For How long does a company needs to store Employee records once the employee leaves the organization ?
From India, Mumbai
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1From India, Mumbai
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We have to maintain all employees' records in a separate file until their presence in the company. Once he/she is relieved or retired from the company, we have to close that file and keep it in the relieved employees' yearly file. The file must contain all the personal information from his/her application, appointment letter, resignation letter originals, experience letter copies, PF closure document copies, and all settlement documents.
From India
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From India
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Dear friend,
Beginning with your name, you could have provided a little more information, such as why you are asking this query. Are you the custodian of employee records, or are you from HR, and so on? These are the basics of business etiquette.
Secondly, you need to use the correct heading when raising a query. It is not "Employee Record Storage Time" but "Retention period for the documents of the ex-employees".
If the separation of the employee was under normal circumstances, many companies preserve the employee file for at least five years. However, if the separation is due to disciplinary reasons, it may be ten years or more.
In some companies, the records of past employees are divided into three categories: green, yellow, and red.
Green signifies separation under normal circumstances, yellow denotes separation due to some issue, and the employee was asked to resign. However, in such cases, a note is kept on why the employee was asked to resign. Red indicates termination or dismissal on disciplinary grounds. The retention period for the documents of these employees is obviously longer. In some companies, it is at least 15 years. Modern HRIS systems provide the provision to categorize past employees accordingly.
There is no specific rule on the retention of employee documents. You have to establish your own rule and retain the records.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar +91-9900155394
From India, Bangalore
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Beginning with your name, you could have provided a little more information, such as why you are asking this query. Are you the custodian of employee records, or are you from HR, and so on? These are the basics of business etiquette.
Secondly, you need to use the correct heading when raising a query. It is not "Employee Record Storage Time" but "Retention period for the documents of the ex-employees".
If the separation of the employee was under normal circumstances, many companies preserve the employee file for at least five years. However, if the separation is due to disciplinary reasons, it may be ten years or more.
In some companies, the records of past employees are divided into three categories: green, yellow, and red.
Green signifies separation under normal circumstances, yellow denotes separation due to some issue, and the employee was asked to resign. However, in such cases, a note is kept on why the employee was asked to resign. Red indicates termination or dismissal on disciplinary grounds. The retention period for the documents of these employees is obviously longer. In some companies, it is at least 15 years. Modern HRIS systems provide the provision to categorize past employees accordingly.
There is no specific rule on the retention of employee documents. You have to establish your own rule and retain the records.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar +91-9900155394
From India, Bangalore
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If the company uses an automated HRMS, ex-employees' information can be kept as historical data for any length of time, along with scanned copies of important personal documents. Otherwise, Mr. Dinesh has given a very comprehensive reply to the query raised. His statement, "There is no specific rule. You have to devise your own rule and retain the records," is important. In government departments, to the best of my knowledge, retention of financial records of an employee (such as payroll data) for a period of 10 years after retirement is mandatory.
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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Dear Members, In certain context the employee record is to be maintained for many years like PF record. As employee can may come to get the details of the PF account even after 10 years.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Dear All,
I would welcome the question put forward by Nick Love. How long do we need to retain the record of ex-employees, or what is the retention schedule for such records? The replies posted above shed some light on the subject, which is apparently an experience-based response. Although it may be agreeable to many that there is no specific rule on this subject, I would like to record my opinion with reference to certain provisions of the law of the land.
The Income Tax Act requires that a company should maintain its records for ten years. From this, an inference can be drawn that all records, financial or otherwise, should be retained for a minimum period of 10 years.
Secondly, I would like to refer to the Law of Limitation. After an employee leaves the job, retires upon reaching the retirement age, or is terminated/dismissed, their full and final account is to be settled. After the date of the settlement of final accounts, it is necessary to keep the records for a minimum period of three years.
