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Albania: Whether Albanians who work in Albania are required to have employment booklets that record their hours, wages and other employment data

An official from the Embassy of Albania in Washington, DC stated in a 25 September 2007 telephone interview that he was unaware of a document called an employment record or an employment booklet.

However, a lawyer in Tirana specializing in employment issues stated in a 9 October 2007 telephone interview that employment booklets exist. According to the Lawyer, the booklets are small and they record the start and end date of an individual's employment relationship with employers (9 Oct. 2007). Each employer or a representative of the employer signs and seals the employment booklet (Lawyer 9 Oct. 2007). When an individual wishes to collect a pension, the Albanian authorities request to see the employment booklet (ibid.). The Lawyer explained that most Albanians have employment booklets but those who work in the informal sector do not (9 Oct. 2007).

In 2002, a counsellor at the Embassy of Albania in Ottawa had stated in a telephone interview that Albanians in Albania were required to have employment booklets, which contain their employment records (7 Mar. 2002). The employment booklet was provided to them at the time they were first employed (Albania 7 Mar. 2002). The employer wrote the date of employment in the booklet, filed the document and returned it to the departing employee after filling in the date of departure (ibid.). Subsequent employers applied the same procedure (ibid.). The booklet could also contain the job title and the wage/salary paid to the employee (ibid.).

The Counsellor at the Embassy of Albania in Ottawa could not provide information on the booklet's format since the embassy did not have one in its possession (7 Mar. 2002). However, he stated that the employment booklet may have changed in appearance and content after the fall of the Communist government (Albania 7 Mar. 2002).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Albania. 25 September 2007. Embassy of Albania in Washington, DC. Telephone interview with a consular official.
_____. 7 March 2002. Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Ottawa. Telephone interview with a consular official.

Lawyer, Tirana. 9 October 2007. Telephone interview.

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral source: An official from the Embassy of the Republic of Albania in Ottawa was unable, in 2007, to provide information within the time constraints of this Reponse. Officials from the Albanian Islamic Society - Albanian Mosque in Toronto, the Albanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy, the Association of Progressive Muslims of Canada (APMC), the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC) and the Open Society Foundation for Albania were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Reponse.

Internet sites, including: Albania Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Embassy of the Republic of Albania in the United Kingdom (UK), Keesing Reference Systems, United States (US) Visa Reciprocity and Country Documents Finder.