A much-discussed topic in business circles and among HR professionals is the electronic personnel file. Interpretations regarding what it is, what it contains, and how it is organized are quite broad and sometimes confusing, especially for non-specialists. On the other hand, sometimes even for people directly involved in the processing of accounting information and payroll administration confusion of concepts arises. An electronic file is not the equivalent of a single electronic employment record or so-called 'time book'. The purpose of this paper is to clarify basic concepts in order to be able to provide a definition and content of the term "electronic employment record", as well as to reveal the benefits of its implementation.
What is a single electronic employment record?
The definition of the concept of a single electronic employment record and its statutory regulation can be found in Article 347a of the Labour Code. It is an electronic document that contains data and circumstances related to the employee's employment and is an official certifying document. The employee has the right to access his or her single electronic employment record and the right to information on the history of accesses to his or her single electronic employment record. Employers also have the right to information about employees employed by them entered by previous employers, except for the amount of wages and benefits the employee received with previous employers.
Employment record
The employment file of the employee shall be established upon entry into employment and shall contain the documents relating to the establishment, existence, amendment and termination of the employment relationship. The employer's obligation to maintain and keep an employment record for each employee is regulated by Article 128b of the Labour Code.
It should be assumed that the employment file is "opened" or commenced with the conclusion of the employment contract and the establishment of the employment relationship. The employment file should also contain copies of the documents which are necessary for the conclusion of the employment contract. These are explicitly listed in REGULATION No 4 of 1993 on the documents required for the conclusion of an employment contract and include:
presentation of an identity document, which shall be returned immediately;
document of education, specialisation, qualification, legal capacity, scientific title or scientific degree, where these are required for the post or job for which the person is applying;
proof of work experience, where the post or job applied for requires such work experience;
a medical examination document on initial entry into employment and after employment has ceased for more than 3 months;
a criminal record certificate, where a criminal record certificate is required by law or regulation;
permission from the labour inspectorate if the person is under 16 or aged 16 to 18;
Electronic employment record
Some of the documents in the employment file may be created and stored as electronic documents, and this possibility was implemented in Bulgarian legislation as early as 2018. On 15 May 2018, specific rules on the type of electronic documents in the employment file and the requirements for them were promulgated and entered into force, determined in accordance with Regulation on the type and requirements for the creation and storage of electronic documents in the employee's employment record (the "Regulation"). The cited act settles:
the type of electronic documents that may form part of an employee's employment record
the requirements for the creation and transmission of electronic documents between the employee and the employer and the certification of their delivery
the requirements for the retention of electronic documents that form part of an employee's employment record;
What can be included in the electronic employment record?
The electronic file brings together all documents created in connection with the creation, existence, modification and termination of the employment relationship, such as:
employment contracts and supplementary agreements;
applications, declarations and certificates;
orders, schedules and regulations;
medical documents, qualification certificates;
data on working time, holidays and wages;
permission from the labour inspectorate if the person is under 16 or aged 16 to 18;
But beyond the statutory definition, what actually constitutes an Electronic Employment Record?
Many would say it's the digitized equivalent of a paper employment record but with a number of advantages. In our view, with a broader and deeper understanding of this concept, we would infer that it is a digital management system for documents and processes related to the employment relationship between employees and the employing company.
Advantages of electronic employment records
the opportunity to unify and standardize documents and processes in the company;
automated completion of documents;
reliability and security in the exchange and storage of documents;
facilitated access to documents and information concerning employees, both by the employees themselves and by functional specialists of the organisation;
facilitating the HRM process by creating a reliable basis for information interpretation and decision making;
Reduces paper, printing and physical storage costs;
legal compliance, complying with all data protection requirements (GDPR);
updating of documents in the light of regulatory changes;
In fact, in addition to the benefits listed above, we believe that an electronic payroll will enable companies that outsource payroll administration processes to receive an extremely high quality, reliable, secure and cost effective service. We at ACTIVITY, by dedicating so much effort to being close to our clients, by investing in systems to organise and maintain electronic employment records, we see the opportunity to deliver connectivity and optimise an extremely the payroll process.
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