Time limit for handing over an employment record book

How soon must your former employer return your completed employment record book?

Under the Labour Code rules discussed here, an employment record book was to be kept for each worker or employee to certify periods of employment and social insurance. The employer was to maintain it and keep it for the duration of the employment relationship. Once employment ended, whatever the reason, the employer was to complete the entries and return the book to the worker or employee.

Article 350 and the following provisions of the Labour Code expressly required the employer, upon termination of employment, to enter the details of termination in the book and hand it over to the worker or employee immediately. In a 2019 interpretative decision, the Supreme Court of Cassation addressed the nature of this obligation: it arose and fell due on the date employment ended, and the employer was in default from that point if it failed to perform. If, however, the worker or employee held the book, the obligation fell due when the book was presented to the employer for completion.

The courts have dealt with many cases in which an employment record book was unlawfully retained. This placed the employer in default; the worker or employee could seek damages under civil law for losses they could substantiate and could also bring a claim for compensation for unlawful retention. A claim under Article 226(2) of the Labour Code could be brought where the worker had submitted the book for the necessary entries and the employer failed to return it immediately. If the claim succeeded, compensation was payable from the time the employer fell into default until the book was physically handed back into the worker’s or employee’s possession, in accordance with the Ordinance on Employment Record Books and Length of Service, which governed how those records were kept.

If you find yourself in such a situation, we advise you to contact a lawyer experienced in this type of case immediately so that your rights and legitimate interests can be fully and effectively protected.