As of March 1, 2023 a novelty provision of Article 22.1 of the Russian Labor Code on the uniform requirements regarding composition and formats of electronic documents will take effect. E-document management means creating, signing, using and storing by the employee of electronic documents without printing them on paper. The uniform requirements are to be set by the RF Labor Ministry upon approval by the RF Ministry for Digital Technology, Communication and Mass Media and the Federal Archival Agency of Russia. What does this mean in terms of practice? How to get prepared for that period? Marina Abramova, attorney at law, partner, head of the Employment Law group of Andrey Gorodissky & Partners will tell us.
— Marina, an order concerning the uniform e-document management requirements will take effect in March. What immediate effect will it have on companies and its employees?
I will say this: plenty of companies have been introducing some elements of e-document management for a long time now. However, not all of employers are willing to introduce e-document management on a full scale, first of all because this requires substantial investment in relevant infrastructure. Actually, in practice companies are considering possible introduction of e-document management as part of their existing e-document management and digital signature systems.
I would like to note specifically that employees (except for those employed for the first time and have no employment history as at January 1, 2022) may withhold their consent for applying e-document management to their employment relations, and this also is a factor taken into account when making managerial decisions because companies usually strive for standardization and uniformity in document management. Typically, e-document management is used by big and medium businesses. As for industry sectors, it is IT companies that are first of all interested in and willing to introduce e-document management.
— How to get prepared for that period? What technical requirements should be met?
Introduction of e-document management is not mandatory, so each company takes a decision taking into account, first of all, its own technological resources and IT infrastructure. It should be noted that all costs relating to introduction of e-document management, including obtainment of enhanced digital signatures for employees, where required, e.g. for signing certain personnel-related documents, are to be borne by the employer.
— What high-profile and important, in your view, legislative initiatives may be enacted soon or are under discussion now? What will be their impact on employment relations?
I will not try to speak in concrete terms as the situation is changing very quickly now. Still, some changes to the Russian Labor Code will obviously be made. Although I very much welcome the Government efforts to provide support to citizens, I have to note that legislative initiatives and decisions should not lead to continuous imposition of additional obligations on companies, in particular for the purpose of facilitating the functions of government agencies.
— In a few weeks the Employment Law Conference will be held, where you are going to speak. How important, do you think, is it to maintain connections in the professional society under the existing circumstances?
Although I have many years of experience and am constantly involved as practitioner in legal work, it has always been important and interesting to me to know what the professional and business societies breathe. It is very difficult, if not impossible to move forward without exchanges of experience and discussions. You cannot see points of growth. It is also very important to me to share my own experience with and be helpful to others. I am always glad to answer questions asked by my audience.