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/information | Previous retention period | Current retention period (correct at time of writing) |
Working time and opt-out forms | Two years from the date they were entered | Three years from the date they were entered into |
Records to show compliance with the Working Time Regulations 1998 | Two years after the relevant period | Three years after the relevant period |
Maternity records | Three years after the end of the tax year in which the maternity pay period ends | Four years after the end of the tax year in which the maternity pay period ends |
Any reportable accident, death or injury in connection with work | At 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 forms | Should 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 profession | Six months after notifying candidates of the outcome of the recruitment exercise |
Immigration checks | Two years after the termination of employment | Three years after the termination of employment |
National Minimum Wage | Three years beginning with the day the pay reference period immediately following that to which they relate ends | Six years beginning with the day the pay reference period immediately following that to which they relate ends |