Employment Records

Q? How does the Act affect the keeping of employment records?

• The Data Protection Act will generally apply to information you keep about your workers.
• The Act does not prevent you from collecting, maintaining and using employment records. However, it helps to strike a balance between the employer’s need to keep records and the worker’s right to respect for their private life.
• The Act requires openness. Workers should be aware what information about them is kept and what it will be used for. Gathering information about a worker covertly is unlikely to be justified.

Q? If I want to collect, keep and use information about workers, what must I do?

• You don’t need to get the consent of workers to keep records about them, but make sure they know how you will use records about them and whether you will disclose the information they contain.
• Ensure that those who have access to employment records are aware that data protection rules apply and that personal information must be handled with respect.
• Check what records are kept about your workers, and make sure you are not keeping information that is irrelevant, excessive or out of date. Delete information that you have no genuine business need for or legal duty to keep.
• Be careful when disclosing information in a worker’s employment record. Remember that those asking for information about workers may not actually be who they claim to be.
• Data protection doesn’t stand in the way where you are legally obliged to disclose information, for example informing the Inland Revenue about payments to workers. You should nevertheless be careful not to disclose more information than required.
• In some cases you will not be legally obliged to disclose but you will be able to rely on an exemption in the Data Protection Act if you choose to do so. This is most likely to apply in criminal or tax investigations or where legal action is involved. You will still need to take care if confidential or other sensitive information is involved.
• In other cases you could breach the Act if you disclose. Only disclose if, in all the circumstances, you are satisfied that it is fair to do so. Bear in mind that fairness to the worker should be your first consideration.
• Don’t provide a confidential reference or similar information about a worker unless you are sure that the worker would agree to this. If in doubt, ask the worker concerned.
• Let workers check their own records periodically. This will allow mistakes to be corrected and information to be kept up to date.
• Keep employment records secure. Keep paper records under lock and key and use password protection for computerised ones. Make sure that only staff with proper authorisation and the necessary training have access to employment records.
• Where possible, keep sickness records containing details of a worker’s illness or medical condition separate from other less sensitive information, for example a simple record of absence. This can be done by keeping the sickness record in a sealed envelope or in a specially protected computer file. Only allow managers access to health information where they genuinely need it to carry out their job.
• If you collect information about workers to administer a pension or insurance scheme, only use the information for the administration of the scheme. Make sure workers know what information the insurance company or other scheme provider will pass back to you as the employer.
• If you collect sensitive information to help monitor equal opportunities, for example about workers’ disabilities, race or sexuality, only use the information for that purpose. Where possible use anonymised information, that is information that does not allow particular workers to be identified.
• If you intend to use the information you keep about workers to send marketing material to them, give them a chance to opt out before doing so. If you intend to pass on their details to another organisation for its marketing, then get the worker’s positive agreement before doing so (that is, you should ask them to indicate that they do agree, rather than assuming they agree unless they say they don’t).
• When you no longer have a business need or legal requirement to keep a worker’s employment record, make sure it is securely disposed of, for example by shredding it.