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Issue
Departments need to ensure that their personnel records keeping practices are compliant with the Data Protection Act 1998. Guidance on Civil Service Personnel Record Keeping and Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 has been issued by the Cabinet Office. A copy of the guidance is at Annex H. The guidance gives standards and good practice to follow on such aspects as:
2. The guidance also provides a checklist on the retention periods for a broad range of personnel and pay records. It is not intended to be exhaustive and departments are encouraged to adapt the list to suit their own needs. The checklist is designed to cover staff-related documents or information that may be held on a dispersed basis and not necessarily all on files within the personnel area of a department. It also attempts to differentiate between those records that should be retained for a mandatory period of time and those that have a recommended retention period.
3. The aim of the guidance is to provide a consistent and practical guide in relation to personnel records that enables the creation of a secure and transparent process for the use of personal data.
Standards
4. Standards on individual aspects of personnel record keeping are shown in the guidance at Annex H.
Recommended best practice
5. All those likely to be involved in departments with the setting of policy in relation to personnel record keeping should be aware of, and make use of, the Guidance on Civil Service Personnel Record Keeping and Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
Data Protection Handbook (PDF, 710KB)
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