If I lost my work book, what should I do? What to do if the employer has lost his work book?

A work book is a document that records the history of labor relations between an employee and an employer. An entry about employment in the book must be made without fail if this workplace is the main one for an individual. It also contains information about rewards and reprimands. According to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the issuance of a book upon dismissal must be carried out within a clearly limited time frame.

Read this article about how to write the reason for dismissal on your resume.

Legislative regulations on the work book

The sample work book is legally established. The rules according to which work books are maintained, stored and issued are regulated by federal executive authorities, which are authorized to do so by the Government of the Russian Federation.

The legislative basis for handling work books is contained in the following acts:

Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 16, 2003 No. 225 “On work books” contains the rules for maintaining and storing this document, as well as samples of the necessary forms, features of their production and distribution among employers;
Art. 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation prescribes the use of the above-mentioned Rules No. 255 to resolve issues related to work books;
Art. 65 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation speaks of the obligatory presence of a labor contract for concluding an agreement between an employee and an employer;
Art. 80 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, dedicated to the issues of dismissal at the request of the employee, directly contains the rule on the issuance of employment and other documents related to his work on the last day in the service of the resigning employee upon presentation of a written application by the latter;
Art. 140 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation insists on the need for final settlement with the employee on the day of his dismissal, including regarding documents belonging to him, including the work book;
Art. 234 covers the responsibility of the employer in the event of a violation of the employee’s right to new employment, which is impossible without a work book, if it was not issued to the dismissed person on time, and Art. 237 speaks of the possibility of compensation for moral damage for such a violation.

Employer's liability

If the regulations are violated in accordance with the standards of Article 232 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer is held financially liable for the untimely issuance of the document. Liability is based on the possible receipt of losses from late employment and forced absenteeism of the quitter.

Based on Articles 394 and 395 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the basis for compensation for losses is the average earnings of the claimant , mainly for all days of forced absences stated in the claim.

In addition, inspections by the State Tax Inspectorate and prosecutorial checks may be ordered, which may entail additional fines, including administrative ones, reaching 100,000 rubles if the violations are significant.

REFERENCE: If, due to the fault of the employer, an erroneous entry was made that had to be corrected, the date of dismissal will be the date of issue of the book, with the corrected entry.

What happens to the work record upon dismissal?

Legislative acts require the issuance of a work book with an entry on the termination of the employment contract to the dismissed employee on his last working day with this employer.

In some cases provided for by law, the date of dismissal is not considered the last day spent in service, but another date. This is possible if, for example, before dismissal, an employee was given previously unused vacation, after which he will be considered dismissed. In this situation, the last working day before the vacation will become the day of calculation and issuance of the work book, while the date of dismissal will be the last vacation day.

Entries made in the work book

The employer is obliged to issue the employee a work book that is properly executed. Upon dismissal, it is worth checking the following points of completion for compliance with the Rules for maintaining and storing work books:

each entry made in the book during the time of work for this employer must be certified by the signature of the superiors (responsible person);
Each signature must bear the seal of the organization or its human resources department;
The signature of the employee must also be present (except in cases where the book is not issued to him or he refuses to receive it);
records are formulated in the form prescribed by law;
the last entry should be a record of dismissal from this organization;
if the book was kept not only in the state language, but also in the regional one (of a republic that is part of the Russian Federation), then both texts must be certified accordingly.

NOTE! Correct wording is very important. If the previous employer made an entry “not according to the protocol”, and the subsequent one refused employment because of this, the court will side with the unfairly offended employee, which is fraught with the payment of serious compensation and compensation for lost earnings.

Simple rules

REFERENCE: A record of dismissal is made on the basis of an order for the dismissal of an employee.

The employee approaches the employer or the person responsible for issuing the work permits to receive the designated document. As a rule, such powers are assigned to a personnel employee or official responsible for the production of work books, in accordance with the order assigning these functional responsibilities.

The book is received by the owner personally, except in cases provided for by labor legislation. The responsible person makes a record of the issuance of the document in the Book of accounting for the movement of work books and inserts for them.

The owner of the book puts his own signature in the issuance column. After this, he must check the correctness of the entry and receive the document for further use for its intended purpose - at the new workplace. Next, we’ll talk about when the TC should be given, i.e. How long after dismissal?

Who can get a work book

Usually, upon dismissal, the work book is given directly to the employee. In practice, there are circumstances permitted by law when the book can be:

issued to the person who received a power of attorney from the employee to receive the document;
given to a relative of the dismissed person;
sent by mail;
preserved by the employer in the manner prescribed by law.

Features of personal issuance

The procedure for obtaining a work record book is more labor-intensive for the employer than for the person resigning. It consists of several stages.

Filling. It must be fully completed by the day of dismissal, and consists of two important procedures:
entering the wording of dismissal.
Obtaining the employee’s signature in the required column of the personal card (indicating that he received the book in hand).

