HR Record Retention Requirements | Poland

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Poland

Document

Retention Period

Beginning of Retention Period

Legal Reference

EMPLOYMENT RECORDS

Contracts (new hire agreements, severance, etc.)

Dependent on date of hire: - After January 1, 2019: Minimum 10 years; - Between January 1999 - December 2018: Minimum 50 years or shortened minimum of 10 years if submit information report to Social Security Institution (starting from the end of calendar year in which report was submitted); - Before 1999: Minimum 50 years

10 year period: from end of calendar year after employment contract was terminated or expired; 50 year period: from employee termination

Act on Amendment of Some Acts in Connection with Shortening the Period of Storage of Employee Files and their Electronicisation (2018), Art. 7; The Labor Code, Art. 94, 9b; Act on Pensions from Social Security Fund, Art. 125a, 4a; Act on National Archiving System and Archives, Art. 51u, 1 (binding before 2019)

Time records (work hours, rest periods, vacation/sick/holiday, etc.)

See "Contracts" section, above

Performance records (performance reviews, promotions/demotions, licenses/certifications, investigations, disciplinary actions, etc.)

See "Contracts" section, above; Disciplinary measures: Penalty is deemed to be of no effect and the penalty notice should be removed from the employee’s personal file after one year of faultless work

See "Contracts" section, above

See "Contracts" section, above; Disciplinary measures: The Labor Code, Art. 113 § 1

Data and personnel files

See "Contracts" section, above

Government verification records (work papers, immigration, eligibility to work, etc.)

See "Contracts" section, above

Collective bargaining/union

Maximum: Only retain personal data as long as necessary for purpose

From creation

Best practice based on GDPR

Background checks and drug tests

Where legally allowed, retain only as long as necessary to complete hiring process (or as required for binding laws)

From creation

Best practice based on GDPR

Acknowledgements, policy agreements and required notices

See "Contracts" section, above

Recruitment (interview notes, resumes/CVs, reference checks, etc.)

Applicants who are not hired: Only retain until conclusion of hiring process (note: some companies retain for up to 3 years from conclusion of hiring process, the statute of limitations for claims); Applicants who are hired: Recruitment records are part of employee files (Follow schedule listed in "Contracts" section, above)

From creation

Best practice based on GDPR; Act on Amendment of Some Acts in Connection with Shortening the Period of Storage of Employee Files and their Electronicisation (2018); Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy on employee documentation (2018), § 3 point 2 (a)

Tracking/recordings (biometric, geo-location, online tracking, camera recordings, etc.)

Tracking/recordings (biometric, geo-location, online tracking): Retain only as long as necessary for purpose; Camera and other monitoring (for allowed purposes): Maximum 3 months (may be extended in the event of legal proceedings). Employees must receive notice in advance.

From creation

Best practice based on GDPR The Labor Code, Art. 22 (2) § 3 - 4

Miscellaneous 1

Employee documentation regarding employees performing mining work and work equivalent to mining work: 50 years

From employee termination

Act on Amendment of Some Acts in Connection with Shortening the Period of Storage of Employee Files and their Electronicisation (2018), Art. 5

BENEFIT/PENSION/EQUITY RECORDS

Benefits (plan documents, enrollment records)

General: 3 years; Private medical insurance records (if offered by employer): Minimum 6 years

General: From termination of employment contract; Private medical insurance records: From contract's termination

Labor Code, Art. 291 § 1; Act on Accounting, Art. 74; Tax law, Art. 70 § 1

Pension and retirement records

3 years

From termination of employment contract

Labor Code, Art. 291 § 1

Equity records

Minimum: during the existence of the company and 5 years after its liquidation/termination (i.e., until lapse of retention periods in Act on Accounting and Tax law)

From beginning of year following the financial year to which record relates

Commercial Companies Code, Art. 476 § 3; Act on Accounting, Arts. 74 and 76; Tax law, Art. 70 § 1, Art. 86 § 1

PAYROLL/WAGE/TAX RECORDS

Payroll and wage data (payslips, etc.)

See "Contracts" section, above

Tax records

Minimum: 5 years

From beginning of year following the financial year to which record relates

Act of 29 September 1994 on Accounting, Art. 74

MEDICAL/SAFETY/LEAVE RECORDS

Leave (family, medical, etc.)

See "Contracts" section, above

Injury and illness incident reports

Accident reports and related records: Minimum 10 years

From incident

The Labor Code, Chapter VII, Art., 234

Medical records

See "Contracts" section, above

Hazardous material and other exposure records

Medical records relating to radiation exposure: Category A workers (who may be exposed to a radiation dose exceeding 6 mSv in 1 year or an equivalent dose exceeding 15 mSv in 1 year for eye lense or 150 mSv in 1 year for skin and extremities) - Minimum: until employee reaches 75 years or, 30 years from last date of exposure

From termination of work in exposure conditions

Atomic Energy Act (2000), Art. 30, 3

UKG'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 UKG's customers have employees. HR Compliance Assist is a service exclusively available to UKG customers.

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