The Single Book of Labour (LUL): example of drafting
The single labour book (LUL), or more commonly called a pay slip, has many peculiarities in its drafting and compilation.
For most companies, filling out the pay slip is a nightmare for anyone working in the human resources department. In fact, each employee will have a pay slip according to the sector in which he or she works, age, qualification, family status, with reference to each CCNL applied.
What are the reasons that make this document so important? The remuneration of an employee or the payment of remuneration to one of the company's managers must be accounted for through the Single Book of Labour, which is essential for issuing a pay slip and thus paying wages to an employee.
The Single Book of Labour has different compilation methods, in particular for the construction sector, the maritime sector and the road haulage sector there are special features that I will analyse in dedicated articles. This article aims to illustrate what are the basic and minimum elements required by law.
In view of all the difficulties that you may encounter in compiling it, in this article we propose an example of the drafting of the single labour book, namely:
- what are the characteristics of this document?
- what are the essential elements?
- what are the drafting methods?
You will find all the answers if you continue reading.
The libro unico del lavoro (lul): definition
The Libro unico del lavoro, or LUL, is a new document established by law as of 2008 to replace the old payroll and matriculation books. Compared to payroll and register books, this document also contains the attendance records of a company's employees. The single labour book is mandatory and must always be kept up-to-date. All employers who have a company with subordinate or para-subordinate employees must dedicate themselves to keeping the single labour book. The only exception is for domestic employers.
The employer of a company may delegate the drawing up of the single labour book to a labour consultant.
As we have mentioned, the real difference from the old payslip is the addition of the timesheet, which must be included in the LUL in a precise and detailed manner. In the pay slip, the timesheet is a separate document.
What is the functionality of the single labour book?
The single labour book performs the function of accounting for the employment status of a company by means of a labour report on each employee working for the company. Through the single labour book, the employer can record the actual employment relationship between the employee and the employer.
Who is obliged to keep a single labour book?
The employer of a company is obliged to have only one single labour book, even when several positions occur. Among the entities that are obliged to keep a single labour book are:
- agricultural companies
- entertainment companies
- companies in the haulage sector
- maritime companies
- in general, all companies that register employees or collaborators as assets.
Who are the entities that do not need to keep a single labour book?
- domestic employers
- public administrations
- employers that individually manage a craft company
- cooperative enterprises
- any partnership or joint-stock company that has only partners and no employees as employees in its membership
- family companies that have family members (spouse, children or other relatives or relatives-in-law) as employees.
How to draw up the single labour book?
Three different processing methods can be used to draw up the single labour book
- processing and mechanised printing on continuous sheets. With this method, each page must be numbered and stamped, prior to the application of Inail;
- laser printing approved by Inail's prior authorisation. This method involves the generation of automatic numbering. In order to facilitate the procedure, prior authorisation issued directly by the software houses has been established. This method is the most widely used;
- magnetic media. In this case, each individual entry creates a computer document and is associated with the entries made previously. If automatic data processing is used, the documents can be consulted at any time and the integrity and inalterability of the data is preserved along with the chronological consequentiality of the activities performed.
However, no precise model has been established to enable the drawing up of a pay slip. One must, however, bear in mind that the pay slip must contain a list of mandatory information.
The essential information to be included in the single labour book
Usually, when drawing up the LUL, three different areas must be taken into account:
- Company and employee details (indicated with number "1" in the example table);
- Company name, insurance position and branch office (indicated with number "2");
- Remuneration and social security elements (indicated with number "3").
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Company details
In this section, which concerns company details, information on the employer or the holder of the employment relationship providing the pay slip is the first to be entered.
The other information to be entered is as follows
- the identification code, i.e. the tax code or VAT number of the company;
- the Inps registration number, i.e. the position number given by the institute in charge of the company;
- the Inail pat, i.e. the number conferred by the insurance institute depending on the department in which the employee works within the company. This insurance contract is drawn up paying attention to possible accidents at work. The opening of the file for the INAIL position must be carried out before the start of work. If this rule is not complied with, the company will be liable to pay a fine directly to the management office.
