The Bulgarian Ministry of Labour and Social Politics
recently adopted an ordinance for employment-related electronic
documents and the requirements for their creation and storage
in an employee's file. The ordinance is effective as of May 19
2018 and is based on Article 128b, paragraph 3 of the Labour
Code.
The new ordinance allows for an electronic file for an
employee to be created and kept by the employer. Both parties
are allowed to exchange electronic documents between them.
Employers that choose to create electronic files for their
employees must follow specific technical requirements.
Documents that can be kept and stored electronically in
employees files include:
- Labour contracts;
- Other documents with explicit agreement
from both sides, such as contracts for amending of
qualifications, job descriptions, orders, and
notifications;
- Documents created by employees, including
applications and consents;
- Documents created by third parties,
including medical certificates, sick leave papers, validated
notifications and references based on Article 62 of the
Labour Code and documents issued by the National Revenue
Agency.
The electronic documents can be created explicitly with the
use of an electronic signature.
The regulation defines strict rules for electronic
signatures, which can be used by employees to exchange
documents, and ordinary, enhanced or qualified electronic
signatures.
The employer must inform all employees that a procedure is
to be implemented regarding the creation and storage of
electronic documents in their files. Additionally, any exchange
of electronic statements between the parties in a labour
relationship must be agreed in writing.
Unilateral electronic documents created by the employer, as
well as those requiring the mutual consent of both parties,
must contain information on their author, the employer and the
grounds for authorising said author.
The electronic statements are served through the 'electronic
recommended email' service, and a confirmation receipt of date
and hour is issued.
All electronic documents are stored in scanned format. The
consistency between the scanned electronic image and the
original document is proven by the electronic signature of the
person who has scanned the documents.
An employee may request a transcript of documents in
electronic or paper format, and the employer must fulfil the
request within 14 days. Paper issuance of a scanned document
should be authenticated by the handwritten signature of an
authorised person.
Employers should be aware that the creation and storage of
electronic documents is implemented through an information
system supported by the employer. In addition to the compliance
requirements, the provisions of the law include specific
technical requirements such as: (i) two-factor identification;
(ii) reporting the time of occurrence of the facts (accurate to
the nearest second) via a qualified time certificate; (iii)
historical reference to all operations; (iii) identification of
persons and e-mail addresses from which the operations were
performed; and (iv) receiving and sending documents through
electronic recommended mail.
Eurofast strongly urges employers to consider their current
practices, seek specialised assistance in developing new
compliant approaches and ensure the prevention of accidental or
unlawful destruction of documents and data, unauthorised
access, and modification or dissemination of data.
Nelly Parvanova (nelly.parvanova@eurofast.eu)
Eurofast
Tel: +359 2 988 69 77
Website: www.eurofast.eu