What information should be in a personnel file

List of Partners vendors. Human Resources Management Careers. Table of Contents Expand. Table of Contents. Access to the Employee Personnel File. Employee Personnel File Content. Contents of an Employee Personnel File. By Susan M. Learn about our editorial policies. Will the employer need a particular document to justify decisions if the employer was sued? Would the employer need the document in a court of law? Does the employee know and understand that the document will be filed in his or her personnel file?

In most cases, employers ought to have the employee sign the document, not to signify agreement with the contents of the document, but to acknowledge that they are aware of and have read the document.

No surprises, opinions, or personal notes about the employee should ever be placed in an employee personnel file.

Just the facts, no speculative thoughts, belong in an employee personnel file. The Bottom Line You will want to place in the employee personnel file only documents with which the employee is familiar. Article Sources. Your Privacy Rights. Keeping all of an employee's information in one file might seem efficient, but it could leave your company open to a lawsuit, with potentially stiff financial penalties. What's more, as an HR manager, you could be sued personally if the wrong person gains access to an employee's private information.

This guide identifies examples of documents that belong in an employee's personnel file. It also identifies documents that should be kept in separate folders, so that when they are requested by people entitled to see them, you can quickly hand over a limited set of relevant information. In the event of employee litigation, employees are almost always entitled to copies of every document in their personnel file — and oftentimes the files of similarly situated employees.

For this reason, a personnel file should only contain documentation of employment but not hiring decisions and acknowledgements that the employee understands company policies and procedures. This includes items such as:. It may seem like a contradiction, but a personnel file should never contain personal information.

For instance, if you include information on an employee's protected class status race, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, etc. By the same token, a personnel file should never contain derogatory information of a subjective nature.

For example, if you include opinions based on rumor or half truths, you could expose your company to charges of defamation, inflicting emotional distress, invasion of privacy, negligent recordkeeping, or negligent supervision.

You should also make sure that no personal information is printed on the outside of a personnel folder. The fact that a passer-by was able to see such information could be used in an invasion of privacy suit against both the employer and the individual who allowed the unintentional access. There are certain types of information you must make available to government auditors.

However, it is important to not give them more than they are legally entitled to. The government could use that additional information against your company — possibly subjecting both your company and you, personally, to an invasion of privacy lawsuit.

Documentation is needed so the employer has an accurate view of an employee's employment history. Documentation supports the employer's decisions and may protect the employer in a lawsuit—preserved correctly.

The contents of the personnel file provide a historical overview of the important happenings during an employee's career. They support the decisions that are made about the employee and his or her career. They demonstrate the employer's rationale behind hiring , promotions, transfer, rewards and recognition, and firing decisions. Because several types of personnel files are recommended, different rules and guidelines are associated with each type of personnel file for where they are kept and who has access.

For example, most organizations do not allow the employee's manager to access the overall personnel file. They expect the managers to keep relevant documentation in their own management employee file which is not the official personnel file.

Here are the types of personnel files recommended and what you need to know about working with them. This is the main personnel file an employer maintains for each employee. The personnel file stores the employment history of each employee. This is what you need to know about an employee personnel file. The employee medical file has serious legal restrictions that the employer must know and heed.

Here is what you need to know about the confidentiality and contents of an employee medical file. Employee access to the employee payroll file is less restrictive than access to either the medical or the personnel file.

Various accounting and Human Resources staff access the information in the payroll file. Because of the access rights of various government agencies, you follow best practice by maintaining a separate file for all employee I-9 forms.

You do not want government agencies poking around in your main employee personnel file. Find out more about storing I-9 forms. You want to enable each employee to know what is in his or her personnel file, but you need to control the integrity, completeness, and thoroughness of the file.

Maintaining employee and employer confidentiality and limited access are ensured with a personnel file access policy. Looking for guidelines about content that should never be included in an employee personnel file?