Is a labor book still necessary in Kazakhstan? Tengri Life sought clarification on this matter from the press service of the Ministry of Labor.
A user on the increasingly popular social network Threads posted something that caught our attention.
One of the commenters provided an explanatory answer.
We decided to confirm the details with the Ministry of Labor's press service. They reminded us that, according to Article 35 of the Labor Code, a worker's employment can be validated by any of the following documents:
- labor book;
- employment contract with the employer's note on the date and reason for its termination;
- extracts from the employer's acts regarding the conclusion or termination of the employment contract;
- extracts from payroll records;
- service record signed and certified by the employer;
- extracts from the Unified National Pension Fund regarding pension contributions;
- information from the State Social Insurance Fund regarding social contributions;
- dual education agreement;
- archival certificate of employment;
- enforceable court decision regarding the fact of employment relations.
The ministry also clarified that a labor book is a document that contains information about an employee's work history, maintained by the employer to confirm their employment. Entries are made based on orders from the employer by the manager or an authorized person. At the employee's request, the labor book may be kept by the employer. The employer is required to register the movement of labor books in a special record book. Upon termination, the employee signs the record book when receiving their labor book.
Unified System for Accounting Employment Contracts
However, the ministry emphasized that since September 2020, employers are required to enter information about employment contracts and their changes into the Unified System for Accounting Employment Contracts (USAEC).
"The concept of 'electronic labor book' is not provided for by legislation. We also note that the USAEC contains information entered by the employer regarding the employee's work history, and this obligation for employers to enter information was established by legislation in September 2020. Thus, the entry of information by the employer into the labor book is done at the employee's request," the press service noted.
According to the ministry's response, a labor book can be used to confirm employment, but if you prefer other forms of documentation or rely on data from the USAEC, then it is not necessary to maintain a paper labor book.
However, we still recommend keeping a paper version. Why? It is advisable to retain the paper labor book as an additional source of information. It can also be useful for employment disputes, confirming work experience from previous years, and when working abroad. Furthermore, the paper version is not subject to technical failures and changes in digital systems.