The employee has not received the book, what should I do?

If on the day of dismissal an employee does not show up to the HR department or his workplace or refuses to receive a work book, the employer needs to insure himself. The situation cannot be left to chance, otherwise a lawsuit may be filed due to the delay in issuing the work permit. The employer must:

draw up an act stating that the work book has not been issued to the employee (indicate the reason);
send the employee a written notification of the need to obtain a work book or agree to send it by mail.

Work book – by mail

Such an important document can only be forwarded with the written consent of its owner, that is, the employee. Such consent may be expressed:

in advance, when the employee asks in writing to send him his work report to the specified address due to the impossibility of appearing for it in person on time;
in response to a notice sent by the employer.

When will the book be given to relatives?

Close people of an employee can receive his work book only in one very sad case - dismissal due to death. To do this you need:

make an entry in the book about the termination of the employment relationship;
make sure of close family ties with the deceased, confirmed by documents (passport, marriage certificate, birth certificate, etc.);
receive a receipt from a relative for receipt of the work permit (in a simple form).

With the written consent of relatives, you can use postal services.

The procedure for issuing a work book upon dismissal of an employee according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

An employer does not have the right to release a former subordinate with a book in which the appropriate entries have not been made. According to Art. 66 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, he is obliged to make entries related to changes in the position or personal data of the employee. Without this information, there will be no point in the book itself and its storage at the workplace. Also, in the absence of this information, problems may arise with the calculation and accrual of the employee’s pension.

The procedure for dismissal and receipt of a book is as follows:

Drawing up a statement to a subordinate if he resigns of his own free will.
If the dismissal occurs at the initiative of the manager, then a special act is drawn up.
The management is obliged to read the application and approve the employee’s decision.
After writing the application, a two-week work period must follow.
On the last working day in the work record book, the manager or an authorized person (usually a personnel employee) makes an entry and endorses it with his signature and company seal.
The employee can receive his document along with all payments due upon dismissal.

So, a record of dismissal is made in the work book on the last working day (Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 16, 2003 No. 225). It should contain the following points:

Serial number of the record.
Date of dismissal in the format dd.mm.yyyy.
Grounds for termination of the contract. We remember that words are written in full, without using any abbreviations. A reference to the number, paragraph, part of the article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is required.
Order details without abbreviations.
Signatures of the authorized employee or manager and the dismissed employee. The company's seal certifying the entry made.

Until an entry is made into the employment record, it cannot be issued to the dismissed employee.

Employee appearance for documents

When can you pick up a work book upon dismissal? According to the regulations, a resigning employee can apply for the document in the second half of the working day, since an absence of less than four hours is not considered absenteeism (if he immediately leaves the workplace).

However, at the discretion of the employer, the calculation and document can be transmitted at the last hour, before the end of the working day . If the workplace is remote from the location of the personnel department, it is required to provide the employee with time commensurate to the fact that an hour before the completion of work, he has time to pick up the document.

If for a certain reason the employee was unable to come to pick up the document on the appointed day, he needs to come to pick it up the next day or within three days following the date of dismissal.

A valid reason for non-appearance is considered to be failure to return from vacation or a business trip when the employee is dismissed remotely. In this case, he is obliged to indicate in the application a request for the issuance of the document to the representative, or for sending the work by registered mail by Russian Post.

Other unregulated reasons for the delay in receiving documentation must be documented in a written statement submitted to the employer through a representative, by email or letter.

Dates for issuing the book

According to Art. 84.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the calculation and issuance of labor records takes place on the employee’s last working day. There are situations when an employee does not go to work on the day of dismissal, for example, if he got sick or refused to come and pick up his work package that day.

In this case, a notice is sent to the dismissed employee with a request to pick up the document or agree to send the book by mail. From the moment the notification is sent, the manager ceases to be responsible for the delay of the book.

If the employee, having received the notice, applied for a work book, the employer must return it no later than 3 working days.

The document can be sent to the dismissed employee by mail if he has given his consent and written an application for forwarding the document.

In the event of the death of an employee, his relatives can receive a work permit by providing documents to confirm the relationship. If no one applies for the book, then the manager is obliged to keep it until required.

When delay is possible

The reason for non-delivery of a book may be:

absence of the employee himself on the last working day (at the time of termination of the contract);
reluctance of the employer (there are often cases when management forces a former employee to work a few more days in such an illegal way);
a controversial situation regarding the date of termination of the contract or the reason that served as the basis for this action on the part of the management of the enterprise or organization - the employee himself does not want to receive the document.

This is also important to know:
Article 77 of the Labor Code upon dismissal: grounds for terminating an employment contract

In the latter case, employers are required to notify the employee in writing of the termination of the contract and ask him to appear at the enterprise or organization to receive the book against signature.

You can also ask in writing for permission to send the book by mail.

