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In what cases may a work book be required?
In what cases may a work book be required?
Until the latest amendments, in accordance with the requirements of Part 1 of Article 48 of the Labor Code, when concluding an employment contract with an employee at the main place of work, the employer required at least two documents:
- Employment book;
- Identity document.
There are some exceptions regarding the submission of an employment book. Thus, an employment contract may be concluded without requiring an employment book with internally displaced persons, persons treated as such or refugees, as well as with employees who have started their labor activity in the Republic of Azerbaijan for the first time, foreigners and stateless persons.
There is no need to require an employment book from candidates belonging to all categories who conclude an employment contract in electronic form. Thus, Part 1 of Article 48 of the Labor Code states that when concluding an employment contract, the employee shall submit an identity document, and in cases specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of this Code, also a work book.
As can be seen from the article, except for the positions approved by the Decree No. 206 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 8, 2014 - that is, those for which a paper employment contract is concluded - in other cases, a work record book is not required.
But how will the employer determine the employee's length of service in this case?
The transitional provision of the Law on the latest amendments to the Labor Code clarifies the determination of length of service. Thus, according to Article 12.1 of the Law, the length of service of employees working in state bodies specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of the Labor Code, as well as employees whose employment contracts were terminated before July 1, 2014, is determined on the basis of their work record book. Let us pay attention to 3 points regarding the requirements of the transitional provision:
First point. For persons working in state bodies specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of the Labor Code, the length of service will be determined on the basis of their work record book. It should be noted that the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 206 dated July 8, 2014 approved the list of positions for which it is mandatory to conclude an employment contract in paper form.
Example 1: When determining the length of service of a special-ranking official working in the migration service bodies, work information must be recorded in the employment record book, regardless of the periods during which that person worked.
The second point is related to the length of service of employees whose employment contracts were terminated before July 1, 2014. The question may arise as to why July 2014 was taken as the basis? Because the electronic registration system for employment contracts began operating from that date. Another question: why are employees whose employment contracts were terminated on that date included?
Because employers entered the employment contracts active as of July 1 into the electronic information system.
Example 2: An employee was hired on October 10, 2008. The employer terminated the employee's employment contract on March 12, 2015. At this time, this information will be available in the EMAS subsystem.
Example 3: Although the employee was hired on March 15, 2013, the employment contract was terminated after 1 year - on March 15, 2014. Since the employee's employment contract was terminated by July 1, 2024, this information will not be available in the EMAS subsystem.
The third point is tracking the employee's length of service. It should be noted that the concept of employee's length of service is used in some articles of the Labor Code. We provide information about these articles:
Article 3, paragraph 2-1 of the Labor Code states that a specialist working in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a person who has a state document on vocational, secondary specialized and higher education and at least 24 months of work experience in the last 60 months and works on the basis of an employment contract (contract) in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan (except for persons with special ranks). An employer who hires a specialist working in the liberated territory must verify that he or she has at least 24 months of work experience in the last 60 months.
Article 77 of the Labor Code, which regulates issues related to the liquidation of an enterprise and the reduction of the number of employees or the reduction of staff, also refers to work experience. Simply, both in the case of a warning and in the case of severance pay, the employee's work experience at the last place of work is taken into account.
According to Article 116 of the Labor Code, the duration of additional leave is determined based on length of service. The most frequently requested issue by human resources specialists regarding length of service is related to the determination of additional leave. Thus, according to Article 116 of the Labor Code, additional leave is granted for a period of 2 calendar days for employees with five to ten years of service, 4 calendar days for employees with ten to fifteen years of service, and 6 calendar days for employees with more than fifteen years of service.
Let us also note that during temporary disability or social leave, reference is made to social experience, not to work experience.
The fourth point is the determination of the work experience of employees whose information is not available in the electronic information system.
Example 4: Although the hired person has work experience from 2008 to 2013, for obvious reasons, this information will not be reflected in the electronic information system. In this case, the employer may request a copy of the relevant pages from the employment record book from the hired person to determine the work experience.
Expert Anar Bayramov commented on the topic.
