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Document
Retention Period
Beginning of Retention Period
Legal Reference
EMPLOYMENT RECORDS
Contracts (new hire agreements, severance, etc.)
Minimum 5 years
From contract termination
Art. 2224, French Civil Code; No legal obligation but rule of prevention in regard to prescription period (prescription for discrimination litigation can reach 20 years maximum, Art. 2232, French Civil Code)
Time records (work hours, rest periods, vacation/sick/holiday, etc.)
Data on working hours, accounting and on-call duties: Minimum 1 year; Data on working days for flat-rate pay agreements (“convention de forfait”): Minimum 3 years; Registration of work and rest periods: Duration of employment
From date of drafting or record
Art. D3171-16, French Labour Code; CNIL recommendation n°2005-002 (Simplified Norm n°46)
Performance records (performance reviews, promotions/demotions, licenses/certifications, investigations, disciplinary actions, etc.)
Maximum duration of employment
From date of collection
CNIL recommendation n°2005-002 (Simplified Norm n°46)
Data and personnel files
Minimum 5 years
From date of record
Art. 2224, French Civil Code. No legal obligation but rule of prevention in regard to prescription period
Government verification records (work papers, immigration, eligibility to work, etc.)
Minimum 5 years
From date of departure
Art. R1221-26, French Labour Code
Collective bargaining/union
Maximum 6 months after the date when the legal mandate for the union/staff representative ceases to exist
From start of period where union/staff representative exists
Art. L. 2411-5, French Labour Code
Background checks and drug tests
Background checks: Only until purpose of data collection is fulfilled; Drug tests: Tests which don't lead to disciplinary sanction: Only for duration required by purpose of test (investigations); Tests which lead to disciplinary sanction (other than dismissal): Maximum 3 years after notification of sanction; Tests which lead to dismissal: Minimum 1 year from termination notice (if termination challenged retain through period of litigation)
From creation of record
Art. 5, GDPR; Art. L. 1471-1, French Labour Code; Art. L. 1332-5, French Labour Code
Acknowledgements, policy agreements and required notices
Varies depending on context
n/a
n/a
Recruitment (interview notes, resumes/CVs, reference checks, etc.)
Applicants and hired employees: Maximum 2 years
From the last contact with the person involved
CNIL recommendation n° 02-017
Tracking/recordings (biometric, geo-location, online tracking, camera recordings, etc.)
Biometric data: Maximum duration of employment contract; On-line traffic data and identification data of specific website’s users: 1 year (minimum and maximum); Camera recordings: Maximum 1 month (for data processing). Can be archived for unlimited period in the event of criminal prosecution
General: From date of collection; Camera recordings: From date of access or transfer of the recordings
CNIL unique authorizations n°AU-007, AU-008, AU-019; Art. L34-1, French Post and Electronic Communications Code; Art. 6 II LCEN (Act for confidence in the digital economy n°2004-575 21/06/2004); Art. L252-3, French Internal Security Code CNIL guidelines
Miscellaneous 1
Data relating to employee or temporary worker in regard to identification, administration, organization, social activities and staff representation: Maximum duration of employment
From date of collection
CNIL recommendation n°2005-002 (Simplified Norm n°46)
Miscellaneous 2
Data related to the use of the Internet of the Company (connection log): Maximum 6 months
From connection to a website
CNIL Guidelines ("Les outils informatiques au travail")
BENEFIT/PENSION/EQUITY RECORDS
Benefits (plan documents, enrollment records)
Social and cultural benefits: Maximum 2 years
Following the provision of the benefit
CNIL recommendation n°2006-230 (Exoneration n°10)
Pension and retirement records
Minimum 5 years (including proof of pension affiliation and contributions “ARRCO” and “AGIRC”)
From date of drafting
Art. 2224, French Civil Code. No legal obligation but rule of prevention in regard to prescription period
Equity records
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PAYROLL/WAGE/TAX RECORDS
Payroll and wage data (payslips, etc.)
Electronic pay slips: Minimum 5 years and duty to ensure availability for minimum of 50 years or until employee has reached age 68
From pay date
Art. L. 3243-4, French Labour Code; Art. D. 3243-8, French Labour Code; El Khomri Law
Tax records
Minimum 3 years
From the end of the year the tax is due
Art. L. 169, Tax Procedure Book
Miscellaneous 1
Social charges owed to French Administration based on salary: Minimum 3 years
Day after end of civil year to which records relate
Art. L. 244-3, French Social Security Code
MEDICAL/SAFETY/LEAVE RECORDS
Leave (family, medical, etc.)
Sick leave: Maximum duration of employment; Family leave: Maximum 5 years
From date of collection
CNIL recommendation n°2005-002 (Simplified Norm n°46); CNIL recommendation n°02-001 (Simplified Norm n°42)
Injury and illness incident reports
Data concerning Labour Inspectorate, Health Safety and Working Conditions Committee (“CHSCT”), or industrial accident declarations: Minimum 5 years
From creation of record
Art. D4711-3, French Labour Code
Medical records
Generally not permitted; Work-related medical exams related to hazardous chemical agents: Minimum 50 years; Work-related medical exams related to pathogen biological agents: Minimum 10 years
From date of employees’ last exposure
Art. D4624-46 et seq., French Labour Code; No specific retention period but rule of prevention in regard to prescription period: Art. L1142-28, French Public Health Code; Art. R4412-54 et seq., French Labour Code Art. R4426-8 et seq., French Labour Code
Hazardous material and other exposure records
Exposure sheet of employees who worked in dangerous conditions or whose health has been under threat (including asbestos dust, hyperbaric environment, radiation, ionizing radiation and/pr artificial optical radiation): Minimum 2 years; Register of employees exposed to 3rd and 4th category biological agents: Minimum 10 years
From date which occupational disease was first diagnosed or date of employees’ last exposure
Arts. L4121-3-1, French Labour Code; No specific retention period but rule of prevention in regard to prescription period: Arts. L431-2, L461-1 et seq., French Social Security Code; Art. D4121-9, French Labour Law; Art. R4426-1 to R4426-4, French Labour Code; Art. R4451-57 to R4451-60, French Labour Code
Miscellaneous 1
Floor plans and directions – “plan particulier de sécurité et de protection de la santé”: Minimum 5 years
From date of work receipt
Art. R4532-74, French Labour Code
Miscellaneous 2
Records of noise levels and mechanical vibration levels: Minimum 10 years
From date of evaluation
Arts. R4433-3 and R4444-3, French Labour Code
Miscellaneous 3
Necessary data for emergency medical care, individual reintegration plans, individual treatment agreements, degree of incapacity for work, required workplace adaptations: Maximum duration of employment
From date of collection
CNIL recommendation n°2005-002 (Simplified Norm n°46)
Ultimate Software's HR Compliance Assist team relies on a network of internal and external compliance experts and lawyers to provide clients with best practices and recommendations on topics such as HR document retention, employee data privacy, and HR electronic records. HR Compliance Assist also provides local compliance monitoring and alert services in select countries where Ultimate Software's customers have employees. HR Compliance Assist is a service exclusively available to Ultimate Software customers.
