Employer’s main duties related to the staff dossier

Employers are required to:

• create and keep the documentation for each employee in matters related to the employment relationship and the employee’s personal file (staff dossier),
• retain the staff dossier for the duration of employment and the period of:

• 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship ceased, or
• 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the information report was filed, or
• 50 years after the termination of the employment relationship,

• keep the staff dossier in such a way as to ensure that it is kept confidential, integral, complete and accessible under conditions that do not create a risk of it being damaged or destroyed,
• issue to the employee, together with the certificate of employment, information:

• on the period of retention of the staff dossier,
• on the possibility to collect it by the end of the calendar month following the retention period of the staff dossier,
• that the staff dossier will be destroyed if it is not collected within a period set for that purpose,

• issue to an employee, former employee or other person a copy of all or part of the staff dossier,
• destroy the staff dossier in such a way that its content cannot be reproduced – within 12 months of the end of the period for receipt by the employee.

Employer’s basic obligations related to the change in the form of keeping and maintaining the staff dossier

In the event of an intention to change the form of the staff dossier:

• from paper to electronic means – the employer is required to draw up a digital representation and ensure it contains a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal of the employer or a qualified electronic signature of a person authorised by the employer confirming the compliance of the digital representation with the paper document,

• from electronic to paper – the employer is required to produce a printout and sign it with the signature of the employer or of a person authorised by them confirming the print-out’s compliance with the electronic document.

The employer is obliged to inform employees about:

• changes to the form of keeping and maintaining the staff dossier,

• the possibility of receiving the previous form of the staff dossier.

Rights of employees and family members of the deceased employee under the provisions on the staff dossier

An employee has the right to:

• the receipt of the staff dossier by the end of the calendar month following the expiry of the period of retention of the staff dossier by the employer,
• the receipt of the previous form of the staff dossier within 30 days of the date on which the employer provides information on this matter, in the event of a change in the form of the staff dossier by the employer,
• receive, at any time, a copy of all or part of the staff dossier.

In the event of death of the employee or former employee, the right to accept the previous form of the staff dossier, as well as copies of all or part of the staff dossier, shall be vested in the closest family members.

Retention periods for staff dossiers

If the employment relationship was entered into on or after 1 January 2019, the retention period of the staff dossier in matters relating to the employment relationship and of the staff member’s personal file shall cover the period of employment and the period of 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship ended.

If the employment relationship was established after 31 December 1998 and before 1 January 2019:

• the employer has filed the information report referred to in Article 4(6a) of the Act on the Social Insurance System – the 50-year period for storing the employee’s personal file counted from the date of termination of the employment relationship is reduced to 10 years, counted from the end of the calendar year in which the information report was filed,
• the employer has not submitted the information report – the retention period of the employee’s personal file is 50 years from the date of termination of the employment relationship.

If the employment relationship was entered into earlier, i.e. until 31 December 1998, the retention period of the employee’s personal file is 50 years from the date of termination of the employment relationship.

Personal files and other staff dossiers

For each employee, the employer must keep a separate personal file.

The statements and documents contained in the various parts of the personal file should be arranged in chronological order and numbered.

Before each part of the personal file, a list of the statements or documents contained in the personal file must be included.

The personal file consists of 5 parts:

• Part A – containing statements or documents concerning personal data collected in connection with the application for employment (e.g. full name, place of residence, previous employment) as well as referrals to medical examinations and medical certificates concerning preliminary, periodic and check-up medical examinations,
• Part B – containing declarations or documents relating to the establishment of the employment relationship and the course of the employee’s employment (e.g. the contract of employment, employer’s amending termination notices and other declarations relating to the change of the terms and conditions of the employee’s contract of employment, documents confirming the completion of the required training in the field of occupational health and safety, documents relating to the award of a prize or distinction to the employee and the imposition of a disciplinary penalty, documents relating to the employee’s use of maternity leave, leave granted on terms of a maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave and childcare leave),
• Part C – containing documents relating to the termination or expiry of the employment relationship (e.g. notice of termination or a statement of dissolution of the contract of employment, a copy of the employment certificate issued to the employee),
• Part D – containing a copy of the penalty notice and other documents relating to the imposition on the employee of regulatory responsibility or liability specified in separate provisions, which provide for the expungement of a penalty after a specified period,
• Part E – containing documents relating to the control of the employee’s sobriety or control of the presence in their body of agents having similar effects to alcohol.

The employer shall keep in the employee’s personal file, maintained in paper form, certified copies or copies of the documents submitted, certified by the employer or a person authorised by the employer to be consistent with the document submitted. The original documents shall be submitted to the employer for inspection or copying.

Originals of documents that the employer draws up itself, such as a copy of a joint material liability or non-competition agreement, may be kept in the personnel file.

The employer keeps, separately for each employee, a dossier on matters relating to the employment relationship, including:

• documents pertaining to records of working time (including, but not limited to, working time records),
• documents relating to the application for and use of holiday leave,
• the chart (list) of remuneration paid for the work and other work-related benefits,
• the records of the assignment of work clothing and footwear and of personal protective equipment, as well as the payment of the pecuniary equivalent for using own clothing and footwear, as well as their laundering and maintenance.

The employer shall also keep, among other things, records of:

• suspicion of occupational diseases,
• occupational diseases,
• work accidents.

In the event of a transfer of an establishment or its part to a new employer, the previous employer is required to forward the employee’s personal file and other documentation on matters relating to his or her employment relationship to the employer taking over that employee.