Electronic employee files in Poland – how to keep them

Keeping employee files in electronic form became a real option for Polish businesses at the beginning of 2019. The changes introduced by the Act of 10 January 2018 amending certain acts in connection with shortening the retention period for employee files and their electronisation are revolutionising the way HR records are managed. Employers can now choose between the traditional paper form and a modern digital version, which makes human resources management much easier in the digital age. We can keep personnel files, contracts and payroll on a company’s behalf as part of our payroll outsourcing service.

The option of keeping files electronically responds to the needs of modern businesses, which increasingly operate in a digital environment. Alongside these changes, new personal data protection rules apply under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, known as the GDPR (RODO in Polish). These rules impose additional requirements on the security and protection of employee data.

The legal basis for keeping electronic files

The legal basis for keeping employee files in electronic form is Article 94 point 9a of the Labour Code, which obliges the employer to keep and store, on paper or electronically, documentation on matters related to the employment relationship and employees' personal files. This provision gives employers full freedom to choose the form of records, which makes human resources management considerably easier.

The GDPR, which applies in parallel, imposes additional obligations on employers related to protecting the personal data contained in employee files. Electronic records must be adequately protected against unauthorised access, accidental loss or destruction. These requirements concern both the technical aspects of storage and the organisational procedures for access to documents.

In its reply of 8 August 2018 to parliamentary question no. 7753, the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy confirmed that there is nothing to prevent an employer from keeping documents partly in electronic and partly in paper form. This flexibility allows a gradual move to digital records without having to change the whole system at once.

The structure of employees' personal files

Employees' personal files consist of five separate parts, each with a specific purpose and containing specific types of documents. This system makes records easier to manage and keeps files transparent regardless of the form chosen.

Part A contains documents related to applying for employment by the person who was hired. It covers statements or documents concerning personal data collected in connection with applying for employment, as well as referrals for medical examinations and medical certificates relating to pre-employment, periodic and follow-up examinations (§ 3 point 1 of the regulation on employee records, consolidated text Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026, item 474). This section will include, for example, a personal questionnaire, a CV or documents confirming education and qualifications.

Part B gathers documents related to the course of the employee's employment. It is the most extensive section of the file and contains employment contracts, annexes, employment certificates (świadectwa pracy) from previous jobs, documents related to promotions, changes of position, training and all other materials created while the employment relationship lasts.

Part D is where documents related to the employee's disciplinary liability or liability set out in other provisions are stored. This section gathers documents concerning disciplinary penalties, disciplinary proceedings and other forms of employee liability.

Part E is intended for documents related to checking the employee's sobriety or testing for substances that act similarly to alcohol. This section contains records of the checks carried out, test results and other documents related to this area.

Technical requirements for electronic files

Keeping employee files electronically requires meeting certain technical requirements that ensure the authenticity, integrity and legal validity of documents (§ 9–12 of the regulation). The key element is having a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal – they are required when changing the form of records from paper to electronic and when adding digital copies of paper documents to electronic files (Article 94⁸ § 2 of the Labour Code, § 11 of the regulation). They confirm the identity of the person signing the document and ensure that it cannot be altered.

A qualified electronic signature must be issued by a qualified trust service provider entered in the register and on the trusted list for which the minister responsible for computerisation is responsible (Article 2 of the Act on trust services and electronic identification). Such a signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature and is essential to give electronic documents full legal credibility. Alternatively, a qualified electronic seal can be used, which plays a similar role for an organisation.

The electronic document storage system must ensure the confidentiality of documents in line with the GDPR. This means implementing appropriate technical and organisational safeguards that prevent unauthorised persons from accessing employees' personal data.

Documents must be stored in a complete form that ensures the integrity of the files throughout their retention period. The system must not allow unauthorised changes to documents, and all modifications must be recorded and traceable. In addition, documents must be available to authorised persons whenever necessary.

Digitising paper files

Changing the way files are kept from paper to electronic requires a specific digitisation procedure, which is regulated in detail in the Labour Code. The process consists of several stages that must be carried out in line with legal requirements to ensure the full legal validity of the electronic documents.

The first stage is making a digital copy of the paper documents, usually a scan of appropriate quality. Scanning must preserve all details of the document so that the digital copy is legible and complete. The quality of the scan should make it possible to identify all elements of the original document, including signatures, stamps and other markings.

The key element of digitisation is signing the digital version of the files with a qualified electronic signature or a qualified electronic seal. This signature confirms that the digital copy matches the paper document and gives it full legal effect. The signature may be applied by the employer or a person authorised by it for this purpose.

1. Preparing the paper documents for scanning
2. Scanning with high-quality reproduction
3. Checking the completeness and legibility of the resulting digital files
4. Signing the electronic documents with a qualified signature
5. Creating backups of the digitised documents
6. Implementing an electronic document management system

The employer must inform employees, in the manner customary at that employer, about the change in the form in which their records are kept and about the option of collecting the previous paper form within 30 days of receiving this information; it notifies former employees on paper or electronically (Article 94⁹ of the Labour Code). The employer may destroy the previous form of the records if it is not collected (Article 94¹⁰).

Switching from electronic to paper form

The law also allows files to be switched from electronic to paper form, which may be necessary in certain organisational or technical situations. This process is much simpler than digitisation and requires less complicated technical procedures.

The switch from electronic to paper form is made by printing the documents stored in digital form. The printout must be complete and legible and contain all elements of the electronic document. The print quality should make it possible to identify all details of the original digital document.

