How long should I keep records relating to my staff for?

In all businesses you will have a variety of different types of records that you need to keep. Many of those will relate directly to your workforce. We help you navigate through what you need and how long you need it for.

What staff records am I legally required to keep?

You need to maintain a number of records. Scroll through the carousel to view the main ones:

PAYE and payroll records

You must keep records showing what you pay your employees, deductions made, reports and payments to HMRC, employee leave and sickness absence, tax code notices and taxable expenses and benefits.

PAYE records must generally be kept for three years from the end of the tax year they relate to. HMRC can check your records and, if you don’t keep adequate records, may estimate what you owe and charge a penalty of up to £3,000.
Working time

You should keep adequate records relating to employees’ working time so that you can demonstrate compliance with the Working Time Regulations, including relevant limits on working time, night work and rest requirements.

The records you need will depend on your workers and their working arrangements, so check the current requirements that apply to your business.
Annual leave and holiday pay

Employers must keep detailed records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least six years from the date the records were made. Records should include information such as the annual leave taken and the holiday pay paid.

You can choose how you create and store these records, but you must be able to demonstrate that you’re meeting your obligations.
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

You must keep sufficient records to demonstrate that workers have been paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage that applies to them.

These records must generally be kept for at least six years. Payroll records may provide much of the evidence you need, but you may also need records of hours worked, employment terms and other information used to calculate minimum wage pay.
Statutory Sick Pay

You should keep appropriate records of employees’ sickness absence and Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). You can choose how you keep sickness records, but HMRC may need to see them if there’s a dispute about an employee’s entitlement to SSP.
Health and safety records

You may need to keep records relating to workplace accidents, injuries, occupational diseases and dangerous occurrences. Certain incidents must also be reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

Depending on your business, you may also need or choose to retain other health and safety records, such as risk assessments, health and safety training and workplace assessments. Keeping appropriate records can help demonstrate how you’ve managed workplace risks and met your health and safety responsibilities.

Do all employee records have statutory retention periods?

No. Some employment and payroll records have a specific legal minimum retention period, but there isn’t a statutory retention period that applies to every type of employee record.

Where there isn’t a specific legal requirement, you should decide how long you need to keep the information based on its purpose. For example, you may need records to:

deal with an employment dispute or legal claim
provide information about a former employee
administer an occupational or workplace pension
meet contractual, insurance or regulatory requirements.

However, data protection law means you shouldn’t keep personal information for longer than you need it. You should therefore establish appropriate retention periods for different types of employee information and securely delete or destroy records when they’re no longer required.

It’s useful to have a retention schedule setting out what employee records you hold, why you need them and when they should be reviewed or deleted.

How long do I need to keep employee records?

Record	How long should I keep it?
PAYE records	At least 3 years from the end of the tax year they relate to
National Minimum Wage records	At least 6 years
Annual leave and holiday pay records	At least 6 years from the date the record was made for records covered by the rules applying from 6 April 2026
Working time records	Generally 2 years from the date they were made for records required under the Working Time Regulations
Automatic enrolment pension records	Generally 6 years, although records of employees opting out must generally be kept for 4 years
Reportable accident records under RIDDOR	At least 3 years from the date the record was made

Other records can have different retention requirements. For example, certain health surveillance records may need to be retained for much longer periods. Therefore, check the rules relevant to your industry and the particular records you hold rather than applying one retention period to every employee record.

Useful official sources are HMRC’s PAYE record-keeping guidance, GOV.UK minimum wage guidance for employers and The Pensions Regulator’s automatic enrolment record-keeping guidance.

Are there rules about how employee records should be kept?

Employee records contain personal information, so you must handle them in accordance with UK data protection law, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

You should make sure employee information is:

collected and used for legitimate purposes
accurate and kept up to date where necessary
kept only for as long as it’s needed
protected against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure
accessible only to people who need it for their work.

These requirements apply whether records are stored electronically or on paper. Some employee information, such as health information, is particularly sensitive and requires additional protection.

Employees also have rights over their personal information, including the right to request access to information you hold about them.

Checklist: How can I keep employee records secure?

You’ll need to make sure you have appropriate filing systems in place to keep your records organised and secure. The following checklist provides some area you should consider.

Login to save this checklist to your profile for future use – as you work through the list, any checkboxes that are ticked or unticked will be automatically saved to your profile. (To register to join and enjoy the benefits of membership click on the link at the top right of the page. It will only take a few minutes to create your profile).

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Use passwords to protect electronic files

It is good practice to use passwords on files relating to personal data. This should also include any files being sent by email.

Use different passwords for different files

Avoid using generic, team or departmental passwords. Whilst this may make life easier for team members, it also means that all staff can potentially view everything. Only those who have a legitimate need for access documents and files should have knowledge of any password/s. Remember to create different passwords where appropriate.

Change passwords regularly

It is good practice to change passwords regularly, particularly when people leave the team or company.

Restrict permissions/access to network folders and drives to only those authorised or trained in DPA

You should always make sure that any personal or sensitive data is accessible to only those that need it.

Keep paper files locked up

This is very good practice - this needs to be done to ensure you don’t inadvertently leave any personal or sensitive data lying around.

Avoid copying files to portable hard drives for working on at home

This is not recommended, even if it is password protected. A portable hard drive is easy to steal and usually easy to hack into.

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How long should I keep records relating to my staff for?

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What staff records am I legally required to keep?

PAYE and payroll records

Working time

Annual leave and holiday pay

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Statutory Sick Pay

Health and safety records

Do all employee records have statutory retention periods?

How long do I need to keep employee records?

Are there rules about how employee records should be kept?

Checklist: How can I keep employee records secure?

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Annual leave and holiday pay

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What are you looking for?

How long should I keep records relating to my staff for?

Jump to:

What staff records am I legally required to keep?

PAYE and payroll records

Working time

Annual leave and holiday pay

National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage

Statutory Sick Pay

Health and safety records

Do all employee records have statutory retention periods?

How long do I need to keep employee records?

Are there rules about how employee records should be kept?

Checklist: How can I keep employee records secure?

You must be logged in to use this checklist

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How will GDPR affect my small business?

Annual leave and holiday pay

What rights do employees and employers have?

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