New provisions of the Polish Labour Code will come into force on 1 January 2019 which will reduce the obligatory period of keeping employees’ personnel files. This period is currently 50 years after the termination of the employment relationship, whereas according to the new provisions, it will be reduced to 10 years. However, employers will have to provide the Social Security Institution with more detailed information about the amount of income received by employees to help them determine the amount of their retirement  pension.

The reduction of the obligatory period of keeping personnel files will only be applicable to employees employed after 1 January 2019. As regards employees who were employed before that date, the reduction of the obligatory period to 10 years will only be possible in  limited extent. The provisions distinct two situations:

(i) in the case of employees hired between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2018, the employer will have to submit a special report to the Social Security Institution detailing the amount of remuneration received by the employee during his/her period of employment. Upon submitting the report, the obligatory period of 50 years will be reduced to 10 years, starting from the end of calendar year in which the employer submits the report,

(ii) in the case of employees hired before 31 December 1998, the employer will be obliged to keep their personnel files under the current provisions i.e. for 50 years after the termination of their employment.

The change – together with the possible digitisation of employment-related documents – may be beneficial for employers as it will reduce the costs connected with the long-term storage of paper documents.