Statutory authority: Section of the Companies Act as modified by the Companies Acts and Statutory retention period: 6 years for furlough records. The guidance says employers should retain the written furlough agreement for 5 years. But HMRC can retrospectively audit all claims so it is important to keep a copy of all records for 6 years minimum. Statutory authority: The record keeping requirement appears to be in the statutory guidance 'Claim for wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme'.
First aid training Statutory retention period: 6 years after employment. Fire warden training Statutory retention period: 6 years after employment. Statutory authority: Fire Precautions Workplace Regulations Income tax and NI returns, income tax records and correspondence with HMRC Statutory retention period: Not less than 3 years after the end of the financial year to which they relate.
Medical records and details of biological tests under the Control of Lead at Work Regulations Statutory retention period: 40 years from the date of the last entry. Medical records under the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations: medical records containing details of employees exposed to asbestos and medical examination certificates Statutory retention period: 40 years from the date of the last entry medical records ; 4 years from the date of issue medical examination certificates.
Medical records under the Ionising Radiations Regulations Statutory retention period: Until the person reaches 75 years of age, but in any event for at least 50 years. National minimum wage records Statutory retention period: 3 years after the end of the pay reference period following the one that the records cover. Statutory authority: National Minimum Wage Act Statutory authority: Taxes Management Act Records of tests and examinations of control systems and protective equipment under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations COSHH Statutory retention period: 5 years from the date on which the tests were carried out.
Statutory authority: Limitation Act Retirement Benefits Schemes — records of notifiable events, for example, relating to incapacity Statutory retention period: 6 years from the end of the scheme year in which the event took place. Subject access request Statutory retention period: 1 year following completion of the request.
Statutory authority: Data Protection Act Statutory retention period: 6 years. Whistleblowing documents Statutory retention period: 6 months following the outcome if a substantiated investigation. If unsubstantiated, personal data should be removed immediately. Working time records including overtime, annual holiday, jury service, time off for dependents, etc Statutory retention period: 2 years from date on which they were made.
Recommended non-statutory retention periods For many types of HR records, there is no definitive retention period: it is up to the employer to decide how long to keep them. Record types Actuarial valuation reports Recommended retention period: Permanently. Recommended retention period: Permanently. COVID risk assessments should be kept as long as they remain relevant. Collective agreements Recommended retention period: 6 years after the agreement ends.
Recommended retention period: Specific legislation is expected governing covid status certification. If vaccination becomes an annual event, employers may only need to keep records for a year until the next vaccination.
The situation is still evolving. If the pandemic retreats completely, the justification for keeping data may change. Driving offences Recommended retention period: Must be removed once the conviction is spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act Flexible working requests Recommended retention period: 18 months following any appeal.
This is because a further request cannot be made for 12 months following a request plus allowing for a 6 month tribunal limitation period on top. Money purchase details Recommended retention period: 6 years after transfer or value taken.
Parental leave Recommended retention period: 18 years from the birth of the child. Pension records Recommended retention period: 12 years after the benefit ceases.
Pension scheme investment policies Recommended retention period: 12 years from the ending of any benefit payable under the policy. Personnel files and training records including formal disciplinary records and working time records Recommended retention period: 6 years after employment ceases but note that it may be unreasonable to refer to expired warnings after two years have elapsed.
Recruitment application forms and interview notes for unsuccessful candidates Recommended retention period: 6 months to a year. Because of the time limits in the various discrimination Acts, minimum retention periods for records relating to advertising of vacancies and job applications should be at least 6 months. A year may be more advisable as the time limits for bringing claims can be extended.
Successful job applicants documents will be transferred to the personnel file in any event. Redundancy details, calculations of payments, refunds, notification to the Secretary of State Recommended retention period: 6 years from the date of redundancy.
References Recommended retention period: At least one year after the reference is given to meet the limitation period for defamation claims. Right to work in the UK checks Recommended retention period: Home Office recommended practice is 2 years after employment ends.
Senior executives' records that is, those on a senior management team or their equivalents Recommended retention period: Some records may be needed permanently for historical purposes. That trail of performance appraisals and progressive discipline prepares the employee and backs your decision in case the terminated employee complains.
One again, careful paperwork can reinforce HR best practices. Proper HR document management is also important to protect your employees' sensitive information. Personal identifying information, financial documents, and health records must be securely stored.
Mismanaging this information can harm your employees and cause legal problems for your company. Once an employee leaves your company, the clock on record retention starts. Knowing how long to retain records and which records you can archive or destroy is important to maintaining a manageable, efficient, compliant employee document repository. This chart shows the employee documents you should maintain for job applicants and employees, along with minimum retention requirements following their separation or rejection from employment.
Many legal and financial advisors recommend retaining documents for longer periods. It's OK to set longer horizons for disposing of documents. The important thing is to deal with them consistently across all HR processes. You need to retain documents on applicants and hires to ensure that you're not discriminating against qualified candidates. Discrimination can be intentional or caused by policies with a "disparate impact" on protected employees. For example, you may require an English literacy test for employees who don't need advanced English skills, a practice that disproportionately eliminates candidates based on national origin.
If you run criminal background checks or credit checks, tread cautiously. You need to keep only pages with signatures. You're responsible for IDs, but you don't have to copy them. If you do copy IDs, you must do so consistently for all employees, store them securely, and destroy them when the retention period ends. All signed contracts should be kept in your employees' personnel files to document your policies and agreements. This is important for defending your company from complaints and lawsuits.
If new contracts replace old ones, keep the current copy in the file and destroy the old version. This includes doctors' notes, accommodation requests for medical conditions, and other medical information provided by employees.