Until the latest amendments, in accordance with the requirements of Part 1 of Article 48 of the Labor Code, when concluding an employment contract with an employee at the main place of work, the employer required at least two documents:
- Employment book;
- Identity document.
There are some exceptions regarding the submission of an employment book. Thus, an employment contract may be concluded without requiring an employment book with internally displaced persons, persons treated as such or refugees, as well as with employees who have started their labor activity in the Republic of Azerbaijan for the first time, foreigners and stateless persons.
There is no need to require an employment book from candidates belonging to all categories who conclude an employment contract in electronic form. Thus, Part 1 of Article 48 of the Labor Code states that when concluding an employment contract, the employee shall submit an identity document, and in cases specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of this Code, also a work book.
As can be seen from the article, except for the positions approved by the Decree No. 206 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 8, 2014 - that is, those for which a paper employment contract is concluded - in other cases, a work record book is not required.
But how will the employer determine the employee's length of service in this case?
The transitional provision of the Law on the latest amendments to the Labor Code clarifies the determination of length of service. Thus, according to Article 12.1 of the Law, the length of service of employees working in state bodies specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of the Labor Code, as well as employees whose employment contracts were terminated before July 1, 2014, is determined on the basis of their work record book. Let us pay attention to 3 points regarding the requirements of the transitional provision:
First point. For persons working in state bodies specified in Part 2-1 of Article 7 of the Labor Code, the length of service will be determined on the basis of their work record book. It should be noted that the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 206 dated July 8, 2014 approved the list of positions for which it is mandatory to conclude an employment contract in paper form.
Example 1: When determining the length of service of a special-ranking official working in the migration service bodies, work information must be recorded in the employment record book, regardless of the periods during which that person worked.
The second point is related to the length of service of employees whose employment contracts were terminated before July 1, 2014. The question may arise as to why July 2014 was taken as the basis? Because the electronic registration system for employment contracts began operating from that date. Another question: why are employees whose employment contracts were terminated on that date included?
Because employers entered the employment contracts active as of July 1 into the electronic information system.
Example 2: An employee was hired on October 10, 2008. The employer terminated the employee's employment contract on March 12, 2015. At this time, this information will be available in the EMAS subsystem.
Example 3: Although the employee was hired on March 15, 2013, the employment contract was terminated after 1 year - on March 15, 2014. Since the employee's employment contract was terminated by July 1, 2024, this information will not be available in the EMAS subsystem.
The third point is tracking the employee's length of service. It should be noted that the concept of employee's length of service is used in some articles of the Labor Code. We provide information about these articles:
Article 3, paragraph 2-1 of the Labor Code states that a specialist working in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan is a person who has a state document on vocational, secondary specialized and higher education and at least 24 months of work experience in the last 60 months and works on the basis of an employment contract (contract) in the liberated territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan (except for persons with special ranks). An employer who hires a specialist working in the liberated territory must verify that he or she has at least 24 months of work experience in the last 60 months.
Article 77 of the Labor Code, which regulates issues related to the liquidation of an enterprise and the reduction of the number of employees or the reduction of staff, also refers to work experience. Simply, both in the case of a warning and in the case of severance pay, the employee's work experience at the last place of work is taken into account.
According to Article 116 of the Labor Code, the duration of additional leave is determined based on length of service. The most frequently requested issue by human resources specialists regarding length of service is related to the determination of additional leave. Thus, according to Article 116 of the Labor Code, additional leave is granted for a period of 2 calendar days for employees with five to ten years of service, 4 calendar days for employees with ten to fifteen years of service, and 6 calendar days for employees with more than fifteen years of service.
Let us also note that during temporary disability or social leave, reference is made to social experience, not to work experience.
The fourth point is the determination of the work experience of employees whose information is not available in the electronic information system.
Example 4: Although the hired person has work experience from 2008 to 2013, for obvious reasons, this information will not be reflected in the electronic information system. In this case, the employer may request a copy of the relevant pages from the employment record book from the hired person to determine the work experience.
Expert Anar Bayramov commented on the topic.