Record Management Service
Staff Records and Personnel Management: Retention of Documentation
January 2010
1. This briefing provides guidance on the retention of staff records both in terms of how long
records should be kept and who is responsible for retaining those records, it is aimed at
everyone who holds any staff records. It will help ensure that the University meets its regulatory
obligations whilst minimising the number of records being held. Particular care should be taken
with staff records to ensure the records are not kept longer than necessary which may breach
Data Protection legislation.
Ownership
2. Wherever possible documentation relating to an individual member of staff should be filed in a
central departmental office or with Personnel and Staff Development. Line managers may also
retain records relating to the staff within their team, this should be kept to a minimum and be
kept secure at all times. There will inevitably be some duplication of records, this should be
minimised as far as possible and in all cases duplicate copies should be retained in line with the
recommended retention periods.
Format and security
3. Staff records are held in a variety of formats: hard copy, records created and held electronically,
images of paper records that have been scanned and information held electronically in Trent
HR. The records retention schedule applies to all records regardless of format.
4. This guidance does not address the issues of which format is appropriate. However, if storing
records electronically it is important that records remain true to their original format and are not
subsequently edited. Therefore, it may be helpful to save electronic records as pdf (or pdfa) files
to prevent accidental alteration.
5. Staff records will contain personal data and in many cases sensitive personal data it is therefore
vital that records should not be left unattended in offices and all storage areas should be locked.
Access to records should be limited on a need to know basis.
Retention Schedule
6. A retention schedule provides guidance upon how long different categories of records should be
held and when they can be destroyed. Annex A contains the recommended retention schedule
for documentation relating to Staff and Personnel Management Records. The schedule outlines
for each type of document how long it should be retained and who is responsible for retaining
the Master copy of that record. The schedule is comprehensive and not all items listed will be
relevant to all staff, you should select the relevant sections and follow the schedule accordingly.
7. Where a single file contains a variety of records with different retention periods, it can be time
consuming to ‘weed’ files as each retention period passes. In order to avoid this it is
recommended that the full file is retained for the longest period or that records within the file are
ordered to make it easy to identify what records can be destroyed at a specific time. This does
not apply for sensitive personal data which must be destroyed as soon as it is no longer
needed.
Leavers
8. The trigger for the start of the retention period for a number of records will be when a member of
staff leaves the University. At this time it is advisable to transfer their records to a separate
storage area and label each file with the appropriate retention period, this will allow you to easily
identify when the records can be destroyed. Personnel will keep the master copy of staff records
for 7 years after a member of staff leaves, therefore departments may find it appropriate to
retain information for a shorter period.
9. If a member of staff moves to a different job within the University it may be appropriate for some
information to be transferred to their new department (e.g. previous PDR), information that is not
transferred should be securely destroyed or transferred to Personnel & Staff Development.
Historical Records
10. The University’s Archive Curator has agreed that the only information that is required to be
retained as a historic record fro the University would be the ‘core’ information listed under 1.1 of
the attached schedule.
Other Information
11. This guidance does not cover Health and Safety records or records relating to Equality and
Diversity, these will be addressed separately. If you require any more information contact
recordsmanagement@exeter.ac.uk.
Annex A
Function: Staff Records & Personnel Management
Record
1
Core Staff Record
1.1 Facts of employment (e.g. name, dates, job title)
1.2 Records documenting the employee's contract(s) of employment with the institution.
1.3 Records documenting changes to the employee's terms and conditions of employment.
Records containing employee's basic personal details (e.g. address, next of kin, emergency
1.4
contacts).
Records documenting the employee's initial application for employment with the institution
1.5
and supporting documentation supplied by third parties (e.g. references, CRB checks).
Records documenting the job descriptions of positions held by the employee within the
1.6
institution.
Records documenting the eligibility of employees to drive University and Private vehicles
1.7
for University business.
2
Individual Training and Development
Records documenting the employee's training and development needs, and the action
2.1
taken to meet these needs (e.g. PDRs).
Records documenting job-specific statutory/regulatory training requirements for the
2.2
employee, and the training provided to meet these requirements.
Records documenting routine assessments/reviews of the employee's performance, and
2.3
any consequent action taken (e.g. PDRs).
2.4 Records documenting induction programmes attended by the employee.
3
Grievance/Disciplinary
Records documenting grievances/disciplinaries raised by/against staff, the institution's
3.1
response, action taken and the outcome.
4
Termination of Employment
4.1
4.2
4.3
5
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
Records documenting Employee exit interviews/questionnaires
Records documenting the employee's termination of employment by voluntary resignation,
redundancy, retirement (including on medical grounds) or dismissal.
Records documenting references provided in confidence in support of the employee's
application(s) for employment by another organisation.
Working Hours and Leave
Records relating to the administration of the employee's contractual holiday entitlement and
special leave, e.g. compassionate leave.
Record documenting hours worked under Flexible working agreements which operate in
Professional Services and Schools.
Records documenting the authorisation and administration of statutory leave entitlements,
e.g. parental leave.