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It should be noted that failure to issue a document due to the fault of the enterprise is an administrative violation.

If a former employee has submitted a written request for the issuance of this document, his request must be satisfied within three working days.

Negligence on the part of the employer may result in the inability of a former employee to get a new job. Consequently, he has the right to file a claim in court for unlawful actions of the personnel service and the manager himself.

Issuance of a work book by proxy

A work book, like many other documents, can be issued not only personally, but also to an authorized person, if the relevant powers are properly formalized. This implies the proper execution of a power of attorney - a document delegating certain powers, in this case, obtaining a work book, to a specified person. This happens in cases, for example, when an employee is physically unable to pick up a document.

The power of attorney must be written in the form prescribed by law and certified by a notary.

Important! A power of attorney may be considered invalid if it does not bear the date of its preparation.

Without a date, it is impossible to determine whether a document has legal force. If the power of attorney is written without indicating its validity period, it is considered to be 1 year.

A properly executed power of attorney must contain the following information:

The date of creation, as well as the place of drawing up, so that it is clear where and how the power of attorney will operate when its terms of office expire.
Entered passport details of the owner and labor. Initials, date of birth and place of residence must be indicated without errors. This point is strictly checked when issuing a work book at the place of work.
Data of the authorized person according to his passport. The information will also be checked, and the company will make a record of who exactly took the former employee’s work book.
Powers of a trustee. It is important to indicate what it has the right to, for example: check the presence of all the necessary entries in the document, take the work book with you, collect the salary, etc.
Sample signature of the person who will act on behalf of the former worker.
The principal must sign this document to certify its authenticity.

After receiving the work book, the attorney must write a receipt to the HR department employee or other authorized person confirming receipt of the document.

IMPORTANT! When receiving a work book by power of attorney, the personnel officer who issued the document must make a note with reference to the power of attorney in the personal card and the statement of the dynamics of work books.

Not all employers agree to issue employment documents by power of attorney, since the law does not specify such a method in relation to this type of document. You can refer to Art. 185 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which specifies the general provisions on the power of attorney. If you cannot obtain the consent of the manager, then you can agree to receive the work book by mail.

Example of a power of attorney

POWER OF ATTORNEY to receive a work record book

Yekaterinburg city

the eleventh of February two thousand seventeen

I, Antonina Rostislavovna Perestukina, born on October 14, 1978, passport 20 11 No. 452678, issued by the Department of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Moscow Region in Pushkino on July 14, 2000, living at the address: Ekaterinburg, st. Academician Postovsky, 18, apt. 134, by this power of attorney

I AUTHORIZE

Maxim Anatolyevich Zheleznyakov, born on August 18, 1980, passport 20 11 No. 967389, issued by the Department of the Federal Tax Service of Russia for the Moscow Region in Kolomna on January 29, 2004, residing at the address: Ekaterinburg, st. Bauman, 24, apt. 91:

obtain from the HR department of the limited liability company “Felicita” (Ekaterinburg, Vasily Eremina St., 12, office 2) the work book that belongs to me;
ensure proper execution and entry of records formulated in accordance with the law;
perform other necessary actions related to this instruction.

This power of attorney has been issued for a period of three months without the right of substitution.

Principal /Prestukina/ Perestukina Antonina Rostislavovna

On February eleventh, two thousand and seventeen, this power of attorney was certified by me, Anton Stepanovich Dobrodeev, a notary of the city of Yekaterinburg. This power of attorney was signed by the principal in my presence. Personality gr. Perestukina A.R. established, capacity verified.

Notary /Dobrodeev/ A.S.Dobrodeev

M.P.

Responsibility for delay in issuing labor

There are unscrupulous employers who do not comply with the law, who blackmail their subordinates, intimidate them by not issuing a work book, and retain an important document without having any rights. These actions will lead to the fact that the resigning citizen will lose the document in which his length of service is recorded. He may also have difficulty finding a new job.

An employee who has suffered from such actions has the right to file a lawsuit against the employer, which may include the very fact of threats on his part regarding the withholding of a document without good reason. Upon consideration of the complaint, the manager will be forced to return the document with the relevant records. In addition, it may be recognized that the dismissal was outside the scope of the law if the employee did not leave his position of his own free will. Then he will be reinstated to work in the company where he was registered. The manager will have to compensate the employee for material and moral damage, as well as reimburse all legal expenses if the court makes such a decision.

Attention! If the employer delays issuing the work permit for a long time, then administrative liability is established by law.

The longer the manager delays issuing the document, the more he will have to pay. According to Art. 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offences, the fine can be set in the following amounts:

Officials - 1000-5000 rubles.
Entrepreneurs without legal entity formation - 1000-5000 rubles. or suspension of activities for up to 90 days.
Legal entities - 30,000-50,000 rubles. or suspension of activities for 90 days.