This is a breach of the employer's obligations under labour law and the employment relationship. The regulation is given in the Labour Code - Articles 347-350 of the Labour Code and the Regulation on the employment record and length of service adopted in implementation of the legal delegation of Article 356 of the Labour Code by the Council of Ministers.

The definition given in Article 347 of the Labour Code defines the labour book as an official document certifying the circumstances recorded in it relating to the employee's employment. As an official certifying document of the testimonial category, the labour book certifies the existence of certain legal facts-the origin, existence, termination of the employment relationship, etc.-and has substantive evidentiary value for the statements contained therein, establishes the authorship of its issue, and the facts certified therein are deemed to be true, corresponding to the actual factual situation which they certify. The evidentiary value of the employment record as to the facts certified therein shall bind the courts, other public authorities and officials to respect and accept as true the facts certified therein. The employer's obligation to return the employment record without delay is relevant to the employee's exercise of employment and social security rights following termination of the employment relationship. The unlawful retention of the employment record may result in a restriction of the constitutional right to work, because without it the employee cannot take up another job, as well as in a restriction of his social security rights in view of his inability to receive unemployment benefits. It is clear from what has been said that the employment record is an important document which certifies facts which have been established in the past but which are relevant for the future: accumulation of length of service, unemployment benefit, pensions, etc.

Under Article 350, para. 1 of the Labour Code in the event of termination of the employment relationship, the employer is obliged to enter in the employment register the data relating to the termination and to hand it over to the employee immediately.

Therefore, the employer has two obligations - to enter the details of the termination and to hand over the employment record to the employee. The term is defined as -immediately. This means immediately, promptly, without delay, i.e. on the day of termination of employment.

Where the employment record is kept by the employer, his obligation becomes due and he falls into delay from the day of termination of the employment relationship, and where the employment record is kept by the employee, the employer's obligation under Art. 1 of the Labour Code shall become enforceable from the moment the labour book is made available for its compilation.

Where the employment record is not in the employer's possession on the day on which the employment relationship is terminated, the employer shall be in delay in complying with the obligation under Article 350(1) of the Labour Code. 1 of the Labour Code as of the day on which the labour book is made available for its clearance and in order to relieve himself of the consequences of his delay, he must comply with the procedure laid down in Article 6(1) of the Labour Code. (3) of the NLTC by notifying the employee by letter with acknowledgement of receipt to appear in order to collect his employment record in person.

 The employment record may not be sent by post or handed over to a person designated by the employee unless the latter has expressly given his written consent to this.

Unlawful retention of the employee's employment record

The parties to an employment relationship have obligations towards each other, the breach of which by either party may cause damage to the other. It gives rise to the pecuniary liability of the defaulting party.

The employer's failure to hand over the employee's employment record immediately after the termination of the employment relationship is a ground for the employer's liability. This liability of the employer towards the employee is for the damage caused by the employer.

The time of termination of the employment relationship is defined in Article 335(2) of the LC. The determination of that moment is of particular importance, since it is the moment from which the effects of the terminated employment relationship arise. A number of time-limits begin to run from that moment, including that for the performance of the employer's obligations under Article 350(1) of the Labour Code. 1 of the Labour Code.

Unlawful retention of the employment record within the meaning of Article 226(2) of the Labour Code occurs where the employee has provided the employer with his employment record book for the purpose of entering the necessary particulars and the employer has not returned it immediately.

The employer is then liable to pay compensation under Article 226(2) and (2). (3)(2) of the Labour Code from the day of termination of the employment relationship, where the employment record is in the employer's possession, and from the day on which the employment record is provided to the employee for processing, where it is kept by the employee. Compensation shall be payable until the employment record has been handed over, or until the procedure referred to in Article 6(1) has been completed. 3 of the NLTC.

Amount of compensation and procedure for claiming it

The damage caused to the employee as a result of this detention shall be compensated in accordance with Article 226(2) of the Labour Code if the following four conditions are met:

   -termination of the employment relationship;

 - unlawful retention of the employee's employment record;

   - the existence of damage caused;

    -a causal link between the unlawful retention of the employment record and the damage caused.

The compensation payable by the employer is set at the amount of the employee's gross remuneration for the period of detention of the employment record.

Those damages are defined in the Labour Code. This means that the employee does not have to prove the amount of the specific damage suffered because it is fixed by law.

Liability of the employer for violation of the employee's labour rights is enforced in court by way of legal action.

The burden of proving the damage lies with the employee. He must establish the retention of the employment record and the duration of its retention after the termination of the employment relationship. The dispute is an employment dispute within the meaning of Article 357 of the Labour Code.

Pursuant to Article 360 para. 360(1) of the Labour Code, labour disputes shall be dealt with by the courts in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Civil Procedure Code, in so far as the Labour Code does not provide otherwise. Therefore, the main legal regulation of the procedure for the adjudication of labour disputes is the regulation contained in the Civil Procedure Code for the adjudication of civil cases, which is also the procedure for the adjudication of labour disputes by the courts.

Arabadzhiev Law Firm can be of assistance to you in clarifying any questions you may have regarding your employment record as well as other employment related matters and your rights under employment law and the procedure for their protection. We would be prepared to protect your rights and legitimate interests through mediation and conciliation as well as in court.