Working Life > Company > Personell File

Personnel File: Content and Rights

By law, employers are not forced to keep personnel files, and there are no rules regarding form and content. Usually, however, employers keep one file per employee in which any paper related to the employment is stored. These are applications, certificates, results of candidate selections and assessments, evaluations, promotions, educational records, medical reports, reports of disciplinary procedures, “Abmahnungen”, employment contract, notes on attachments of wage/salary, data about insurances like health insurance and pension insurance, sick notes. The rights of the employee concerning the personnel file are based on the employer's individual duty to protect and to respect the employee's person.

Electronic, digital personnel files are common nowadays, where employees' data is stored in a data base.

• View your personnel file regularly. You are entitled to this without naming reasons. The employer is entitled to constrain viewing to certain hours
• As a support, you can have a works council member join you
• Viewing must be done in the presence of someone who works in the personnel department
• Do not take anything out of the file
• Make notes. It is controversial in how far you may photocopy things
• Apart from you, the only persons who are allowed to view the file are the company owner, the executive head and your immediate boss. Especially health-state data must not be passed on to anyone. If this right is violated, damages are claimed and compensation must be paid
• Add explanations and second perspectives to the file
• Demand removing of descriptions that are incorrect or not allowed. Insist on replacement with correct papers
• After the quitting of an employee, the personnel file has to be kept. Thus, later, certificates can be sent on demand
• The file must be maintained and kept with utmost care and kept confidential
• For making a whole copy, the employee and, if existing, the works council must approve. The out-placing of parts of the file is allowed only with the specification of the other place in the file and the out-placement is necessary for imperative organizational reasons
• Adding of something is allowed, also to inform the employee about it
• After your quitting the employment relation, get the documents like certificates, social insurance statement, income tax card. Culpable late handing out of the documents leads to the employee's entitlement to claim damages against the employer
• Do not reveal to your boss your political attitude, religion, ideas of having children, pregnancy, change of job, job interviews