Company has lost part of my personnel file

[evansto]

Hi all, my first post.

Hope you can help.

I have requested a copy of my personnel file from my HR department and they want to charge me £10 to see it! thats one issue, but my main issue is that i have worked for the company since 1995 and i don't believe that they have all my records, can i and should i pursue this. are they in breech of Data Protection Act?

Thanks in advance

Tom

[Sidewinder]

What you have asked for is a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act, and the company are perfectly entitled to charge £10 for providing this information - £10 in fact is the maximum fee that they can request, but whilst this may seem a little excessive, particularly for an employer, it really depends on the size of the organisation and the storage and retrieval processes required to comply with your request. It isn't as straightforward as just pulling a file from a drawer though, as somebody also has to check that each document does not identify other data subjects (colleagues etc) as this may in turn infringe their rights under the Data Protection Act. Consequently you may find that some documents are missing, incomplete or have parts blanked out due to this.

You say that you believe parts are missing anyway - how so? You will be entitled to challenge what you are sent, but bear in mind that the Data Protection Act only entitles you to information stored in a relevant filing system, ie one which can be searched by name or number to return specific information. You may not for example receive copies of every e mail sent which has your name on it - it depends on the method of storage. For the same reason, other older items may have been archived in such a manner that they fall outside of the provisions of the DPA - don't forget that your employment pre-dates the DPA, and even if any missing information is more recent, the employer need only store it for as long as it deems neccessary, and providing that destruction was handled appropriately they would be compliant with the Act.

Top and bottom is that yes they can charge you, and no you can't pursue them under teh Data Protection Act for missing information unless you have evidence to suggest that they have disposed of it recklessly or have passed it to another party without your permission.

[evansto]

Thank you so much for the response.

with regards to your question "You say that you believe parts are missing anyway - how so?" I started work at "F*J***U" in 1995 and before HR we had a personel dept. it was a shambles and when we moved i know that all the files for the people in the building were left behind.

You say that "the employer need only store it for as long as it deems neccessary, and providing that destruction was handled appropriately they would be compliant with the Act." would changes to my original cotract and a copy of the orignal contract be allowed to be disposed of?

Thanks again

Tom

[Sidewinder]

Originally Posted by evansto

Thank you so much for the response.

with regards to your question "You say that you believe parts are missing anyway - how so?" I started work at "F*J***U" in 1995 and before HR we had a personel dept. it was a shambles and when we moved i know that all the files for the people in the building were left behind.

You say that "the employer need only store it for as long as it deems neccessary, and providing that destruction was handled appropriately they would be compliant with the Act." would changes to my original cotract and a copy of the orignal contract be allowed to be disposed of?

Thanks again

Tom

No - I would say that any paperwork relating to contracts of employment go right to the heart of the relationship between employer and employee and should be kept for the requisite period after you leave their employ. For one thing any length of service calculation will be based on your original contract, and you may have contractual rights or benefits enshrined within the original or subsequent agreements. That being the case then your request for a S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) may well be appropriate - £10 is the maximum fee they can ask for and they have 40 days to provide you with what you have asked for.

[evansto]

thank you again for your assistance