Document retention period changes

If you are working in HR, it is important that you are familiar with the statutory retention periods for certain documents which have been updated over time and most recently on 6 April 2021. We have set out a summary of the retention periods for key documents below. Ensure that you stick to the legal requirements on how best to retain and organise your HR records, and always keep information safe and well organised so it can be retrieved easily if required.

Document/informationPrevious retention periodCurrent retention period (correct at time of writing)
Working time and opt-out formsTwo years from the date they were enteredThree years from the date they were entered into
Records to show compliance with the Working Time Regulations 1998Two years after the relevant periodThree years after the relevant period
Maternity recordsThree years after the end of the tax year in which the maternity pay period endsFour years after the end of the tax year in which the
maternity pay period ends
Any reportable accident, death or injury in connection with workAt least three years from the date the
report was made
At least four years from the date the report was made
Consents for the processing
of personal and sensitive data
For as long as the data is being processed
and up to six years afterwards
For as long as the data is being processed and up to seven years afterwards
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), formerly Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), checks and disclosures of criminal re-cords formsShould be deleted following recruitment process unless assessed as relevant to ongoing employment relationship. Once the conviction is spent, should be deleted unless it is an excluded professionSix months after notifying candidates of the outcome
of the recruitment exercise
Immigration checksTwo years after the termination of
employment
Three years after the termination of employment
National Minimum WageThree years beginning with the day the pay reference period immediately following that to which they relate endsSix years beginning with the day the pay reference period immediately following that to which they relate ends

Share