Electronic signing in HR using Signi

• Introduction
• Documents and signatures in paper vs. electronic form
• Which HR documents can be signed without restriction? 
• Signing and delivery of employment law documents
• HR documents with a higher risk of litigation
• Audit trail and Signi control sheet
• Long-term archiving of HR documents
• Document "Documents signed in HR"
• What's next? Let's do it!

Introduction

When using electronic signatures in HR, we often discuss the following topics with our customers:

1. Documents and signatures in paper vs. electronic form - what is the difference?

2. What are all HR documents that can be signed without restrictions?

3. How to properly electronically sign and deliver employment law documents?

4. For which documents do I prefer to insist on paper?

5. What is the audit trail in case of an OA audit or litigation?

In this text on each topic, we highlight the most important information about providing electronic signing in HR in Signi - from a legal, business and technical perspective.

Documents and signatures in paper vs. electronic form

The current legal framework for electronic signatures is provided by the EU eIDAS Directive and related laws.

• eIDAS defines an electronic signature very broadly as any electronic data attached to an electronic document.

• It also makes it clear that courts should treat documents in paper and electronic form in the same way, i.e. e.g. request an expert opinion from a forensic expert who comments on the authorship of the signature.

A fundamental consequence of the EU eIDAS Directive is that in many cases - ordinary commercial contracts, orders, handover protocols, statements of work, etc. - a simple electronic signature is sufficient for ordinary commercial dealings. This is exactly what is used in most deployments of global e-signature services (e.g. Signi).

For dealing with public administration and other occasions, a qualified or recognised signature is intended. Unfortunately, its acquisition and management are challenging for many reasons, which significantly limits its realistic spread in the population

Therefore, insisting on qualified signatures in all cases unnecessarily limits the competitiveness of your company and consequently the Czech Republic as a whole.

Different levels of signatures and verifications vs. their real volume and therefore potential benefits for companies.

The view of law
EIDAS - CHAPTER I - GENERAL PROVISIONS - Article 3 - Definitions points 10, 11, 12::  "electronic signature - data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which the signatory uses for signing"    
EIDAS CHAPTER III - CONFIDENTIALITY-BUILDING SERVICES - SECTION 4 - Electronic Signatures - Article 25 - Legal effects of electronic signatures:: "An electronic signature shall not be denied legal effects and shall not be refused as evidence in judicial and administrative proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures."
Act No. 297/2016 Coll., the Act on Trust Services for Electronic Transactions - transposition of eIDAS into the Czech legal system - § 7: "A guaranteed electronic signature, a recognised electronic signature or another type of electronic signature may be used for signing by electronic signature, if the electronic document which is legally acted upon is signed in a manner other than that referred to in § 5 or § 6(1)."  Related legal commentary: "Simply: A simple electronic signature has the weight of a handwritten signature by virtue of section 7 of the DPA (there referred to as "another type of electronic signature")".
Civil Law Code - § 562 (1) - "The written form shall be preserved even in the case of a legal act performed by electronic or other technical means enabling the capture of its content and the identification of the person acting".
Translating law into normal language
Electronic signing and law - video – Ondřej Hanák, AK KROUPAHELÁN	
Electronic signing and law - presentation – Ondřej Hanák, AK KROUPAHELÁN	
Electronic signature in HR - video - Ondřej Hanák, AK KROUPAHELÁN	
Electronic signature in HR - presentation - Ondřej Hanák, AK KROUPAHELÁN	
Electronic signing in HR and law - presentation – Daniel Vejsada, AK PRK Partners	
Digitization of accounting and tax documents  - Milan Vodička, tax consultant

Signi view
Signi FAQ	
How to save time, costs and administration in HR with electronic signatures (webinar)			

Statement of the State Labour Inspection Office on the possibility of using TYPES OF SIGNATURES.

Which HR documents can be signed without restriction? 

The signing and delivery of HR documents is not regulated by the Labour Code or other regulations. In some employment law cases, a written form of legal action is required. In addition to this, it should be said that written form in paper or electronic form is possible and equivalent in court according to the EU eIDAS Directive. 

Examples of HR documents that can be signed electronically without restriction:

• Taxable income certificate

• Employer's confirmation for the assessment of unemployment benefit entitlement

• Consent to the processing of personal data (applicant)

• Job description, job position

• Taking over work equipment (telephone, PC, etc.)

• Contract for the use of a company vehicle

• Material liability agreement

• Personal income tax declaration - "pink slip"

• Attendance lists at training courses

• Notification of termination of a certain period

• Confidentiality agreement

• Application for parental leave

• and others

Signing and delivery of employment law documents

In HR, electronic signing of certain documents is regulated mainly by the Employment Code.

• For important labour law documents such as employment contracts or wage slips, the Labour Code clearly prefers "hand delivery at the workplace". 

• Although delivery of such documents in electronic form is possible under the Labour Code, it is practically not feasible, as it presupposes the use of data boxes and other technologies, the spread of which among employees is and will be completely negligible - due to the complexity of their acquisition and operation.

