In today's article we will talk about what to do in a situation when problems arise with work books?
One of these problems is
the inability to transfer the work to its legal owner, that is, the employee.
But sometimes it happens that after dismissal, an employee rushes to settle his affairs, receive a payment, and completely forgets that he left the work book in the employer’s archives. It would seem that there is nothing easier than throwing away an unnecessary document, but the legislator prohibits such an action. Moreover, labor legislation provides for a number of rules that tell you what to do in a situation where an employee has not collected a work book.
Our task today is to carefully consider such a problem as returning to an employee his work book, which for some reason was left with the employer. Let's figure out how this action occurs, as well as by what rule it is performed.
Is it possible to send a work book by mail?
As you know, a work book is an incredibly important document , something akin to a passport of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the law, the work book reflects the total work experience of a citizen, that is, his work experience.
Such information is extremely important and should always be with the owner of the work permit, because it is the work record that can provide the citizen with a decent pension.
But what should an employer do if he discovers that his employee has not collected his document ? This question is answered by both the Labor Code and the rules for storing and maintaining work books.
How to send?
In order to correctly send a work permit by mail, you need to perform a number of actions .
Firstly, you need to make sure that the work book really belongs to the employee who is not behind it. If the book has only been with you for a few days, you shouldn’t immediately rush to the post office. Perform a series of sequential actions.
Secondly, check to see if the employee is still in the city or has time to report for work. To do this, you need to call the employee and ask him to come for the document.
If you cannot contact the employee, you can try, if possible, to notify his relatives.
When all the steps have been completed, but the result is still unattainable due to the fact that you were unable to contact the employee, do not despair. The first and most correct thing you can do is to go to the post office and send your work .
Why can’t you keep a document for a long time? The fact is that, out of good intentions, you can leave the book with you, hoping that in the coming days the former employee will come to his senses and return. Also, the employee himself may ask you to hold the document.
But in fact, this may turn out to be a fraudulent act of unscrupulous workers who are trying to profit from your trust.
They will sue you for withholding their documents, and you will be forced to pay a fine and moral damages to the employee, as well as, possibly, lost profits.
Therefore, to avoid getting into such a situation, go to the post office.
Only after you make sure that the employee did not receive the letter, which means the notification was sent back, can you keep the work record, but under no circumstances get rid of it. Your task is to wait until the employee remembers his document .
This is where the actions that the employer has the right to carry out end.
When should a work book be issued upon dismissal?
Regardless of the reason and article of dismissal, the work permit is issued on the same day, without taking into account the location of the employee and other circumstances.
The Labor Code states that if the deadline for the transfer of Labor Code is violated, the employer will compensate for each day of delay. When an employee goes to court, the delay is considered forced absence and, accordingly, is paid according to the employee’s average income. Additionally, the company faces a fine and possible payment of moral damages.
How to pick up from another city?
If an employee left the city and only later realized that his work book remained with the employer, there is no need to despair. In this situation, there are two options, one of which you can use.
The first option is the opportunity to send the employee a representative in his place with a power of attorney drawn up by a notary. Of course, this method is very expensive, because you will have to pay for the power of attorney.
But an employee can also ask the employer to send him a work report, and according to the rules of the Labor Code, such an action is provided for immediately after the employee stops communicating.
What can a dismissed employee do if he does not receive his work book?
If a dismissed employee does not receive his work book on time due to the fault of the employer, then he has the right to go to court with a claim for compensation for moral damage. Moral damage in this case can be expressed in the fact that the employee has problems with employment due to the lack of a work book or he cannot apply for a pension, etc. If the court finds the employer guilty, the employee will be paid monetary compensation. Also, the date of dismissal may be postponed to the day the work book is issued; in this regard, the employee can count on payment of average earnings for forced absence. If such a situation arises, then the organization, among other things, will need to issue an appropriate order and make a new entry in the work book.
How to receive it by mail?
Application for forwarding
application must be written in advance , which is submitted by the employee to the personnel department. The application is drawn up in any form.
In its text, it must contain the name of the organization, as well as contact information about the organization and the employer. It is also worth remembering that the application contains information about the employee. This is done so that if problems arise with the shipment, you can immediately contact the employee.
Application form
In the application, the employee formulates a request according to which on a certain date the employer must send him a work book by letter to the specified address.
The application must be clearly formulated and written, either by hand in neat and legible handwriting, or on the computer in a standard font.
How to write?
