They will stop issuing paper work records from June 1. The data will now be in electronic format. Days before the start of the change, however, there are still many question marks about it, reports bTV.
The change is really big, long-awaited and affects a huge number of people who work. We are talking about a little over 2 million employees and almost half a million employers.
Generally speaking, the paper work record that we all know is becoming digital. But the paper records that have already been issued must be kept until we retire. It will also have to be presented to each subsequent employer, according to the interpretation of the law by the National Revenue Agency.
And why should people keep their already issued books?
Because from June 1, employers will enter only the new circumstances in our electronic files, but not the old data from our paper work books. Young people who are now entering the labor market will not have paper books, everything will be digital for them.
Do workers who are not employed under labor, but other legal relationships fall within the scope of the reform?
From June 1 of this year, the change comes into effect for people with employment contracts, and after a year = i.e. on June 1, 2026, and for civil servants.
Who and how will have access to our electronic employment records and how secure will this information be?
Our electronic employment records will be maintained by the NRA. They will contain much more information than in the paper book and compared to the data that has been submitted as information to the NRA so far.
For example – beginning and end of the contract, change of circumstances, salary, working hours, paid annual leave and many others.
What are the concerns days before the introduction of the reform and what do the institutions explain?
An IT company is developing specialized software for human resources management, which has the function of transferring their clients' data directly to the system of the National Revenue Agency.
Milena Kostova, who works at the company, hopes that the electronic work book will make things easier for everyone.
“First of all, I expect everything that has been in my work book so far to be entered somewhere electronically and everything new that happens to be filled in there electronically”, she commented.
However, Milena's expectations will be partially justified. Because only new circumstances will be recorded in the electronic work book. Something that is a disappointment for her colleague Angel Petrov.
„Since June 1, if I want to start a new job, I take my paper work book, make a printout of the electronic work book, and carry this printout with me so that the supplement for length of service and professional experience can be accurately calculated and the employment contract can be concluded with accurate data“, commented Angel Petrov, a team leader at an IT company.
In order to have access to our electronic work file, we must have an electronic signature or a Personal Identification Code from the National Revenue Agency.
„There are a number of new circumstances that were not previously entered in the work book. For example, to declare paid annual leave, regularly – changes to this leave. This has never been required. To declare seizure notices, current, which was not required“, says Petya Dimitrova, head of “HR software“ in an IT company.
“And not only that the fields that must be filled in the electronic labor record are twice as many, but an administrative burden is also created in terms of the frequency of entering certain facts and circumstances“, says Angel Petrov.
Employers indicate that there are still details that are not clear to them – related to workers employed under two employment contracts, the types of leave that are entered in the register, the deletion of employment contracts.
“The regulation that regulates the submission of information was adopted in August 2024. Changes to it are currently being prepared, which will be adopted, life and health Wednesday – May 28 and will be published on May 30, which is one day before the change comes into force“, commented Petya Dimitrova.
The first step of the reform covers a large part of those working in our country.
Most people in our country are employed on employment contracts and fall within the scope of the reform.
Except in the private sector and in the public sector, workers are usually employed on an employment contract. In the capital's 120th school, they are not worried about the change. And they emphasize that it is important for those employed in education to keep their already issued paper books.
“There are those who have non-pedagogical experience, they have worked in other places – not under employment contracts, under civil contracts. All these things need to be included. It is not certain that this system is a completely upgraded one. For this reason, for verification and verification, the work book is carried, says Tsvetanka Toneva, director of the 120th Primary School "G. S. Rakovski".
The National Revenue Agency also draws attention to the fact that after June 1, paper work books will stop being issued, but they must be kept.
“This is a wonderful change that will reduce the administrative burden not only for employers, but also for HRs, accountants and the employees themselves, since the information will be transmitted through official channels“, believes Anna Mitova, Director of the "Communications" Directorate in the NRA.
The data will be protected with several levels of protection against hacker attacks.
Honestly, I have no concerns because I am convinced, as it is at the moment, that a large part of the information on employment contracts is already there in one of the NRA, NSSI systems and will simply become a little more enriched.
Employers are hoping for tolerance from the institutions instead of sanctions in the first days after the reform.
“These are employers with several thousand employees. The electronic work record has probative value. There is no other. When you submit data, it must be absolutely correct. And if it is not consistent, due to unclear instructions, lack of software and all sorts of other things, they will face administrative liability. They may get into legal disputes“, points out Petya Dimitrova.
The institutions assure that the changes will be implemented without any problems.