Records documenting the hours worked by employees, including those who have agreed to
work more than 48 hours a week, as required by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI
1998/1833). (e.g. time sheets)
Retention Period (minimum)
Owner
Permanently
Termination of employment + 7 yrs
Termination of employment + 7 yrs
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Until superseded
Personnel
Termination of employment + 7 yrs
Personnel
Duration of job + 1 yr
Personnel / Department
Until superseded
Department
Completion of actions + 5 yrs
Department
Expiry of certification + 7 yrs OR
Superseded + 7 yrs
Department
Completion of actions + 5 yrs
Department
Completion of induction + 1 yr
Personnel / Department
Last action on case + 7 yrs
Personnel / Department
Termination of employment + 7
months
Department
Termination of employment + 7 yrs
Personnel
Provision of reference + 1 yr
Personnel / Department
Current yr + 1 yr
Department
Current yr + 1 yr
Department
Completion of entitlement + 7 yrs
Personnel
Date of record + 2 yrs
Personnel / Department
8
8.1
8.2
Records documenting health assessments for night workers, and the results of
assessments, as required by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833).
Records documenting the employee's absence due to sickness.
Payroll
Records documenting the employee's remuneration and rewards (e.g. bonuses, merit
awards, long service awards).
Records documenting employees' authorisation for non-statutory payroll deductions.
Employer's PAYE records which are not required to be sent to the Inland Revenue (under
the provisions of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003.
Records documenting the administration of payments made under the Statutory Sick Pay
scheme and Maternity Pay Scheme.
Pensions
Records documenting the institution's relationships with pension schemes to which all or
part of its workforce belongs.
Records documenting routine communications with the pension schemes.
Records documenting payments of the institution's employers' and employees'
contributions to pensions schemes for its employees. (NB this may be records on
Aptos/Trent rather than full paper files, or may be held by Pension schemes direct)
Recruitment
Records documenting the development and evaluation of job specifications.
Records documenting internal authorisation for recruitment.
8.3
Records documenting the advertising of vacancies.
8.4
Records documenting the handling of applications for vacancies: unsuccessful applications.
8.5
8.6
9
9.1
10
10
10
10
11
Records documenting the handling of unsolicited applications for employment.
Records documenting enquiries about vacancies and requests for application forms.
Policy - Recruitment
Records documenting management succession plans.
Policy - Pay and Reward Schemes
Records documenting the development of the institution's remuneration structure.
Records documenting pay reviews.
Records documenting special reward schemes (e.g. Merit Reviews).
Trade Union Relations
Records documenting routine communications with trade union representatives, including
minutes of meetings.
Records documenting institutional recognition/derecognition of trades unions.
Records documenting agreements with trade unions.
Records documenting consultations/negotiations with trade unions on specific issues.
Policy - Training & Personal Development
5.5
5.6
6
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
7
7.1
7.2
7.3
11
11
11
11
12
Date of record + 2 yrs
Personnel
Current tax yr + 3 yrs
Personnel
Minimum: Tax yr + 3 yrs
Recommended: Tax yr + 6 yrs
Personnel
Current tax yr + 6 yrs
Personnel
Current tax yr + 3 yrs
Personnel
Current tax yr + 3 yrs
Personnel
Termination of relationship + 5 yrs
Personnel
Current yr + 5 yrs
Personnel
Termination of employment + 75 yrs
Personnel
Superseded + 5 yrs
Current yr + 1 yr
Completion of recruitment process + 3
months
Completion of recruitment process + 6
months
Receipt of application + 3 months
Completion of recruitment process
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel / Department
Superseded + 5 yrs
Department
Current yr + 10 yrs
Current yr + 5 yrs
Termination of scheme + 5 yrs
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Current yr + 20 yrs
Personnel
Derecognition + 6 yrs
Termination of agreement + 10 yrs
Last action on issue + 20 yrs
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
12
Records documenting the development, overall delivery and assessment of induction
programmes for new employees.
12
Records documenting the administration of induction programmes.
12
12
Records documenting the development of workforce performance assessment systems.
Records containing summary information on workforce training and development needs.
Records documenting the development of training and development programmes to meet
defined needs.
Records containing individual feedback on training and development programmes.
Records documenting (anonymised) workforce feedback on training and development
programmes.
Staff Survey
Records documenting the design and anonymised results of workforce surveys and
consultations.
Records containing (identifiable) individual responses to workforce surveys and
consultations.
Personnel Policy
Records documenting the development and establishment of the institution's human
resources management policies/procedures/strategy: key records.
Records documenting the development and establishment of the institution's human
resources management policies/procedures/strategy: working papers.
Master copies of procedures/procedures/strategy relating to human resources
management.
Records documenting the assessment and analysis of workforce requirements, and the
identification and evaluation of options for meeting these requirements.
13
13
13
13
13
13
14
14
14
14
14
Current yr + 5 yrs
Completion/termination of programme
+ 1 yr
Life of system + 5 yrs
Current yr + 5 yrs
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Personnel
Completion of programme + 5 yrs
Personnel
Completion of analysis of feedback
Personnel
Current yr + 5 yrs
Personnel
Completion of survey/consultation + 5
yrs
Personnel
Completion of analysis of responses
Personnel
Superseded + 10 yrs
Personnel
Issue of policy + 1 yr
Personnel
Superseded + 10 yrs
Personnel
Current yr + 3 yrs
Personnel
Version 1.3
If you require further information regarding retaining records retention please contact recordsmanagement@exeter.ac.uk.