As a legal practitioner, I’ve been closely observing how companies in Indonesia are shifting toward electronic employment agreements. This transition is part of the broader digital transformation, and yes, it’s legally supported by the ITE Law, PP No. 71/2019, and the Civil Code (KUHPerdata).
But legal validity alone isn’t enough.
In my experience, many digital contracts fall short when it comes to ensuring fairness and informed consent. There’s often a power imbalance between employers and workers, which can affect the authenticity of the agreement. A signature may be digital, but was the agreement truly understood and voluntarily signed?
Too often, workers are rushed into signing contracts with little to no explanation. This undermines the core principles of contract law:
✅ Freedom from coercion
✅ Clarity and mutual understanding
✅ Informed, conscious consent
A reliable electronic system is only half the equation. The other half is ensuring workers understand and agree to the terms on equal footing.
I also want to emphasize: a written employment agreement—digital or physical—is critical. Without it, proving the rights and obligations of each party becomes significantly more challenging in practice.
However, a lack of a written contract doesn’t necessarily mean that a working relationship doesn’t exist. In disputes, we often rely on other evidence, such as salary transfers, email instructions, or proof of delivered work, to establish that an employment relationship did occur.
“𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵.”
As we modernize HR processes, we must ensure legal safeguards evolve with them.
Digital contracts shouldn’t just be faster; they must also be fairer, more transparent, and protect both parties.
#EmploymentLaw #DigitalContracts #HRTech #IndonesiaLaw #LegalPractice #WorkplaceJustice #DigitalTransformation #LaborLaw
For more on this topic in the Bahasa version, my full commentary was recently published by JPNN:
https://www.jpnn.com/news/perjanjian-kerja-elektronik-menjadi-dokumen-sah-di-era-digital?page=3