Demystifying HR Records Retention Rules

PeopleDoc knows that HR professionals have a lot on their plates, from helping employees to managing HR processes. We also know that implementing company document retention policy for HR records can be particularly time-consuming and stressful. Record retention (and destruction) of  personnel files, payroll information, benefits records, background checks, and any other employee-related records is a complicated process, required by law, that varies from country to country. Each document type in each jurisdiction has its own individual retention requirements and penalties for noncompliance can be costly.

A New Guide to HR Records Retention

While electronic record keeping of these documents has eased some of the burden related to the record retention and destruction processes, HR is still responsible for managing the retention schedules of each document in their system. To support HR with the best possible resources, we’ve partnered with the law firm of Morgan Lewis & Bockius to create a comprehensive, easy-to-understand resource that outlines the rules for each document’s retention schedule.

Through the firm’s in-depth understanding of document retention laws around the world, we are now offering a whitepaper that enables HR to mitigate risk and worry less about compliance in this regard. Our guide, called Employment Record Retention Laws, gives in-depth information on document retention laws in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. For each country, the guide is parsed into two sections: a Summary of Laws, which includes descriptions of key document retention rules as well any specific electronic recordkeeping requirements, and a Reference Chart, which gives an overview on the retention periods outlined in the Summary of Laws.

We believe this whitepaper will help you spend less time researching retention laws and more time focusing on what makes a company great -- its employees.