HR Solutions - Perfect Personnel Files

When it comes to HR Solutions, filing usually isn’t a favorite occupation. However, making sure you get your personnel files in order ensures you have all the relevant personnel information you need and improves your ability to find it should you be called upon to produce it.

Safeguard the Information

It should go without saying, but anything containing the personal information of your employees (and your customers for that matter) should be safeguarded at all times. You should also remember that any files containing any level of personal information should always be kept under lock and key, and you should limit who has access to them.

What Goes in the File?

            There are some hard and fast rules about what goes into your personnel files, and what doesn’t.  To avoid confusion, here’s what should be in a personnel file:

·         Employee resume

·         Complete and signed application form

·         Background check consent form

·         Background check results

·         Reference check records

·         Copy of the employee's new-hire letter of confirmation of employment stating position, hire date, rate of pay and other legal language

·         Federal and state W-4 forms (once processed, keep all copies)

·         Direct deposit authorization form

·         Copy of the employee’s orientation schedule outlining training

·         A copy of the relevant job description, preferably signed by the employee

·         A record of any assets deployed to the employee, preferably signed by the employee

·         Emergency contact form (staple to the inside front of the folder for easy access in the event of an emergency)

·         Any personal information or payroll change forms. Make sure employees sign off on some record when you make changes to payroll. These should be kept in the personnel file unless you maintain a payroll folder for each payroll.

·         The various employee handbook acknowledgments. At a minimum, an overall handbook acknowledgement. Preferably, also have signed copies of your harassment policy, computer use policy, confidentiality policy and drug screening policy, if you have one.

·         Any internal memos regarding the employee, including promotions, transfers and any special arrangements you have made with the employee.

·         Any disciplinary notes

·         Any progressive discipline documents

·         Payroll change confirmations

·         Resignation letters

·         Termination notes

What Doesn’t Belong in the File?

Here’s where most business owners fall short—not everything goes into the personnel file. It’s important that medical information and I-9 information is separated. Follow these guidelines:

·         Keep I-9 verification forms in a separate binder. I-9 information should be filled out on an employee’s first day. Not only should you document the information on the form, but also make copies of the identification provided as verification.

·         Store any medical information, such as benefit enrollments, doctors' notes, workers' compensation information—anything containing personal health information—in a separate "employee medical information" file.

·         Use a different color folder for your medical files, and file them next to the employee's personnel file or alphabetically in a separate file cabinet under lock and key.

·         Keep payroll binders together, by pay date, with the back-up documentation or reporting of all changes made per pay. Document changes outside of routine W-4 changes with something signed by the employee.

Check Your Records

If you’re unsure whether you have all the information you need on each employee, maybe it’s time for a file audit. You may be surprised to find you don’t have important information when you go through this exercise.

Also, make sure you have an actual process in place when you hire someone. Even a simple checklist will ensure that you collect all of the information you need to legally hire someone into your organization. From new hire to departure and all the steps in between, make sure there’s a record of anything relevant to each individual employee. Doing so will ensure you hire legally and can produce necessary information when called upon to do so.