The application must be written in any form , but if the organization’s local regulations provide for the possibility of drawing up such an application according to the appropriate sample, you must contact the organization’s personnel department and do everything in accordance with their requirements.
This application is accepted by the HR department and, if agreed, a copy is made of the application, and the employer’s seal and signature are also affixed.
Sample application for sending a work book by mail.
How to formalize dismissal in a work book
At the end of the employment agreement, all notes made on the form are certified by the signature of the responsible person, the employer, the seal, and the signature of the employee. In cases where the book was kept in two languages (Russian and the language of the republic), both versions are certified. The wording of termination of employment relations must comply with regulations and have a reference to them: provisions of the Labor Code (Articles 84, 83), Federal Laws.
Attention! Upon dismissal, the employee signs the order, the movement record book and the personal card. An employee has the right to refuse to receive a book upon dismissal if he does not agree with the wording or discovers an inaccuracy
Upon his written application, the employer is obliged to issue a new form in which all previous entries are duplicated. The period during which the employee did not receive the document due to the fault of the employer is considered a working period. The dismissal record is recorded as invalid. When a document is issued, a new entry is made based on another order. The time interval between orders is paid according to the salary and tariff schedule
An employee has the right to refuse to receive a book upon dismissal if he does not agree with the wording or discovers an inaccuracy. Upon his written application, the employer is obliged to issue a new form in which all previous entries are duplicated. The period during which the employee did not receive the document due to the fault of the employer is considered a working period. The dismissal record is recorded as invalid. When a document is issued, a new entry is made based on another order. The period of time between orders is paid according to the salary and tariff schedule.
On the last working day, the employee may not sign the dismissal order and receive the book. The fact of refusal is activated and confirmed by the signature of three witnesses.
If it is impossible to complete the dismissal procedure due to the employee’s absence from the workplace, a note is made in the accounting report card. If the dismissed employee does not show up within 3 days, he is sent a notification about the need to obtain a work book upon dismissal.
Consent to shipment
Consent to send a work book by mail is another type of document that is responsible for transferring the work book into the hands of the employee. One way or another, if there is no need to draw up an application, then you can use simple consent to such a shipment.
Consent is written in the form of a receipt , that is, the employee’s passport data is entered and a phrase is written stating that he agrees to the forwarding of the work. The receipt is also certified by the seal of the organization and the signature of the employer.
Notification letter
Sending a letter notifying an employee’s work record by mail is a fairly wise step, because this way you will always know where the message you sent is located, and if the employee receives it, you will be the first to be notified about it.
You need to choose to send it in the form of a notification letter, and also evaluate the value of the letter so that it is sent with special care in the mail. To do this, you will need to pay the cost of the valuable letter and the notification letter.
As a rule, if the employee receives a letter addressed to you, they will receive a notification that the action has been taken. Even if an unscrupulous employee wants to sue you and claim that you have lost his employment, you can submit a notice as proof.
If the letter comes back to you, ask the post office to draw up a document that will indicate the route of the letter with all the dates, and also put the stamp of the post office.
Sample notification (application) for the return of a work book by mail upon dismissal.
If an employee does not show up for a work book on the day of dismissal
The company is obliged to issue the document to the owner on the date of dismissal, otherwise the manager will be guilty of delay. This is recognized as a violation of the law (Article 5.27 of the Administrative Code) and is punishable by supervisory authorities in the form of a fine of up to 50,000 rubles. Each day of delay is considered forced absence due to the fault of the employer and is paid according to the average income of the employee.
To prevent this from happening, the responsible specialist, if a person fails to appear on the day of payment, sends him a written message about the need to pick up the documents. This can be a registered letter with notification, fax, telegram, radiogram; There may be other ways that can be tracked and confirmed. Email is not suitable as its use does not imply documentary evidence of receipt.
In any circumstances, it is important to remember that the deadline for issuing a labor permit is no later than the last day of work. If this cannot be done, steps should be taken to inform the person. Only strict adherence to the established procedure will avoid trouble.
Common mistakes when sending a work book by mail
Error. The main mistake is that the employer sends the work record book by mail to the employee on the same day that the employee was fired. This is a violation of our laws.
How right. Article 84 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation states that before sending a work book by mail, it is necessary to send a notice to the employee to come for the work book, or to consent to the employer sending it by mail. Starting from the day of sending such a notice, the employer is released from liability, because he can no longer be presented with a delayed work record. The employer has the right to send a work book by mail only after receiving the employee’s consent in writing. If there is no response from the employee, the employer must keep his work book and keep it for the specified time.