For this reason, the Signi e-signature service allows for a "Signature on 1 device" mode, where the signature of employment documents takes place on the employer's computer or tablet at the place where the employee's work is agreed upon. The employee signs the documents on this device and, after signing, receives an electronic PDF/A format suitable for archiving as a copy of the original document, with electronic signatures and other embedded information about the signing process. As an optional service of the employer, the employee may receive a hard copy.

The employee signs employment law documents on the employer's computer. Optionally, the use of his/her mobile phone can be verified by sending an SMS with a PIN that is copied to the computer when signing.

The view of law
Labour Code and sections 334 - 337:
334 “(2)The employer shall deliver the document to the employee by hand at the workplace; if that is not possible, the employer may deliver it to the employee (a) wherever the employee is present, (b) through a postal service provider, (c) through an electronic communications network or service, or (d) through a data mailbox."
335 - (3) A document served by means of an electronic communications network or service is served on the date on which the employee acknowledges receipt to the employer by a data message signed with his or her recognized electronic signature 95).
335a - An employer may deliver a document by means of a data mailbox only if the employee has consented in writing to such delivery.	
Signi view
When using the Signature on one device feature in Signi, the audit trail shows that the signature of both parties occurred on one device , when the employee and employer representative met i.e. nothing is delivered to the employee via email or data mailbox.    
If the employee obtains a certificate for a qualified signature from a certification authority in his country, in the Czech Republic e.g. Post Signum of the Czech Post or 1. Certification Authority, he/she can sign in a recognized manner, the certificate itself can be an attachment or part of the document to be signed.	
In the case of a regular signature, in addition to the signature itself, the employee is identified via phone - before signing, an SMS is sent to his/her phone with a PIN which he/she must fill in to sign the document. Alternatively, more advanced remote identification methods can be used before signing.

Statement of the State Labour Inspection Office on the DELIVERY of e-signed documents. Therefore, signed employment documents can not be delivered in Signi, but can be handed over directly at the workplace in the "Signature on device only" mode, which is the preferred form by the Labour Code.

HR documents with a higher risk of litigation

The legal framework for electronic signatures is clear and broad. Nevertheless, decisions by controlling or judicial authorities cannot be 100% predicted. In general, the experience with e-signatures in the population is still relatively small, and this includes civil servants and judges. Particular staff may have an ambiguous attitude towards new technologies and may sometimes adopt a conservative stance that does not reflect the reality of the situation.

Where, in the current situation, it may be advisable to retain the documentary form of the document and the employee's handwritten signature are documents for negative legal acts from the employee's point of view, such as terminations.

It should be remembered that such documents represent only a percentage or per mille of the documents signed in HR, i.e. there is no point in hindering the digitisation of HR because of them and they do not have a significant impact on increasing the overall efficiency of HR.

Audit trail and Signi control sheet

Electronic signing brings with it one not insignificant advantage. In contrast to handwritten signatures on paper documents, electronic signing can collect a large volume of information about the process of document handling, including signing.

That is why Signi provides a control sheet for each document, where information about the electronic signature is captured: when it took place, on what device, what IP address allowing to determine the affiliation to the employer's network and to a certain extent also its geographical location, verification of the person with PIN confirmation from SMS for a given phone number, information about the graphic design of the signature, including the possibility of proving its biometric progress retrospectively.

When Signi is used, a broad audit trail is available to judicial and regulatory authorities that significantly exceeds a handwritten signature in paper form, often a very fleeting signature on paper.

A control sheet with a detailed audit trail, information on document handling and signing progress.

The view of law
For inspiration of solutions from outside HR
VAT Act - Part 1, Title 2 - Section 34 - "A tax document must ensure (a) the authenticity of its origin, (b) the integrity of its contents and (c) its legibility from the time of its issue until the end of the period specified for its retention"
			
Signi view		
Access to the document control sheet - audit trail in Signi				

Long-term archiving of HR documents

One of the requirements for HR documents is their long-term archiving, up to 30 years.

The requirement for long-term archiving places additional demands on the storage of documents in documentary form; to meet the requirements of the law, they must be secured against various forms of destruction - flood, fire, loss, theft or others.

Even long-term storage of documents in electronic form has, perhaps surprisingly, additional requirements. It is not enough to simply "store them on a disk somewhere". In particular, the authenticity of origin, legibility and immutability, sometimes called "integrity" of electronic documents, must be ensured. These functions are provided by so-called electronic archives. Signi offers its own archive and can also be linked to various other e-documents. archives.

The view of law
https://www.epravo.cz/top/clanky/doba-uchovani-pracovnepravnich-dokumentu-88494.html%20Cit.%2010.%202.%202019
	
Signi view
Signi Archive

Document "Documents signed in HR"

We have mapped over 40 documents used in HR - you will find for each of them a clear indication of whether and under what conditions it can be electronically signed, including a brief commentary by a lawyer explaining the details and referring to the relevant legislation.

Download the summary to find 40 HR documents you can digitise.

What's next? Let's do it!

Get started now - Create an account in Signi and start sending your first documents for signature. For detailed instructions on how to get started, see Getting Started with Signi. The first three signatures are free, so you can try the app without obligation.    

Contact us now at sales@signi.com.
	
Let's schedule a video call together - We'd be happy to demonstrate Signi and how to manage and sign business documents. Choose the date that works best for you.