Documenting every event connected with the start, course and end of the employment relationship is a fundamental employer obligation under Polish labour law. Keeping employee records properly not only shows that the employer is meeting its obligations, but also allows the employee to exercise their rights, especially when their length of service is established for pension purposes. A particularly important issue is the rule of continuing employee records when the same employee is rehired.
Structure of the personnel file and employee records
The personnel file (akta osobowe) is the most important element of employee records, kept separately for each employee. Under the Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy of 10 December 2018 on employee documentation (consolidated text: Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026, item 474), the personnel file consists of five separate parts, each with a specific role in documenting the employment relationship.
A personnel file must be kept separately for each employee and consists of five parts marked with the letters A to E. Each part contains a list of the documents it holds, which must be numbered and kept in chronological order in line with the regulation
Part A of the personnel file covers statements or documents concerning personal data gathered in connection with applying for the job. It also holds referrals for medical examinations and medical certificates relating to pre-employment, periodic and follow-up medical examinations. This part of the records is basic in nature and contains the information needed to establish the employment relationship.
Part B focuses on documents relating to establishing the employment relationship and the course of the employee's employment. It includes, among other things, the employment contract, the employee's scope of duties and documents confirming completion of the required occupational health and safety training. It also contains documents on entrusting property to the employee with an obligation to return it or account for it, documents relating to the employee accepting joint financial liability for entrusted property, and documents relating to the employee improving their professional qualifications.
Part C of the personnel file holds all documents relating to the termination or expiry of the employment relationship. It contains statements relating to termination of the employment contract, requests to issue, correct or supplement the employment certificate (świadectwo pracy), a copy of the employment certificate issued and any non-compete agreement for the period after the employment ends
Part D contains a copy of the penalty notice and other documents relating to the employee's disciplinary (order) liability or liability under separate provisions that provide for a penalty to be expunged after a certain time. This part of the records is particularly important for assessing the employee's conduct during employment.
Part E is for documents relating to sobriety checks or checks for the presence in the body of substances acting similarly to alcohol. Employers must place here all documents relating to such checks carried out at the workplace.
Additional records on matters related to the employment relationship
In addition to personnel files, the employer must keep additional records on matters related to the employment relationship, also separately for each employee. The scope of these records is set out in § 6 of the regulation and covers four main categories of documents. How long all of this must then be kept is explained in our article on employee records retention periods.
- Documents on working time records
- Documents relating to applying for and using annual leave
- The pay card or pay list of wages paid and other work-related benefits
- The card recording the issue of work clothing and footwear and personal protective equipment
Records on matters related to the employment relationship also include the employee's request to be paid wages in cash and documents relating to cash allowances for using one's own clothing and footwear and for washing and maintaining them
These additional records are operational in nature and are used for day-to-day management of the employment relationship. Keeping them properly is essential to show that the employer complies with all labour law obligations, especially on working time, pay and workplace safety. We can keep personnel files and working-time and pay records on the employer's behalf – that is what our payroll outsourcing covers.
Employer obligations for employee records
Keeping and storing records on matters related to the employment relationship and employees' personnel files is a basic employer obligation under Article 94 points 9a and 9b of the Labour Code (Kodeks pracy). The records may be kept on paper or electronically, and the choice of form is up to the employer.
| Type of records | Retention period | When the period starts | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel files | 10 years | End of the calendar year in which employment ended | Article 94 point 9b of the Labour Code |
| Records on matters related to the employment relationship | 10 years | End of the calendar year in which employment ended | Article 94 point 9b of the Labour Code |
| Records of employment relationships established before 2019 | 50 years (10 years after the ZUS RIA report is filed) | Day the employee stopped working (with the report: end of the year it was filed) | Article 7(2)–(3) of the Act of 10.01.2018 |
Employee records should be kept in a way that preserves their confidentiality, integrity, completeness and availability. Storage conditions must rule out the risk of the documents being damaged or destroyed throughout the required period
The employer must ensure appropriate storage conditions that do not put the records at risk of damage or destruction. This applies to both paper and electronic records. For electronic records, regular backups and protection against data loss are particularly important.
The retention period is 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the employment relationship was terminated or expired. However, a longer retention period may apply if separate legal provisions require it.
The rule of continuing employee records – basic principles
The rule of continuing employee records was introduced from 1 January 2019 in Article 94⁵ of the Labour Code and applies when an employment relationship is established again with the same employee. The key element of this rule is the time frame in which it can apply.
The rule of continuing employee records applies when an employment relationship is established again with the same employee within the retention period under Article 94 point 9b of the Labour Code, i.e. before 10 years have passed from the end of the calendar year in which the previous employment relationship was terminated or expired (Article 94⁵ § 1 of the Labour Code)
Applying the continuation rule means that the employer does not open a new personnel file for the rehired employee but continues the existing employee records – this is an obligation, not a choice. It has significant practical consequences for both the employer and the employee.
Where the continuation rule applies, the retention period for employee records runs from the end of the calendar year in which the last employment relationship to end was terminated or expired (Article 94⁵ § 2 of the Labour Code). This means that if the employee was employed several times, the retention period starts only after the last of those employment relationships ends.
Practical aspects of continuing the records
The obligation to continue employee records involves a number of practical steps the employer must take. It is not just a formal extension of the file but a comprehensive process of managing employee records.
A manufacturing company employed a worker in 2020-2022 and then again in 2024. Because the rehiring took place before the end of the retention period for the records of the previous employment (10 years from the end of 2022, i.e. until the end of 2032), the employer must continue the existing employee records, adding new documents to the existing personnel file and keeping the numbering continuous.