The key element of this process is signing the printout by the employer or a person authorised by it. This signature confirms that the printout matches the electronic document and gives it full legal effect in paper form. Unlike digitisation, a qualified electronic signature is not required in this case.

As with digitisation, the employer must inform employees about the change in the form in which records are kept and about the option of collecting the previous, electronic form within 30 days (Article 94⁹ of the Labour Code). The information should be provided in a way that reaches all employees.

Retention period for employee files

One of the most important changes introduced by the 2018 Act was shortening the retention period for employee files from the previous 50 years to 10 years. This applies to employment relationships established from 1 January 2019; for those employed in 1999–2018 the period is shortened to 10 years only after the ZUS RIA information report is filed with ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), and for those employed before 1999 it is still 50 years (Article 7 of the Act of 10 January 2018). This change makes HR records much easier to manage and reduces the costs of long-term document storage.

The 10-year period is counted from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship was terminated or expired. This means that if an employment relationship established after 31 December 2018 ended in 2024, the employee files must be kept until the end of 2034 (Article 94 point 9b of the Labour Code). This change makes life much easier for employers, who previously had to keep records for half a century. What to do with the files when the same person returns to the company is covered in our article on continuation of personnel files when rehiring an employee.

The new rules also provide for special situations in which the retention period may be extended. If the stored employee records may constitute evidence in proceedings and the employer is a party to those proceedings, the documents must be kept until the case is finally concluded, but no shorter than the standard 10 years (Article 94⁴ point 1 of the Labour Code).

If the employer is not directly a party to the proceedings but has received information that an action has been brought or proceedings initiated, the retention period is extended by 12 months. After this additional period, the employer must notify the former employee that the files may be collected within 30 days of receiving the notice and that they will be destroyed if not collected.

Procedure for destroying employee files

Once the required retention period for employee files has expired, the employer has specific obligations related to their final destruction. The procedure is regulated in detail and requires compliance with specific deadlines and ways of informing employees.

Under the amended Article 94(6) of the Labour Code, when the employment relationship is terminated or expires, the employer must issue, together with the employment certificate, a document containing detailed information on what will happen to the employee files. How long they must be kept depends on the date of hiring — details in our guide to employee records retention periods.

This document must contain information on the retention period for the employee records, the employee's option to collect the records until the end of the calendar month following the end of the retention period, and the destruction of the records if they are not collected by the entitled person.

• The employer issues information on the retention period and the collection deadline together with the employment certificate (Article 94⁶ of the Labour Code)
• Information and notices are delivered against acknowledgement of receipt – in person, by a postal operator, by an authorised person or electronically with confirmation of delivery (§ 15 of the regulation)
• A notice with a 30-day collection period applies to an extension due to proceedings (Article 94⁴ point 2) and to a change in the form of records (Article 94⁹)
• Paper records are collected in person against a receipt, and electronic records – on a data carrier or electronically after the recipient has been unambiguously identified (§ 16 of the regulation)

After the collection period (until the end of the calendar month following the end of the retention period), the employer has up to 12 months to destroy the documents and may still hand them over to the former employee until then (Article 94⁷ of the Labour Code). Destruction must be carried out in a way that makes it impossible to reconstruct the personal data contained in the files, which is particularly important for protecting former employees' privacy.

If an employee dies, the right to collect the documents passes to family members specified by law. The entitled persons are the employee's own children, the other spouse's children and adopted children, grandchildren, siblings and other children taken into care and maintenance before reaching the age of majority (excluding children in foster families or family children's homes), the deceased employee's spouse and parents, including stepfather, stepmother and adoptive parents (Article 94⁹ § 3 of the Labour Code).

Security and data protection in electronic files

Keeping employee files electronically requires particular attention to security and personal data protection in line with the GDPR. Employers must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure the security of the data processed throughout its retention period.

The electronic file management system must have access control mechanisms that allow only authorised persons to access documents. Every login to the system should be recorded and access logs kept for an appropriate period. In addition, the system must allow different levels of permissions to be granted depending on the user's role in the organisation.

A manufacturing company employing 200 people decided to switch to electronic employee files. It implemented a system with two-factor authentication, data encryption and automatic backups. As a result, the time needed to access documents fell from several hours to a few minutes, and storage costs dropped noticeably.

A key element of security is encrypting data both in storage and in transit. Electronic documents should be stored in encrypted form, and access to them should be possible only after entering the appropriate encryption keys. Data transmission between the various elements of the system must also use secure communication protocols.

Regular backups of electronic files, stored in a safe place separately from the main system, are also essential. Backups should be tested to make sure data can be restored, and document recovery procedures must be regularly checked and updated.

Benefits of electronic employee files

Switching to electronic employee files brings businesses many operational, financial and organisational benefits. The most important advantage is a significant acceleration of HR record management processes and lower costs of physically storing paper documents.

Electronic files allow specific documents or information to be found instantly, without physically searching paper archives. Electronic systems allow searches by various criteria, such as the employee's surname, period of employment, type of document or keywords in the content.

Significant savings come from eliminating the costs of buying office supplies, printing documents, physically storing them and transporting them. Businesses can give up renting additional storage space for archiving files or significantly reduce it.

• Instant access to documents from anywhere at any time
• Several people can view files at the same time
• Automatic backups protecting against loss
• Easier management of access rights to specific documents
• Lower risk of documents being destroyed by external factors
• Easier monitoring of retention periods and automatic reminders

Electronic files also make it much easier to comply with the GDPR, particularly when it comes to exercising the rights of data subjects. Electronic systems can automatically generate reports on the data processed, make it easier to exercise the right to data portability or automatically delete documents once the required retention period has expired.

Frequently asked questions