Changes with regard to storage of personal documentation in Poland

From the beginning of 2019, there will be major changes with regard to the storage of employee documentation. Employers will be able to store such documentation for only 10 years and not for 50 years, as has been the case so far. An important change that will help relieve employers from bureaucratic obligations will also be the introduction of the possibility to store employee files in electronic form. How will changes in the storage of employee documentation affect the functioning of enterprises?

Shortening of the period for which employee documentation will be stored

The employer will be released from the obligation to store employee data for 50 years in the case of employees and contractors employed from January 1, 2019. This will only be possible if the employer sends to the Social Insurance Office, on a monthly basis, personalized reports necessary to determine the right to a retirement or disability pension and the value of such a pension.

All required information about the employee will be saved to a special account of the insured, to which ZUS will have access. This will significantly affect the safety and comfort of the employee, as he/she will not have to obtain documents from his/her former employer regarding remuneration or the length of employment.

Employers of employees who started work in the period after 1998 but before January 1, 2019 may apply to shorten the period of time they are required to store employee data. Modification of this period will be dependent on the employer submitting a statement to the Social Insurance Office, in which it will declare its willingness to send monthly reports relating to its employees. Submission of this document is voluntary, but doing so will mean that the employer agrees to sending such reports for all employees, and this decision will be irreversible. If the employer does not decide to send such reports, it will mean the continuation of the obligation to store files for a period of 50 years.

It should be remembered that the possibility of changing the period of storage of employee documentation applies only to those employed after 1998, and that the data of all employees whose contracts were signed earlier must still be kept for a period of 50 years.

Option to digitize employee documentation

When the new regulations come into force, employers may decide to store documents in electronic form. Until now, the digitized version was only for support purposes, and all documentation had to be prepared on paper. The electronic form will significantly simplify the preparation of files, speed up the search for specific documents and reduce costs, but the decision to change the method of data storage will belong exclusively to the employer.

Employee salary paid directly to his/her account

The non-cash form of settlement with an employee will be the dominant one from the beginning of 2019. Each salary will be credited directly to the employee's account, unless he/she decides on a cash settlement. In such a case the employee will be obliged to submit a special statement.