HR Records: Which Documents Are Mandatory and Where Businesses Most Often Go Wrong

Many companies treat HR records as an afterthought: the contract is signed, salaries are paid — good enough. Problems surface later — during a labour inspection, a dispute with a former employee, or a dismissal that was handled however it happened. Let's look at what needs to be in order and where mistakes are most common.

Which documents are mandatory

The exact set depends on the size of the company and the nature of the work, but nearly everyone needs a basic package:

• an employment contract with each employee — stating the position, duties, pay terms and working hours;
• orders on hiring, transfer, leave and dismissal;
• internal labour regulations and job descriptions;
• a timesheet — the basis for calculating pay;
• a leave schedule and leave documents;
• records of employees' work history, which are entered into the state electronic labour records system.

Document requirements are set by the Labour Code and related acts, and they change, so it's best to confirm forms and deadlines for your case with an HR specialist.

Where mistakes are most common

• a person works “on probation” without an employment contract — in fact this is an employment relationship with all of the employer's obligations;
• a service contract is used instead of an employment contract, although the person works to a schedule and reports to a manager;
• employees are not asked to sign that they have read orders and instructions — and in a dispute the company has nothing to back up its position;
• the timesheet doesn't match the salaries paid and the leave actually taken;
• unused leave builds up for years and is forgotten when an employee leaves;
• a dismissal is backdated or processed without the final settlement on the last working day.

What it can cost

HR mistakes are rarely visible right away, but they are expensive: fines after an inspection, reinstating a dismissed employee with pay for the time they were kept out of work, additional payroll tax assessments. Above all, in any dispute the court looks at the documents — and if they're missing, the employer's position is weaker.

How to put things in order

• run a review: does every employee have a contract and all the required orders;
• reconcile the timesheet, payroll and leave balances;
• bring your document templates up to current requirements and use them every time;
• assign responsibility — an in-house HR officer or an external team that handles records on a regular basis, not just “before an inspection”.