Policy Regulating the Retention of Documentation in the Department for Industrial and Employment Relations

BACKGROUND

 

2.    The GDPR puts forward the principle that personal data and sensitive personal data should not be retained for periods that are longer than necessary. In this context, the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations will be putting forward a retention policy for all data and documentation that it collects and processes, with the purpose of ensuring compliance to the Regulation and to ensure that no resources are utilised in the processing and archiving of data which is no longer of relevance.

 

OBJECTIVES

 

3.       This policy aims to achieve the following objectives:

 

a.  Regulate the retention of and disposal of the various types of documentation whether held in manual or automated filing systems within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, while adhering to the Data Protection principle that personal data should not be retained for a longer period than necessary;

b.  Dispose of unnecessary documentation that is no longer relevant and is taking up useful storage space;

c. ​ Promote the digitisation of documentation as may be reasonably possible in order to minimize the use of storage space required to store the required documentation, as well as to promote a sustainable use of paper and printing consumables. 

 

ADMINISTRATION

4.        Documentation is held and recorded by the Registry and Administration sections within the department. This Policy is therefore applicable to all such documentation. It will be the responsibility of the relevant the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations and its Data Controller to ensure that all provisions of this Policy are adhered to. In the case of any issues with personal data, the final decision rests with the the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations’ Data Protection Controller and Data Protection Officer for endorsement.

DOCUMENTATION HELD WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

5.    As part of its operating requirements the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, requests, keeps and maintains a wide range of documentation which may include personal data. The various types of documentation utilised by the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations may be categorised as follows:

HR And Administrations:

a.     Personal Data of DIER employees;

b.     Attendance and absence records;

c.     Discipline related Records;

d.     Financial records including payslips, tax and national insurance contributions, procurement 

         documentation, etc.;

e.     Medical records;

f.      Other related records

Collective Agreements:

a.      Details of Employer and Union that negotiated the agreement;

b.      Employment conditions of the Employees  the agreement covers

Employment Agencies:

a.        Personal Data of the competent person;

b.        Details relating to the type of activities of each agency

Employment Status:

a.        Personal Data of the two parties to the exemption request

Posted Workers:

a.        Personal Data of workers being posted;

b.        Conditions of work of these employees (salaries, bonuses and allowances);

c.        Details of posting company and contact person within the company

d.        Duration of posting period;

e.        Other relevant details

Termination Files Cases:

  a.      Cases that are solved at DIER

  b.      Cases that are solved at Court

Inspection Files Cases:

  a.  ​  ​  Cases that are solved at Court

Union Registration:

a.       Personal Data President and Secretary of the Union/Association;

b.       Statutes of the Union/Association;

c.       Other relevant details.

Young Persons:

a.        Personal Data of the young person, guardian and employer;

b.        Employment conditions.

 

SECURITY OF DOCUMENTATION

 6.   Documentation is maintained in an accessible but secure location with adequate access provided to officials who have the clearance level to access the relevant documentation. In the case of documents with sensitive personal data with higher clearance levels, access control protocols are fully adhered to, to ensure that only those that have the required security clearance can access to such documentation.

 7.      In the case of personal data, the GDPR also stipulates that only those required to process personal data should have access to personal records.

 8.    Personnel who are found to be in breach of these security protocols, and thus in breach of the GDPR, will be subject to disciplinary action.

MANUAL VS ELECTRONIC RECORDS

9.   In terms of retention periods, it needs to be pointed out that the same retention period will apply for            both electronic and manual data.

EXEMPTIONS

-       ​Registration of Trade Unions – chapter 452 legislation

-       Employment Agency – S.L 343.24

RETENTION PERIOD

10.    Retention of different categories of documents is governed by different requirements and different legislation and regulations. The following schedule outlines the retention requirements for the various categories of documentation within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations.

 

Category	Retention Period
HR and Administration
Personal Information
Employee Personal File	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Application forms for enlistment, calls, positions etc	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Application Forms for the filling of positions co-financed from EU Funds	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Applications for training opportunities	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Training Courses provided	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Attendance and Absence Records
Attendance Sheets	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Vacation Leave Application Forms	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Yearly Leave balances	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Disciplinary records
Admonishments	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Disciplinary Charges	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Medical Records
Sick Leave Certificates	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Sick Leave Records	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Medical History	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Medical Referrals	Retention period will follow PSD regulations
Financial Documentation
Tax and National Insurance Records	Retention period will be for 10 years
Procurement Records	Retention period will be for 10 years
Accounting Records	Retention period will be for 10 years
Inventory Records	Retention period will be for 10 years
Yearly Financial Statements	Retention period will be for 10 years
Termination Cases
Cases that are solved at DIER	Physical and Electronic file will be retained for 5 years from the date the case is solved
Cases that are solved at Court	Physical and Electronic file will be retained for 5 years from the date the case is solved
Collective Agreements
	Physical and Electronic file will be retained for 8 years from the date the collective agreement expires
Inspection Files Cases
Cases that are solved at Court	Physical and Electronic file will be retained for 5 years from the date the case is solved
Public Contracts Files	Physical and Electronic files will be retained for a period of 5 years from date the case is solved
Dossier Files (Company Files)	Companies that no longer exist will be deleted from the Department’s system.
	Physical and Electronic files will only be retained for a period of 10 years
Employment Status
Personal Data of the two parties to the exemption request	The details containing the name, ID, contact details will be retained for a period of 10 years
Posted Workers
Personal Data of workers being posted	The details containing the name, ID, contact details and duration of posting period will be retained for a period of 5 years from the first approval
Affidavits	Retention period will be 5 years from date of Affidavit
Trade Dispute Files	Retention period will be 8 years from the date of the last meeting held at the Department or correspondence
Industrial Tribunal Files	Retention period will be 10 years from date of court sentence
Warnings	Retention period will be 3 years from date of receipt
Generic Emails	Retention period will be 8 years from date of receipt
Fines Approval	Retention period will be 5 years from date of issue
Banking of Hours	Retention period will be 5 years from date of issue
Young Persons	The details containing the name, ID, contact details will be retained for a period of 10 years from date of approval
Miscellaneous Files	Retention period will be 8 years from date of receipt
Trade Unions Verification Files	Retention period will be 8 years from date the verification report is issued

This retention policy aims to achieve a good working balance between the retention of useful and meaningful information in line with the provisions of the relevant legislation and the disposal of data which is no longer required and is being archived unnecessarily. Data that needs to be destroyed after the noted timeframes will be disposed of in an efficient manner to ensure that such information will no longer be available within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations. Data Protection Controllers, Heads, and DPOs are aware of the noted retention periods and will instruct all relevant personnel to follow the indicated procedures accordingly.

It is to be noted that anonymised or statistical data do not fall within the parameters of this Retention Policy, since they do not constitute identifying personal data.