Managing Personnel Records - International Records Management ...

individuals are given an explanation for any penalties imposed. A right of appeal
should also be specified.
Disciplinary proceedings may have serious consequences. It is important that from
the outset a full record of the events which resulted in proceedings should be kept. In
many cases, it should be possible to identify failings at an early stage and take
remedial measures, which may include some sort of penalty, including demotion.
Records Issues
A full record of disciplinary proceedings should be kept until there is no possibility of
further appeals. There may be a statutory period of limitation. A record of
disciplinary procedures should be placed on the employee’s personnel file. It should
include a date at which, subject to satisfactory performance, it will be expunged from
the record. If staff are demoted, the relevant central authorities should be informed.
If staff are dismissed, the staff list should be amended and the central authority
informed. There can be cases where pension benefits are forfeited; in such cases the
relevant authorities should be informed.
DISMISSAL
Except in cases of gross misconduct, dismissal is usually a matter of last resort. It
should have been preceded by an ongoing process of warnings on the one hand and
counselling, training and other remedial measures on the other. The record of
disciplinary proceedings should be used for this purpose. The precise nature of what
is meant by gross misconduct should be specified in the personnel manual.
Records Issues
Staff may be dismissed either with full benefits or without any benefits. The
personnel file should contain a record of any entitlements to pension and other
benefits to which dismissed staff are entitled. The record should be maintained until
the normal retirement age, when the pension should start to be paid. The dismissed
officer should be provided with a copy of the record.
Where the officer is dismissed with loss of all benefits, a record of this fact will be
needed to prevent re-employment by the agency (if the organisation’s personnel
policy requires this) or the mistaken payment of benefits to which the individual is not
entitled. Normally the personal file would be kept for a minimum of five years after
dismissal without benefits.
The dismissal should be noted on the personnel file and the file should then be closed.
The file then may be held in either the department responsible for pensions or in the
MANAGING PERSONNEL RECORDS
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