From India, New Delhi
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I would welcome the question put forward by Nick Love. How long do we need to retain the record of ex-employees, or what is the retention schedule for such records? The replies posted above shed some light on the subject, which is apparently an experience-based response. Although it may be agreeable to many that there is no specific rule on this subject, I would like to record my opinion with reference to certain provisions of the law of the land.
The Income Tax Act requires that a company should maintain its records for ten years. From this, an inference can be drawn that all records, financial or otherwise, should be retained for a minimum period of 10 years.
Secondly, I would like to refer to the Law of Limitation. After an employee leaves the job, retires upon reaching the retirement age, or is terminated/dismissed, their full and final account is to be settled. After the date of the settlement of final accounts, it is necessary to keep the records for a minimum period of three years.
From India, New Delhi
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Check the acts that apply to you.
The Payment of Wages Act requires registers to be kept for 3 years after the last entry. PF can raise a query for 8 years as can income tax (e.g., for TDS purposes). So, you need to keep records accordingly.
Nowadays, lots of companies have started to digitalize their records by converting them into scanned copies. We recently completed the same process for a client. By doing this, you can keep records for a very long time as the storage cost is negligible.
From India, Mumbai
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The Payment of Wages Act requires registers to be kept for 3 years after the last entry. PF can raise a query for 8 years as can income tax (e.g., for TDS purposes). So, you need to keep records accordingly.
Nowadays, lots of companies have started to digitalize their records by converting them into scanned copies. We recently completed the same process for a client. By doing this, you can keep records for a very long time as the storage cost is negligible.
From India, Mumbai
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My above reply has been posted incomplete. Please read further as under:
Secondly, I would like to draw a reference to the Law of Limitation. After an employee leaves the job or is retired on attaining the age of retirement, or is terminated/dismissed, his full and final account is to be settled. After the date of settlement of final accounts, it is necessary to keep the record for a minimum period of three years. However, regarding PF liabilities, it is assumed that the company is remitting all subscriptions and contributions to EPF A/c with the concerned RPFC. Therefore, the employee has to contact the EPF Dept. for transfer/withdrawal/settlement of his EPF claims. The company has to forward claim forms of such employees to the EPF Dept. In the case of an exempted establishment, the company has to settle the EPF A/c within thirty days of his resignation/termination/retirement/superannuation.
And it has been correctly posted by Mr. Bhatia that where a company uses HRMS or any other ERP Software Sy
From India, New Delhi
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Secondly, I would like to draw a reference to the Law of Limitation. After an employee leaves the job or is retired on attaining the age of retirement, or is terminated/dismissed, his full and final account is to be settled. After the date of settlement of final accounts, it is necessary to keep the record for a minimum period of three years. However, regarding PF liabilities, it is assumed that the company is remitting all subscriptions and contributions to EPF A/c with the concerned RPFC. Therefore, the employee has to contact the EPF Dept. for transfer/withdrawal/settlement of his EPF claims. The company has to forward claim forms of such employees to the EPF Dept. In the case of an exempted establishment, the company has to settle the EPF A/c within thirty days of his resignation/termination/retirement/superannuation.
And it has been correctly posted by Mr. Bhatia that where a company uses HRMS or any other ERP Software Sy
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Love,
Normally, any employees who have left their service records should be kept for a minimum of 5 years. In the case of any employee(s) with pending issues such as PF and Gratuity, you can keep their records safe until these issues are resolved. Additionally, you should retain all files/records of departed employees for at least 5 years before considering their destruction.
Regards,
Venkat
Bangalore
From India, Bangalore
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Normally, any employees who have left their service records should be kept for a minimum of 5 years. In the case of any employee(s) with pending issues such as PF and Gratuity, you can keep their records safe until these issues are resolved. Additionally, you should retain all files/records of departed employees for at least 5 years before considering their destruction.
Regards,
Venkat
Bangalore
From India, Bangalore
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I’ve also heard that companies keep records of ex-employees for 5-6 years only. Wondering how could they verify employment history of employees that left more than 5 years ago?
