Personnel Files Overview and Sample File Policy

Personnel Files Overview and Sample File PolicyPersonnel Files Overview and Sample File PolicyA personnel file is an employers saved documentation of the history and status of the entire employment relationship with an individual employee. The employer maintains this employment documentation in a personnel file for three reasons. The employer wants to haveaccurateinformation handy and organized when you need access to the information for any reason. Changes in emergency contacts, employee addresses, keeping track of performance evaluations, disciplinary letters, employee recognition, and employment application materials are examples of the kinds of information that the employer will want to be able to quickly access.The employer needs to retain documentation about personnel issues such as employee selection, performance, work history, compensation rationale, and internal vorrckenapplications, to name just a few.An EEOC claim, a lawsuitor even the need to justify the lack of araiseorp romotionto an employee require that the employer has collected and retained this type of employee documentation. Some employee records are required by federal or state governments for employers to keep. Organizing the employee information in a personnel file makes sense for access and legal compliance and readiness. Types of Personnel Files An employer generally maintains several types of personnel files, for business use, for employee confidentiality, for medical privacy, and for legal compliance. I am unaware of any law that says how many files an employer is required to keep. However, there are many laws, and there are personnel best practices for employee confidentiality, that govern thecontentof personnel files and who has access to that information. behauptung are the personnel files that most employers in the US maintain. (Worldwide laws and practices may differ.) Personnel FileThis is the main employee file that contains the history of the employment relationship. Payro ll File You want to maintain a separate file for all payroll issues regarding salary and benefits. Employee Medical File The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires employers to protect employee medical records as confidential. I-9 Employee FormsYou need to maintain a separate file for all employee (not per employee) I-9 forms since you dont want government employees, who are authorized to check these forms under a variety of circumstances, looking through your main, confidential employee personnel files. Employee Access to Personnel Files Employees are allowed access to their employee personnel files under the guidance and supervision of Human Resources staff. Employee personnel files are considered to be the property of the employer who has the responsibility to maintain and safeguard them. Sample Personnel File Policy Following is a sample personnel file policy for use in your company. It discusses the various files that are r ecommended and who should have access to each file. Sample Policy The Company maintains three employee files for each employee. A personnel file is maintained for each employee of (Your Company Name). These personnel files contain confidential documents and are managed and maintained by Human Resources staff. Access to this file is limited to HR staff and assumes that each employees manager maintains his or her own file with documents relevant to the employees work performance. Typical documents in a personnel file include the employment application, a family emergency contact form, documented disciplinary action history, a resume, employee handbook and at-will employer sign off sheets, current personal information, and job references. Not all personnel files contain the same documents but each personnel file has some documents that are the same. Payroll files are also maintained payroll files contain a history of the employees jobs, departments, compensation changes, and so on. Access to the payroll file is limited to the appropriate accounting and HR staff. An employee medical file is also maintained. The contents of the medical file are not available to anyone except Human Resources designated staff and the employee whose records are retained in the file. At Your Company Name), medical files receive the highest degree of safe storage and confidentiality. An employee may view his or her personnel file by contacting a Human Resources staff person during modell business hours. No employee may alter or remove any documentfrom his or her personnel file which must be viewed in the presence of an HR staff person. Also KnownAsemployee files, employee records, human resources files, documentation Disclaimer Please Note Susan Heathfield makes every effort to offer accurate, common-sense, ethical Human Resources management, employer, and workplace advice both on this website, and linked to from this website, but she is not an attorney, and the content on the site, while authoritative, is not guaranteed for accuracy and legality, and is not to be construed as legal advice. The site has a world-wide audience and employment laws and regulations vary from state to state and country to country, so the site cannot be definitive on all of them for your workplace. When in doubt, always seek legal counsel or assistance from State, Federal, or grenzberschreitend governmental resources, to make certain your legal interpretation and decisions are correct. The information on this site is for guidance, ideas, and assistance only.