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The 50 Year File: Employee Record Keeping In Poland
Polish companies have an obligation to employees that stretches for a long time after their farewell parties. Hiring staff in Poland? Don’t forget to leave some storage space. You may need to retain individual files on employees for decades longer than they’ll hold on to your pay slips.
Why? Because Polish Labour and Social policy currently requires companies to store and manage personnel files for 50 years following their end of employment. And while more electronic documents are becoming available, many Polish government offices still prefer signed and stamped hardcopies; indeed some departments will not accept any other format.
Everything from original contracts to medical records and health and safety documents must be complete and accurate. It’s a seemingly obvious detail that not every third party payroll provider takes the time to ensure.
One of TMF Group Poland’s standard procedures when taking over from another HRP vendor is to review the clients’ personal files. My team was very surprised to find that the records of one particular client with 30 employees were incomplete, and clearly risking non-compliance under Polish regulations. The paperwork was in no shape to serve existing staff members let alone meet the tax and social insurance queries that can arise over the next half century.
An in-depth review was conducted and a detailed report produced by our experts. We then provided full support to the company as the discrepancies were addressed and fixed. This is a meticulous process than can require checks to make sure all documents related to employment contracts are signed by both parties, medical examination and health and safety training forms are up-to-date and complete along with referrals.
TMF Group’s detailed knowledge of the Polish Labour and Social policy came into play and the client was incredibly fortunate to avoid incurring Labour inspection penalties that can amount to as much as 30,000.00 PLN.
Of course, don’t let my tale change your mind about hiring in Poland; suppliers such as TMF Group are fully accredited and compliant with legal and industry standards, and we can guide you through the nuances of the local market to help you get everything right the first time.
We might even be able to suggest a place for you to pick up an extra-large filing cabinet.
Click here to find out more about our HR and payroll services.