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Generally, any company records are to be maintained for 10 years as per the law. Old records should be archived either in electronic or physical form and put in a safe storage that is easily retrievable.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Please enlighten me as to which law requires the records to be kept form10 years ?
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Hi, I am attaching a article which talk about retaining of employee data. This will give a brief overview about asia pacific countries.
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Read the part for India (page 55). It does not mention any law requiring records to be kept for 10 years. It clearly states the requirement is for 3 years, and that companies should keep records for 8 years for income tax purposes.
Incidentally, income tax rules require keeping accounts and supporting documents, such as vouchers, bills, and salary sheets. Other documents are not required to be kept beyond 3 years.
From India, Mumbai
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Incidentally, income tax rules require keeping accounts and supporting documents, such as vouchers, bills, and salary sheets. Other documents are not required to be kept beyond 3 years.
From India, Mumbai
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Personnel Records Retention
The following retention periods are recommended for specific personnel documents:
Applications/Resumes (employed): 6 years after last action
Applications/Resumes (not hired): 6 years after the selection process completion
Status/Change of Status Forms: 6 years after being updated
Job Descriptions: 6 years after being updated
Employee Performance Appraisals/Evaluations: 6 years after termination
Retirement Correspondence: 6 years after the last action
Insurance Enrollment Notices: 6 years after the last action
Position Information Questionnaires & Reclassification Requests: 6 years after being updated
Leave Reports: 6 years
Request for Leave Records: 6 years
Time Cards: 6 years
Payroll Records: 5 years
Job Announcements: 6 years after the selection process completion
Medical Records Related to or Required by the Employer: 6 years after the last action
I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification: 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination, whichever is later
Lawsuits or Actions for Recovery of Overtime, Damages, Fees, or Penalties: 2 years after the accrual of such claims for relief
Recommendations
If there is any legal action regarding an employee or former employee initiated by anyone, all records regarding the employee or former employee should be retained until the completion of the legal action or the end of the retention period, whichever is later.
The use of personnel records may extend the retention period for those records. To allow for the possibility of a defamation case regarding any personnel files, the retention periods for those records should be changed to six years after the last action. This retention period would prevent the agency from disposing of the records until six years after the last action; for example, a reference for an ex-employee or an ex-employee requesting information from his/her file or termination of employment.
Always check with legal counsel before destroying documents regarding employees who have been involved in legal action.
From India, Mumbai
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The following retention periods are recommended for specific personnel documents:
Applications/Resumes (employed): 6 years after last action
Applications/Resumes (not hired): 6 years after the selection process completion
Status/Change of Status Forms: 6 years after being updated
Job Descriptions: 6 years after being updated
Employee Performance Appraisals/Evaluations: 6 years after termination
Retirement Correspondence: 6 years after the last action
Insurance Enrollment Notices: 6 years after the last action
Position Information Questionnaires & Reclassification Requests: 6 years after being updated
Leave Reports: 6 years
Request for Leave Records: 6 years
Time Cards: 6 years
Payroll Records: 5 years
Job Announcements: 6 years after the selection process completion
Medical Records Related to or Required by the Employer: 6 years after the last action
I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification: 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination, whichever is later
Lawsuits or Actions for Recovery of Overtime, Damages, Fees, or Penalties: 2 years after the accrual of such claims for relief
Recommendations
If there is any legal action regarding an employee or former employee initiated by anyone, all records regarding the employee or former employee should be retained until the completion of the legal action or the end of the retention period, whichever is later.
The use of personnel records may extend the retention period for those records. To allow for the possibility of a defamation case regarding any personnel files, the retention periods for those records should be changed to six years after the last action. This retention period would prevent the agency from disposing of the records until six years after the last action; for example, a reference for an ex-employee or an ex-employee requesting information from his/her file or termination of employment.
Always check with legal counsel before destroying documents regarding employees who have been involved in legal action.
From India, Mumbai
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Employee-retent ion-plan_1__185 .pdf
Effective employee retention strategies-BPO. doc