Employee Master Data
In this area, the employee's personal details must be indicated, together with the details of the employment relationship concluded between the employee and the company.
The pay slip must be submitted for endorsement and must then show the authorisation details granted by Inail. In addition to this information, it is necessary to add
- the date of recruitment and termination of the employment relationship;
- the reference information of the employment relationship, i.e. the type of contract (fixed-term, open-ended, apprenticeship, etc.), the qualification or qualifications, the level of classification according to the CCNL applied and, finally, the Part-Time percentage, if this option is chosen;
- as regards pay, the seniority steps accrued and the date of the next pay step will be calculated according to the type of employee.
Salary and social security elements
Based on the amount of time and work recorded on the timesheet, and although it is not necessary to mark them in this order on the pay slip, the pay is divided into three macro areas
- payroll area. In this section, the following must be mentioned
- directors' remuneration,
- employee and assimilated income established on an hourly or monthly basis,
- bonuses for additional work,
- overtime work,
- thirteenth or fourteenth month's salary if paid on a monthly basis,
- holiday, leave and public holidays pay
- family allowance and deductions made for any reason.
In this area, one must also take into account the accrued severance pay, although it is subject to separate taxation, and Transfer Allowances or additional reimbursements and expenses taxed according to threshold limits;
- social security area. The Collective Bargaining Agreement applied guarantees pension provision by insurance bodies. Thanks to these bodies, the number of contributions for compulsory social security is calculated;
- fiscal area. In this section, the Irpef taxation of employee and assimilated income established in accordance
- Articles 49, 50, 51 and 52 of the T.U.I.R,
- the estimated additional taxes
- any tax adjustments.
- the 730 reimbursements made by the employer as Tax Substitute. Attachments and Fringe Benefit payments are items to be reported in the pay slip.
How to keep and preserve the single labour book?
The company must endorse and number the single labour book in a unique, sequential and continuous manner. In order to ensure the inalterability and integrity of the data and to guarantee the chronological sequence of the activities, the single labour book must not have any alterations or missing numbers.
The authorised professionals must receive authorisation from INAIL to approve the authorisation for endorsement by the employment consultant.
The single book is completed for each reference month and endorsed by the end of the following month. In the event of deteriorated or cancelled sheets, these must be retained precisely to ensure the inalterability of the data and the sequence of the unique numbering.
The company is obliged to keep the single labour book at the registered office where the employer operates or, as a second alternative, it can be entrusted to a qualified professional. Regardless of the choice, the company must be able to produce the document to the supervisory bodies within 15 days of the request.
The single labour book must be kept in the company's archives for at least five years from the last date of registration.
Which workers are recorded in the single labour book?
The single labour book registers, in general, specific categories of workers:
- all subordinate employees,
- coordinated and continuous collaborators,
- employees with a staff leasing contract
- and seconded employees.
There are some persons who do not fall into the categories of workers to be recorded in the single labour book, namely
- assistants of commercial companies
- partner workers
- trainees
- trainees
What if the single labour book is not filled out correctly? Sanctions
If the single labour book is not filled out correctly, a company may incur certain penalties depending on the seriousness of the violations.
If the company fails to fill out the single labour book, the administrative sanctions that may apply are between EUR 500 and EUR 2,500.
If the company makes a mistake when filing, the administrative penalty is between EUR 500 and EUR 2,500. Irregularities in filing refer to non-compliance with sequential numbering or the presence of traces of deterioration in the storage of sheets.
If the registration of the single labour book is not carried out correctly, the administrative sanction is between 150 and 1,500 euros for a company with 10 workers and between 500 and 3,000 euros if the company has more than 11 workers. Irregular registration refers to a failure to register data or to register them incorrectly.
If the single labour book is registered late, the administrative penalty is between 100 and 600 euros for a company with 10 workers and between 150 and 1,500 euros if the company has more than 10 workers.
We hope that, thanks to this article, you will be able to avoid errors in the compilation of the single labour book, which, as we have seen, can cause serious financial losses for your company.
However, if you still find the compilation of the payroll book complicated or with too many elements to be carried out personally, we recommend that you consult an employment consultant or look at the section of our software that deals with processing payroll.
Article translated from Italian