Employment practices and data protection: keeping employment records
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Due to the Data (Use and Access) Act coming into law on 19 June 2025, this guidance is under review and may be subject to change. The Plans for new and updated guidance page will tell you about which guidance will be updated and when this will happen.
Collecting and keeping employment records
- What kinds of records might we keep about our workers?
- How can we lawfully keep records of workers’ personal information?
- Can we rely on a worker’s consent?
- What lawful bases might apply to employment records?
- What conditions might apply for keeping records of special category information?
- What conditions might apply for keeping records of criminal offence information?
- How much personal information can we hold?
- How do we keep workers’ personal information accurate and up to date?
- How long can we keep workers’ personal information?
- How do we keep our records about workers’ personal information secure?
- What do we need to tell workers about the personal information we hold and how we are going to use it?
- Do workers have a right to access their employment records?
- Do workers have a right to have their employment records erased?
- Who is responsible for data protection and employment records in our organisation?
Using employment records
- When can we share workers’ personal information with other people or organisations?
- What do we need to consider when providing references?
- Can we publish information about our workers?
- How do we handle sickness, injury and occupational health records?
- What are our obligations if we have outsourced some of our processing about our workers?
- Can we collect workers’ information to use for equal opportunity monitoring?
- Can we use employment records to detect fraud?
- What do we need to consider when using pension and insurance schemes?
- How do we handle employment records during mergers, acquisitions, business reorganisation or insolvency?
- When can we share workers’ information under the TUPE Regulations?
- Can we share more information than is required by the TUPE regulations?
- Can we give employment records to the new employer?
- Can we, as the original employer, keep personal information after the transfer?