Continuing the records mainly means that the employer uses the records collected in connection with the employee's previous employment relationship or relationships. As a rule, there is no need to ask the employee to provide again documents that are already in the personnel file, as long as they are still up to date – the employer requires data only to the extent necessary (Article 22¹ of the Labour Code). Where a further contract is concluded within 7 days of the previous one ending, the employment certificate is issued only at the employee's request (Article 97 § 1¹ of the Labour Code), and initial OHS (BHP) training is not required when the employee returns to the same position immediately after the previous contract (Article 237³ § 2 of the Labour Code).
Another important element of continuation is adding new documents to the file as needed, without having to obtain documents collected earlier. This applies especially to Part A documents, which in most cases remain up to date for a long time.
Continuing employee records requires the numbering of the records to remain continuous. New documents receive the next numbers, continuing the numbering from the previous period of employment, which keeps the records consistent and in chronological order
Keeping the numbering of employee records continuous is a key element of correct continuation. It means that documents relating to the new employment relationship receive the next numbers, continuing the numbering from the previous period of employment. This keeps the records consistent and makes them easier to use later.
When the continuation rule does not apply
There are specific situations in which the rule of continuing employee records does not apply, which means a new set of records must be opened for the rehired employee. The most important of these is the expiry of the 10-year retention period for the records, counted from the end of the calendar year in which the previous employment relationship ended.
Hiring the employee after this 10-year period has expired means a new set of employee records must be opened. In that case, the employer treats the employee as a new hire and opens a completely new personnel file and new records on matters related to the employment relationship. The new file can be kept electronically from the outset – the rules are set out in electronic employee files.
As a rule, the rule of continuing employee records does not apply to employment relationships established before 1 January 2019. This means that where the previous employment relationship was established before that date, the employer must open new employee records – unless the previous employment relationship was still ongoing on 1 January 2019 and the ZUS RIA information report was filed for the employee (Article 9 of the Act of 10 January 2018, Dz.U. 2018, item 357)
A particularly important limitation on the continuation rule is the date of 1 January 2019. If the previous employment relationship was established before that date, the continuation rule does not apply (except as described above), even if the break in employment did not exceed 10 years.
The need to open new employee records when an employee is rehired after 1 January 2019 and the previous employment relationship was established before that date results from the different retention periods. The personnel file for the first employment relationship must be kept for 50 years (from the day the employee stopped working), while that for the second must be kept for 10 years.
Practical examples
Understanding the rules on continuing employee records requires looking at specific examples that show different rehiring scenarios and their consequences for keeping employee records.
- Employee employed from January 2020 to December 2021
- Rehired in March 2024 by the same employer
- The break in employment is about 2 years and 3 months
- The continuation rule applies – the employer continues the existing records
- The retention period runs from the end of the calendar year in which the second employment relationship ends
An employee terminated his employment contract on 30 June 2018 and concluded another employment contract with the same employer on 1 February 2025. Although no more than 10 years passed between the end of the previous employment relationship and the start of the next one, the rule of continuing employee records does not apply, because only the second of these employment relationships was established after 1 January 2019.
Another important case is where employment relationships were established between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2018 and an information report has been filed for them under the Social Insurance System Act. In such cases, the rule of continuing employee records applies if the previous employment relationship was still ongoing on 1 January 2019 and the information report was filed for the employee (Article 9 of the Act of 10 January 2018).
Filing information reports for insured employees shortens the retention period for their records on matters related to the employment relationship and their personnel files to 10 years from the end of the calendar year in which the information report was filed
Challenges of different retention periods
The introduction of new retention periods for employee records from 1 January 2019 has made documenting employment considerably more complicated where the same employer rehires an employee. Employers now have to take account of different retention periods depending on when each employment relationship was established.
In practice, this means that employee records can be continued only where the same 10-year retention period applies to the records of both the earlier and the later employment relationship (Article 94⁵ of the Labour Code and Articles 7 and 9 of the Act of 10 January 2018). Different retention periods rule out the continuation rule.
| When the first employment relationship was established | When the second employment relationship was established | Retention period | Continuation of records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1.01.2019 | From 1.01.2019 | 50 years / 10 years | No |
| From 1.01.2019 | From 1.01.2019 | 10 years / 10 years | Yes (before 10 years from the end of the year the previous one ended) |
| 1999-2018 with a report (employment ongoing on 1.01.2019) | From 1.01.2019 | 10 years / 10 years | Yes (before the retention period expires) |
Employers must check particularly carefully the dates on which each employment relationship was established and whether the relevant information reports have been filed. Whether the rule of continuing employee records can be applied depends on these factors
Managing employee records in practice where different retention periods apply requires employers to keep detailed records of the start and end dates of each employment relationship. Only then can they correctly determine whether the continuation rule applies in a given case.
Opening a new set of records
Where the rule of continuing employee records does not apply, the employer must open new records for the rehired employee. This involves a practical problem of completing the documents in Part A of the personnel file.
Documents collected in Part A of the personnel file opened for the earlier employment relationship in most cases remain up to date. This applies especially to documents confirming education, professional qualifications or other permanent characteristics of the employee. For this reason, asking the employee to hand these documents over to the employer again does not seem necessary or justified.
The employer may copy the Part A documents it already holds from the personnel file for the earlier employment relationship and add these copies to Part A of the new personnel file. This is a practical solution and does not burden the employee with having to provide the documents again
Copying documents from the previous personnel file to the newly opened file is a practical solution that the rules do not prohibit, and at the same time it does not burden the employee with unnecessary paperwork. However, the employer should make sure that the copied documents are still up to date and do not need updating.
When opening new employee records, the employer must also remember to label and number the documents correctly. The new records start from number one, regardless of the numbering used in the employee's previous personnel file.