Keep all performance assessments and disciplinary records on file for at least two years. This documentation can protect you in case of complaints regarding promotions and compensation. It also supports best practices in managing employees consistently, fairly, and legally. The IRS, however, requires payroll tax records to be stored for four years, and state tax laws may prescribe an even longer retention period. To be safe, it's best to store all of these records for seven years.
Employee records are protected by a network of state and federal laws such as the FLSA. Source: dol. Under antidiscrimination and wage and hour laws, all documents concerning an employee's resignation or termination should be kept for one year after separation from employment. Nonmedical benefit records including enrollment forms and plans may be discarded after one year. You must take steps to protect employees' financial or personal identifying data, so some of these records may require secure storage.
The FMLA requires employers to retain leave requests for at least three years, including documentation of reasons for leave.
Any records with medical information must be stored securely. OSHA requires employers to securely store records of accidents for five years. Workplace exposure to hazardous substances must be retained for 30 years because of potential long-term health effects.
Anytime an employee complains or files a lawsuit, you must retain related records until the claim is resolved. Your document management system should put an automatic hold on an employee's personnel file following a complaint to avoid accidentally destroying any relevant documents. Department of Labor, the IRS, and other federal agencies, as well as state authorities, enforce record-keeping requirements with citations and fines.
For example, record-keeping errors are the second-most common violation cited by OSHA. Failing to keep documents such as payroll records can even lead to criminal charges. Legal liability: If an employee sues and you can't produce records required by the court, you could lose the lawsuit and face additional charges of spoliation of evidence.
An example is an Illinois case, Mohr v. Weather Tech , in which the company discarded an employee's calendar after her termination for excessive absences. The employee sued for discrimination and the calendar was requested during discovery. When the company couldn't produce it, the employee filed a negligent spoliation claim. In this case, the employer won, but that's a lot of time, money, and grief spent over a missing calendar.
A comprehensive HR record management plan lets you direct the flow of employee information through your company to serve your ends. In addition to ensuring legal compliance, careful records management can provide insights to drive HR policies , protect your employees' sensitive information, and reinforce HR best practices.
Knowing how to build a strong virtual team is more important today than ever -- and there are six critical things you must do to succeed. That's why we've created this ultra-timely page report on what you should be doing now to set your virtual team up to win.
Easily save this report to your computer or print it using the link below. You will also receive an email with your download. The Motley Fool has a Disclosure Policy. Zenefits offers a good mix of advanced HR functionality, modern design and user experience, and an easy to navigate user interface. Are you paying more in taxes than you need to? Every dollar makes a difference, and you can save more of them by taking ALL the tax deductions available to your business.
In this page report, we've outlined the top 25 business tax deductions you could be taking and 5 to watch out for! If you're looking for the right HR solution for your business, we've put together a list of the top HR software to help you make an informed choice that will benefit your company.
Check out the best reviews ». These records must be maintained for candidates that are hired as well as those that are not. Federal contractors subject to affirmative action requirements must maintain records related to their hiring and selection, including advertisements; job postings; applications; resumes; interview notes; requests for reasonable accommodations; tests and test results; personnel files; rates of pay and other compensation; selection for training or apprenticeship; and other information regarding hiring, transfers, promotions, layoffs and terminations.
As part of their record retention obligations, federal contractors must retain records relating to all individuals who meet the criteria of "Internet applicant," along with other employment records. Although not required by law, applicant tracking is recommended by these guidelines for all employers covered under Title VII and can be done pre-hire when it is part of an employer's decision to follow the guidelines. Adherence to these guidelines would strongly suggest an employer is free from unlawfully discriminatory hiring practices.
Employee files should be stored in a secure location and be kept strictly confidential. Access should be restricted to those with a legitimate need to know or as required by law. Several categories of records must be maintained according to specific requirements. See What should, and should not, be included in the personnel file? Certain records related to employees and their employment history should be maintained in an employee's personnel file.
These records include:. Certain employee records should be kept separate from an employee's personnel file to protect the privacy rights of employees and to insulate employers from liability.
This includes the following types of records:. Employers often choose to maintain records electronically rather than keeping paper files. This relieves the need for physical storage space for employment records over a span of many years, which may save money and time.
Also, electronic storage facilitates easy retrieval of information and allows for efficient access to documents. Organizations may also elect to go paperless as part of a commitment to sustainability.
Employers have options when creating an electronic record-keeping strategy and numerous vendors and software platforms are available. A cloud-based or software-as-a-service SAAS approach allows companies to implement new processes faster, update software with greater ease and remove tech support burdens from HR. On the other hand, some professionals find that private on-premises systems offer more control in determining how to use, store and locate data.
What factors should we consider when converting personnel files from hard copy to electronic format? The Compliance Risks of I-9 Software. Compliance guidance is provided for certain types of records such as I-9 forms and OFCCP rules for federal contractors. For an overview of specific requirements by type of record, see:. Employers need to understand the requirements of the law in the state s where their employees work and define internally what access is permitted in states where there is no regulatory requirement.
Some considerations include:. A multistate employer needs a flexible policy, so it is applicable to all employees. For example, a statement such as "Access to personnel files will be provided according to state law" is appropriate. Access to Employee Personnel File Policy. Employers must implement safeguards to protect personal employee information. Identity theft has become a top consumer fraud issue, and the Federal Trade Commission FTC reports that identity theft tops the list of consumer complaints that are reported every year.
Every employer maintains records that are at risk of theft and misuse; therefore, employers should develop processes that protect this sensitive employee information. How to Prevent Data Breaches.
0コメント