As of June 1, 2025, we are transitioning from paper labor books to electronic ones!

Employers will no longer be required to make entries in employees’ labor books for events occurring after this date. Instead, all employment data will be stored in a newly established electronic register maintained by the National Revenue Agency – the Employment Register.

• Key deadlines

To enable this digital transformation, every employer will be required to finalize the labor books of all their employees with a closing entry and return them during the period from June 1, 2025 to June 1, 2026. As long as the final deadline of June 1, 2026 is observed, the employer will be considered to have duly fulfilled this obligation.

The only exception applies when the employment contract with a particular employee is terminated during this period. In such cases, the labor book must be finalized and returned immediately as of the termination date.

• Recording All Changes Occurring Until June 1, 2025

Before the final record is made, all changes in the employment relationship that occurred up to June 1, 2025 must be chronologically recorded in the labor book. This includes, for example, any changes in salary or job title that may not have been entered at the time they took place.

• Entering the Final Record

The next step is entering the final record, which must include the following: the length of employment service with the current employer as of June 1, 2025, written in both numbers and words. The rectangular stamp may be used for completing the final entry.

For instance, if an employee started work on January 1, 2024, the employment service period should be calculated from January 1, 2024 to June 1, 2025.

Since the employment relationship is not being terminated in this case, the fields for termination date and grounds for termination in the labor book should not be filled in.

• Affixing Signature and Stamp

The final entry must be signed by the Chief Accountant and the Employer and stamped with the employer’s official seal, if one is available.

• Returning the Labor Book to the Employee

Once finalized, the labor book must be returned immediately to the employee! Employers no longer have any legal grounds to retain their employees’ labor books.

To avoid any future disputes regarding whether the labor book remains with the employer or has been returned to the employee, it is important that the handover is documented in writing – by means of a handover protocol, a declaration of receipt or an entry in the labor book issuance log. The signed protocol/declaration must be retained in the employee’s personnel file.

• Retention of the Labor Books

The labor book will continue to serve as an official certifying document for all entries related to the employee’s length of service up to June 1, 2025. Therefore, it will retain its evidentiary function even after June 1, 2025, for verifying data from earlier periods that may not be available in the electronic register.

Example Scenarios

An employee starts work on June 5, 2025, with no prior employment history.
In this case, the current employer is not obligated to issue a labor book. Instead, the employer must submit an electronic employment record reflecting the conclusion of the employment contract.

An employee is terminated on June 3, 2025.
The labor book should include information and service period only up to June 1, 2025. It should not reflect service up to June 3, 2025, nor should it include the date and grounds for termination.
All such data will be included only in the electronic employment record, which the employer is obligated to submit within 7 days of the termination date.

• What if the employee does not present their labor book and claims it is lost?

In case of a lost labor book, the employee must submit an application to the Labour Inspectorate to have it reissued. The application must be accompanied by supporting documents from previous employers, certifying the employee’s work experience.

We are closely monitoring all developments on this topic and will continue to inform you in a timely manner.