Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

anging from ministries and departments to ‘parastatals’ (or quasi-governmental
bodies), local government bodies, health bodies, educational and cultural institutions
and other types of agencies.
The degree of autonomy enjoyed by different bodies within the public sector for
personnel management may vary considerably between one organisation and another.
Ultimately all are accountable to some degree to central agencies such as the office of
the head of the civil service, the public service commission, the ministry in charge of
the public service and the ministry responsible for finance and the accountant general
(for salaries). Because different agencies may be involved with personnel
management, it is common to find personnel records relating to the same individuals
in many different offices of the government. As a result, it can be difficult to locate
and bring together in one place a full career record for any particular individual.
It is common to find personnel records relating to the same
individuals in many different offices of the government.
The legal framework governing employment will vary from country to country and
will offer different degrees of employment protection to employees. The laws and
regulations governing the public sector may be different from those governing the
private sector. Within the civil service the terms and conditions of employment are
governed by the constitution or by legislation governing the public service
commission. These documents should provide terms of employment at least as
comprehensive and beneficial as a national employment law.
All personnel work should conform to the statutory employment framework within
the country and to any subordinate regulations. For example, many countries have
legislation including an Employment Act, a Trades Union Dispute Act, a Worker’s
Compensation Act and a Public Service Commission Act. The records manager must
be familiar with the provisions of employment legislation as they relate to records
care. In any organisation, personnel officers must be fully aware of the statutory
requirements and other regulations governing conditions of employment. They
should be alert to the implications of changes to employment law. There are
occasions when advice and guidance should be sought from outside the organisation,
for example from the public service commission or the legal department of the civil
service.
Activity 3
Find out what legislation specifically governs personnel management in your
government. (If you are working in the private sector, find out what organisational
policies address personnel issues; also check for legislation that governs how your
organisation manages personnel.) Review the legislation or policies and, for each
separate document, identify what you think its main purpose is and what specific
aspects of personnel management it governs.
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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