Issue in question
Following queries from subscribers, UKRO has sought clarifications from the Commission on whether or not employment contracts of individuals working on Horizon projects (both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe) can be signed electronically, similar to time records, if the time recording system is computer based.
Clarification
In its response, the Commission stressed that first are foremost it needs to be assessed if, in accordance with the applicable national law, electronic signatures on employment contracts are considered valid. If that is the case, then such electronically signed employment contracts will be accepted as suitable records to help substantiate certain costs (e.g personnel costs) incurred on Horizon projects.
UKRO understands that a similar approach to that required for electronically signed time records on Horizon projects would need to be followed, allowing the EC auditors to view an electronic log of all actions performed in the system by a specific individual (by linking to their electronic identity data), as explained in the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Annotated Grant Agreements:
“If the time recording system is computer-based, the signatures may be electronic (i.e. linking the electronic identity data, e.g. a password and user name, to the electronic validation data), with a documented and secure process for managing user rights and an auditable log of all electronic transactions.”
It is strongly recommended that employment contracts are signed electronically using this approach, as it allows the auditors to verify exactly who signed the document and when.
Keeping records
In addition to the above, the Commission also referred to the requirement to keep records on Horizon projects in the correct way, stressing that Article 18 of the H2020 Model Grant Agreement states the following:
“The beneficiary must keep the original documents. Digital and digitalised documents are considered originals if they are authorised by the applicable national law. The Commission/Agency may accept non-original documents if it considers that they offer a comparable level of assurance”.
The same approach is adopted on Horizon Europe projects, where Article 20 of the Model Grant Agreement lists the exact same conditions.
Furthermore, documents considered as original under national law will be accepted and, in principle, documents should be kept in the format in which they were received or created. This means that:
- documents received or created in paper form should be kept in paper form
- documents received or created electronically should be kept in their electronic format (hard copies of original electronic documents are NOT required).
Further information about the legal and financial aspects of Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects is included in our dedicated factsheets (links available in the ‘Related content’ section.