Digital labour and social security documents - One-stop shop for data (digital payroll) A case of the Federal Administration of Public Resources

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1 Good Practices in Social Security Good practice in operation since: 2015 Digital labour and social security documents - One-stop shop for data (digital payroll) A case of the Federal Administration of Public Resources Special mention, ISSA Good Practice Award - Americas competition 2016 Federal Administration of Public Resources Argentina Published

2 1 Summary A joint project by the Federal Administration of Public Resources (AFIP) and the Ministry of Labour which simplifies employers' obligations and reduces the administrative burden related to "work" and "social security", ensuring the quality and consistency of information. The application involves uploading a file each month, making it possible to fulfil all obligations in a single act and to obtain the following documents in digital form: The paybook required by the Employment Contracts Act at both national and provincial level; previously this was compiled manually and retained by the employer. The Certificates of Work, Services and Remuneration that employers were required to hand over to employees at the end of their employment. The sworn payroll declaration of all payments and contributions to: social security, health insurance, occupational risk and life insurance that employers must declare and pay monthly for their employees. This prevents duplicated exchanges of data between different state bodies, simplifying the process through a one-stop shop system. A unique piece of data for all purposes and all state bodies. CRITERIA 1 What was the issue/problem/challenge addressed by your good practice? Previously, the registration of salary and wage statements was performed manually, as established by the Employment Contracts Act, and the information remained with the employer and was accessible by the supervisory bodies, and national and provincial labour authorities such as the AFIP only during inspections. Similarly, the "Certificate of Work" (Employment Contracts Act) and the "Certificate of Services and Remuneration" (Retirement and Pension Benefits Act) were issued only on termination of employment and handed over to the worker. In addition, each month employers had to show sworn payroll declarations with details of their workers for making contributions to social security, health insurance, and occupational risk and life insurance etc. These processes were separate and completed independently by different institutions, and no effort was made to ensure consistency even when the data source was identical.

3 2 Problems: physical documents could be destroyed, lost, stolen, altered, and falsified, creating technical difficulties for inspection bodies; they increased the administrative burden for employers as a result of duplicate data being sent to different bodies, and made it difficult for workers to obtain documents that were free of error or falsification. For the State (supervisory bodies) this approach to producing documents made it difficult to access information in the right form when required, complicating and delaying the provision of benefits, slowing down legal procedures and increasing administrative burden. CRITERIA 2 What were the main objectives and the expected outcomes? The introduction of this web-based system enables employers to supply information in digital form only once, and to obtain all necessary labour and social security documents: (a) the paybook of salaries and wages; (b) certificates of work, services and remuneration; and (c) social security sworn statement. The main objectives of the system include the simplification of the employer's workload to comply with obligations to labour and social security authorities, as well as ensuring the quality and consistency of the information stored by state bodies. This marks a further step forward in "E-government" by making the information recorded online available to all social security institutions in an on-line, reusable and secure form. CRITERIA 3 What is the innovative approach/strategy followed to achieve the objectives? This online application addresses all the requirements of the various stakeholders and state bodies involved, for both labour and social security services, without any need to modify the regulatory framework. This online system enables employers to systematize the data they supply about their workers: the employer enters the system using their tax code on the institution's web page and uploads a file containing the information on payments made that they normally supply, and then confirms the information entered using the summary of payments issued by the AFIP which reflects the data related to the documents mentioned above without any further administrative steps. A one-stop shop for data.

4 3 CRITERIA 4 Have the resources and inputs been used in an optimal way to achieve the set objectives and the expected outcomes? Please specify what internal or external evaluations of the practice have taken place and what impact/results have been identified/achieved so far. The system is mainly aimed at ensuring simplicity and uniformity, through document standardization (salary and wage statements, certificates of work and sworn social security statements), making it easy to comply with obligations. Similarly, this standardization through a one-stop shop to obtain such documents concerning work history makes it easier to provide proof in labour courts. Benefits obtained For employers: Document standardization (salary and wage statements, sworn social security declarations, work certificates). Avoids uploading data several times. Facilitates voluntary compliance with obligations. For the State: Integrity of a unique source for recorded data. More information available that is reliable, and available when needed in the appropriate form. Accessible to all supervisory authorities. Facilitates proof in labour courts. Prevents the loss and theft of paybooks. Standardizes the registration and withdrawal of workers. For workers: Online access to the data declared by their employer Accelerates processes involving proof in labour courts.

5 4 Uniform and standardized recording of information on employment relations. Data security: Data entry using a tax code, user profile, and digital signature. Single and unalterable entry of data on all new developments and related information. Respect for the Habeas Data Act. CRITERIA 5 What lessons have been learned? To what extent would your good practice be appropriate for replication by other social security institutions? The development of this one-stop shop for all labour and social security documents through the AFIP website has ensured the effective and efficient administration of information in a centralized form, available when needed and in the appropriate form, and complete, providing transparency and a single data source for all actors and state bodies involved (public and private). Any administration could implement such a system to simplify procedures and achieve a consequent reduction in the administrative burden borne by employers and those dependent on them, which is a necessary objective in reducing informality in labour administration and is in line with the principles upheld by international bodies and institutions concerned with labour and social security issues.