Electronic workbooks as from 2025: digitalisation

On March 10, Law No. 1217-IX “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Electronic Recording of Employees’ Employment” was published in the newspaper “Golos Ukrainy” (Voice of Ukraine).

The law introduces an electronic record of an employee’s employment in the register of insured persons in the State Register of Compulsory State Social Insurance.

This reform of the employment records system involves the gradual withdrawal of paper work record books.

It also eliminates the risks of losing, physically damaging, falsifying or misrepresenting your work record book.

According to the Act, employment records will be fully electronic starting from 2025. Until then, there is a transitional period when both paper and electronic versions of the employment record book will be used in parallel.

Data completion will be done:

– both by the employer and directly by the insured person;

– through the web portal of electronic services of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the form of scanned or digitized copies of documents required by law (work record book, certificates, etc.) with the obligatory application of a qualified electronic signature by the policy holder or the insured person.

Once an employee’s employment history has been entered into the State Register, the employer must give the original paper work record book to the employee against his or her signature. If the employee wishes to continue to keep it, the employer will be obliged, at the employee’s request, to make records of recruitment, transfer and dismissal in parallel with the electronic employment record.

The electronic employment record book will allow the competent authorities to assign a pension to an employee automatically (without a personal inquiry or collection of documents for their entire employed life). The employee will retain the right to choose to improve the proposed settlement amount, namely:

– either the employee provides data on the wages received before 2000 (before the introduction of personalised accounting);

– or postpones their retirement to receive a 0.5-0.75% increase for each full month of service after retirement age;

– or uses the right to apply for a pension.

The law will come into force on 10 June 2021.