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Documentation and Retention

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What should be in an employee's departmental file?

  • As a general rule, the employee should be aware of all documentation in his or her file, such as correspondence to or from the employee, or an SRDP that has been discussed with the employee.
  • Upon termination, any copies not needed for departmental use should be shredded, and any originals (or questionable documents) should be forwarded to LHR for retention or disposal.

See also General Retention Guidelines, below.

What should NOT be in an employee's departmental file?

  • If the original of a document goes to another area, such as a DLT account authorization or SRDP, the copy should be kept only as needed for departmental use, or shredded.
  • Medical information should NEVER be kept by the department. If an employee tries to give you medical information, refer them to LHR. By law, this information must be maintained in a particular way.

When and What to Document:

For a simple guideline to documentation, follow these basic tips:

  • Notes: If you are noticing an undesirable behavior, and you may want to keep a reminder, in case the issue becomes necessary to address. For example, if Joe comes in late a few times, you may verbally remind him, and make a note. If weeks have passed and there are no further instances, then shred your notes. If the issue continues, then there is a need to document the issue in a letter, at which point the notes should be shredded. 
    • Obviously, some behaviors rise to the level of immediate disciplinary action. If you feel this may be the case, contact LHR for guidance.
    • If anything rises to the level of scheduling a meeting with the employee, it should be documented. If you will be scheduling a disciplinary meeting with the employee, LHR should be contacted for guidance.
  • Letters of Conversation: Letters of conversation serve as documentation of a conversation that has occurred. If a meeting has been held with an employee, the letter of conversation should be sent following the meeting, to reiterate what was discussed.
  • Use of Email: Email is not an appropriate tool for disciplinary correspondence (or a Letter of Conversation). If you need to have a discussion with an employee regarding expectations or an undesirable behavior, this should be done with a meeting and appropriate documentation, such as a Letter of Conversation or disciplinary letter, such as an HR-78, for staff. LHR should be consulted in making this determination.

General Retention Guidelines:
Document Retention Period Notes
Employee Information Sheets (part-time) departmental use only LHR has originals, so maintain only as needed for departmental use.
Employment Applications (for those who were hired) 3 years after termination All application materials maintained in electronic application systems should not be kept on paper.
Employment Applications (for those not hired) 3 years All application materials maintained in electronic application systems should not be kept on paper.
Interview/Reference Checking notes 3 years Interview and reference checking notes shoul dbe maintained in a file for that particular job search.  Only materials for interviewed candidates should be kept, in case a hiring selection is questioned.  These should not be maintained in an employee file, keep them in a separate job search file.
Job Descriptions departmental use only Originals are retained by LHR; keep only current description as needed for departmental use.
Letters Keep until termination, then forward to LHR Copies of leters (disciplinary, etc) should be sent to LHR.  Originals should be maintained in the file until termination, then forwarded to LHR.
Medical information (FMLA forms, Workers' Compensation documentation, physician's notes, etc) n/a No medical information should be maintained by the departments.  Medical information should be given directly to LHR by the employee and is kept in a separate medical file.
Notes n/a Notes should be shredded if the issue does not rise to the level of official documentation. *See What to Document section
JRWs for departmental use only Only current JRWs should be maintained.  Originals are kept in LHR.
Shift Differential hour sheets for departmental use only Originals are sent to LHR, so department may maintain current year for current employees.
SRDPs for departmental use only Original is sent to LHR, so department may maintain for current employees, as needed.
Training requests for departmental use only Originals are submitted to LHR for approval, so copies can be shredded unless needed for departmental use.