawn up when a person already has a main place of work. In this case, the employee provides only a copy of it, and the new employer does not make an entry in the employment record, since it is stored at the employee’s main place of work.

However, if an employee wishes to make this entry, he must present to the employer who keeps his work record a document indicating part-time work. Such a document may be an order for employment, an extract from this order, or a certificate from the place of part-time employment.

Such a record is made only at the request of the employee and only by the employer at the main place of work.

Do you need a work book? Certainly! People who care about their future should choose reliable employers who are not afraid to take responsibility for their employees.

Editor's response

The work book form approved in 1938 lasted 35 years. And only in September 1973, the Council of Ministers adopted a new resolution “On work books of workers and employees,” which stated that the work book is the main document on the labor activity of citizens. After this, the form of the work book did not change for another 30 years.

Today in Russian Federation There are three types of work books: 1938, 1973 and 2003. All three types of work books are valid and do not require replacement.

History of the work record

Work books were first introduced by the Soviet government in 1919. After Civil War labor cards became an identification document, since there were no passports in the USSR until 1932. Data on the participation of workers in public works and the performance of labor duties had to be regularly entered into the book. Those who evaded receiving the book faced a six-month prison sentence, and for losing the book, a fine of 25 rubles (in 1938). It is worth noting that at the end of the 1930s, the average monthly pension of a Soviet citizen was exactly 25 rubles, which could buy approximately 40 kilograms of bread.

At that time, the work book was the basis for receiving food rations and the main identification document. In addition to records of places of work, earnings, benefits and insurance contributions, it included data on marriage, registration and military service - as well as on the payment of contributions to social security and labor protection.

In 1922, a new Labor Code came into force, which no longer provided for work books. They were replaced by “pay books”, which all workers and employees received at their place of work.

In 1926 it was introduced new document- “Labor list”, in which the employer had to enter general data about the employee: date of hire, position, salary, etc. When employees transferred from one institution or enterprise to another, labor lists were given to them. When hiring a new job, employees were required to provide labor lists from their previous places of service.

On December 20, 1938, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a resolution “On the introduction of labor books.” Each Soviet worker could decide for himself whether to have this document or not. But those who did not have books were deprived of the right to receive food cards. Every worker employed at an enterprise for more than five days was required to start a book. To obtain the book, the employee was charged a fee of 50 kopecks.

Work books of the 1938 model remained unchanged until 1973, and the latest form was changed in 2003.

Russian work book

The Russian work book appeared in January 2004. On it, the coat of arms of the USSR was replaced with the coat of arms of Russia, and the cover itself was made not green, but gray. In addition, they reduced the format of the document and added pages - instead of the previous 40 pages, the new work book now has 44. The document also has additional means of protection against counterfeiting: the inscription “Work book” glowing in ultraviolet light, a special seam that fastens the sheets of forms, and special paper with watermark.

Work book. Photo: Official website of FSUE "GOZNAK"

To whom is the work book issued?

Today, work books are issued for all employees who have worked in the organization for more than 5 days, for whom this work is the main one (Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

When applying for a job to conclude an employment contract, the employee must provide a work book along with all other documents. necessary documents, such as a passport, education documents, etc. And if a person is hired for the first time, then the employer must provide a work book. After dismissal, the book must be returned to its owner. If you are a part-time worker and want to add a line about part-time work to your work book, then you have the legal right to receive such an entry. To do this, you need to bring to your main place of work a document confirming that you work part-time, and the “main” employer will make a corresponding note in the document.

What role does a work book play today?

Until now, the work book, according to Article 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, “is the main document on the employee’s work activity and work experience,” however, many of the functions of this document have long been taken over by the employment contract and the personalized accounting system in the Pension Fund.

Thus, since January 1, 1997, the Social Insurance Fund and the Pension Fund have been keeping records of the length of service and work of Russians - so that the registration of a pension, previously impossible without a work book, no longer depends on it. Now anyone can receive a free extract from their work experience from PFR data. In addition, copies of hiring and dismissal orders serve as proof of work. Whereas previously the work book was the main document confirming work experience. She ensured the registration of the pension file, and it was almost impossible to issue a pension without presenting it.

Photo: RIA Novosti / Mikhail Mordasov

The work book and the function of recording various qualifications in it have been lost. Previously, if a person started working as a 3rd category mechanic and was awarded the qualification of a 4th category mechanic, then upon new employment the only document confirming this was a work book. Now the qualification system in this form has disappeared. About changing qualifications and career growth can be read in a resume, not in a work book.

Other lost functions include receiving sick leave. On January 1, 2007, the law on temporary working capacity came into force, which abolished the requirement of continuous work experience (which is recorded in the work book) for obtaining sick leave.

Until 2007, sick pay was calculated depending on the length of service of employees. For workers with continuous work experience of up to 5 years, payments amounted to 60 percent of earnings, from 5 to 8 years - 80 percent. And employees with more than 8 years of continuous service could expect that their total income would not decrease due to illness. Since 2007, continuity of service is no longer taken into account when calculating sick leave.

In addition, a break in work experience, according to , no longer has any impact on the amount of the future pension, since its size depends not on length of service, but on the amount of contributions to the pension fund. The minimum length of service to receive an old-age pension will reach 15 years by 2025; currently it is five years. In addition, to accrue a pension you will need to score at least 30 points. And for citizens born before 1967, only the insurance part of the pension will be valid. Young Russians will be able to participate in the insurance system or choose a non-state pension fund.

Why do they want to cancel the work book?

They wanted to cancel work books more than once. There was talk of another abolition of work records in connection with the preparation of a bill by the Russian Ministry of Economic Development on the abolition of stamps for commercial companies. Along with the abolition of printing, representatives of business organizations consider it appropriate to abolish work books.

The Ministry of Health and Social Development does not rule out a 10-year transition period, so as not to shock people for whom registration in the employment record is a necessary element of the relationship with the employer. However, many employers have long switched to a contract work scheme, and for them work books look like an anachronism. Having concluded an employment contract with an employee, the employer and the employee stipulate in it all the important positions for themselves. In the case of employment contract the employer does not know about unpleasant entries in the work book, for example, dismissal under an article for violation of labor discipline, etc.

Since work books are not needed by the employee, the employer, or the state, we can assume that they will be abolished over time.