On 5 February 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted Law No. 3623 (the "Law"), which provides for the abolition of mandatory record-keeping of hard copy employment books. An employment record book is a mandatory document where employers include entries as to the start and end dates of an employee's engagement, and other important employment-related information. The law enters into force on 10 June 2021 and provides for a gradual switch to such employment records being only maintained in digital form, which will take place within the next 5 years.
From now on, employers will generally not need to ask for a hard copy of each employee's employment record book upon appointment, or to make any further entries in existing employees' books. All employment records regarding each employee will be carried out digitally in the register of insured persons of the State Register of Mandatory State Social Insurance (the "Register"). It will therefore be sufficient to retrieve employment information from the Register when hiring a new employee.
The Law provides that within the next 5 years, either the employer or the employee will need to upload all data from the employee's employment record book to the Register. The Pension Fund of Ukraine is the authority responsible for inclusion of data to the Register. After uploading all data from the employment record book, the employer must return the hard copy record book to the employee against the employee's signature. The employer will thereafter continue holding records on the employee's work in digital form only by submitting relevant reports. However, if an employee is dismissed before the data update of employee data to the Register is completed, employers are still under an obligation to affix the relevant entries in the physical employment record book.
If specifically requested by an employee, the Law also provides for mandatory parallel records by both filling in the hard copy employment record book and uploading digital data to the Register. In such cases, it will be mandatory for the employer to keep double records of the employee's work information.
For further information please contact Asters' Counsel Inesa Letych and Associate Iryna Shaposhnikova.
