Since 2019, new regulations regarding both the
method and the period of storing employee
documentation have been in force.
At the outset, it should be mentioned that the
employee documentation should be construed as:
1) employee personal files, consisting of four parts:
- A – statements or documents regarding
personal data collected in connection with
job applications, as well as referrals for
medical examinations and medical
certificates; - B – statements or documents regarding the
establishment of an employment relationship and the employment history; - C – statements or documents related to the
termination or expiration of an employment
relationship; - D – a copy of a penalty notice and other
documents related to the employee’s
liability for non-compliance or liability
specified in separate regulations, which
provide for expungement of the penalty
after the expiry of a specified period of
time; and
2) documentation regarding matters related to the
employment relationship comprising:
- documents relating to working time records;
- documents relating to applications for
annual leave and taking annual leave - payslip showing paid remuneration for work
and other work-related benefits as well as
the employee’s request for direct payment
of remuneration; - work clothes and footwear record sheet.
As of 2019, the employer can choose whether the
employee documentation is to be kept and stored
in paper form or in an electronic form in the
computerised system. Regardless of the manner of
keeping the documentation, an employer must,
however, ensure that the employee documentation
is kept in a manner that guarantees its
confidentiality, integrity, completeness and
availability, under such conditions as to prevent any
damage or destruction.
An employer may also change the form in which it
keeps and stores the employee documentation.
Paper form may be changed to electronic form by
making its digital representation, in particular a
scan, and affixing it with a qualified electronic
signature or a qualified electronic seal confirming
the conformity of the digital representation with a
paper document. Electronic form may be changed
to paper form by preparing a printout and affixing
it with a signature confirming the conformity of the
printout with an electronic document.
Upon changing the form of the employee
documentation, an employer shall inform its
employees about the change in the form of keeping
and storing the documentation and about the
possibility of receiving the previous form of
documentation within 30 days of this information
being provided. If the employee fails to collect the
previous form of the employee documentation, the
employer may destroy it.
Similarly, in the event of termination or expiration
of the employment relationship, the employer shall
provide the employee with an employment
certificate and information, in a paper or electronic
form, about the retention period applicable to the
employee documentation and the employee’s right
to collect the employee documentation by the end
of the calendar month following the expiration of
the documentation retention period and the
destruction of the employee documentation if it is
not collected.
As of 2019, the retention periods for employee
documentation have also changed. However, these
changes will not apply to all employees, and the
validity of the new regulations depends on the
moment the employment relationship is established
and submission by the employer of an information
report containing information about an employee to
the Social Insurance Institution. The retention
periods for employee documentation therefore are
as follows:
- for employees, with whom the employment
relationship was established on 1 January 2019
or later, the retention period equals 10 years as
of the end of the calendar year in which the
employment relationship was brought to an
end; -
- a) for employees, with whom the employment
relationship was established after 31 December
1998 and before 1 January 2019, and where the
employer has submitted the information report
referred to in Article 4 subparagraph 6a of the
Social Insurance System Act*, the retention period equals 10 years as of the end of the
calendar year in which the information report
was submitted; - for employees, with whom the employment
relationship was established after 31 December
1998 and before 1 January 2019, and where the
employer has not submitted the information
report referred to in Article 4 subparagraph 6a
of the Social Insurance System Act*, the
retention period equals 50 years following the
end of the employment relationship;
- a) for employees, with whom the employment
- for employees, with whom the employment
relationship was established on or before 31
December 1998, the retention period equals 50
years following the end of the employment
relationship.
* Social Insurance System Act of 13 October 1998.
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Disclaimer: This publication has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Miller Canfield. It is intended to provide only a summary of
certain recent legal developments of selected areas of law. For this reason the information contained in this publication should not form the basis of any
decision as to a particular course of action; nor should it be relied on as legal advice or regarded as a substitute for detailed advice in individual cases.
The services of a competent professional adviser should be obtained in each instance so that the applicability of the relevant legislation or other legal
development to the particular facts can be verified.