Digital signature in the scdsoft Reference Letter Creator
As part of the fourth Bureaucracy Relief Act (BEG IV), which came into force on January 1, 2025, the use of digital signatures in human resources processes is to be promoted. Among other things, this will allow employment references to be issued in electronic form with a qualified electronic signature (QES) with the prior consent of the recipient (Section 109 (3) of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO)).
DocuSign integration with the scdsoft Reference Letter Creator
We have implemented a connection between the scdsoft Reference Letter Creator and DocuSign. The implemented digital signature process is shown in the following screenshots:
What are the requirements?
- A certificate may only be signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES). This means that a scanned signature or a simple (EES) or advanced (FES) electronic signature is not sufficient.
- With a QES, on the other hand, authentication is first carried out via a so-called trust service. During authentication, the signatory must identify themselves, e.g., with their ID card or via a face recognition procedure.
- DocuSign makes it possible to complete this identity verification process for a qualified electronic signature in just a few minutes with AI-driven digital identity verification.
- Section 109 (3) of the German Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung) states that the reference can only be “issued in electronic form with the consent of the employee.”
- The usual backdating to the date of departure is no longer possible with the timestamp of an electronic signature. The consequence would be that a reference must always be signed exactly on the date of departure. Experts assume that a waiting period of 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after departure will become established.
- As an end customer, you must have a DocuSign license so that we can access your API.
Are you interested in our solution? Feel free to contact us at any time!