Personnel files, payslips and P60s: the minimum retention periods, and what to do if your old employer claims the paperwork is lost.

How long must your employer keep your staff records

Updated 6 October 2026

<p>Your personnel file is the paper trail that proves what hours you worked, what was promised in your contract, and why you were let go. Under UK law your employer is not allowed to shred it the moment you leave. The 2026 rules for keeping payslips, P60s, working time records, right to work checks and accident books each set their own minimum periods, and the time you have to chase missing paperwork through a tribunal now starts on a different date following the autumn 2026 changes to the tribunal time limit.</p>

Why the retention rules matter from October 2026

From 1 October 2026 the deadline for most employment tribunal claims is six months from the act complained of, with a separate three month window to bring the claim after early conciliation ends. That is a shorter overall window than the previous three months plus two months structure, and it makes the quality of your paper trail more important than ever. If your employer throws away the records you need, HMRC, Acas, your pension provider, and a witness statement from a former colleague can fill some of the gaps.

Payslips, P60, P45 and other payroll records: 3 years at minimum

HMRC requires employers to keep payroll records for at least 3 years from the end of the relevant tax year. That covers pay slips, PAYE records, P60s, P45s, P11Ds, details of tips and service charge allocations, statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay records, and any amounts deducted from wages including student loan repayments. The 3 year clock runs from the end of the tax year in which the payment was made, so a payslip paid in March 2024 must be kept by the employer until at least 5 April 2027.

This matters for two common claim types. For an unlawful deduction of wages claim the time limit runs from the date the deduction was made, not the date the payslip was issued, so old payslips are the cleanest evidence. For a Working Time Regulations claim the same 3 year records back up your average weekly hours for the holiday pay reference period. Ask your employer in writing, then ask HMRC for a copy of the RTI submission if the employer claims the file is gone.

Working time, hours and holiday pay records: 6 years

Working time records, including daily working hours, rest breaks, night work limits and annual leave taken, should be kept by the employer for at least 6 years from the date they were created. The Working Time Regulations do not state a single retention period, but the Limitation Act 1980 sets a 6 year window for claims founded on breach of contract or unlawful deduction of wages, so prudent employers keep the underlying records for the same period.

In practice that means rosters, clocking in data, timesheets, the records used to calculate your holiday pay reference period, and the records that prove how your employer complied with the new tipping code consultation that closed on 29 September 2026 should all still be on file when you leave. If the employer says they were deleted to free up storage, that is not a defence to a failure to provide records under regulation 13 of the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Contracts, written statements and offer letters: 6 years for everyone

Your written contract of employment, the statement of employment particulars, offer letters, change of terms letters, and any signed variations, including those issued under a fire and rehire process, should be kept for at least 6 years after employment ends. Six years is the standard contract retention period under the Limitation Act 1980 and matches what most HR software licences are configured to retain by default.

From October 2026 the statement of employment particulars becomes a day one right, and a failure to provide it on day one is itself a breach you can take to a tribunal. If the statement was never issued, ask the employer for a copy in writing, and if they refuse, use Acas early conciliation to record the refusal. The statement can then be reconstructed from the offer letter, the staff handbook, and your payslips.

Right to work, immigration and DBS records: 2 years after the check

Right to work checks, including passport copies, share code evidence, and the online profile printout from 1 October 2026, must be kept by the employer for the duration of employment and for 2 years afterwards. DBS check certificates should not be retained long term at all, because the Code of Practice requires the certificate itself to be returned or destroyed within 6 months of the check being completed, and the employer's record of the check should still sit on file.

Where an employer has scanned and stored your passport or birth certificate, they must delete it once the 2 year period ends, unless the document is being held for a separate statutory purpose such as an internal grievance or active tribunal claim. You have a right under UK GDPR to ask the employer to stop retaining that biometric or identity data once the purpose has ended.

Accident books and RIDDOR reports: 3 years from the incident

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 require employers to keep accident records for at least 3 years from the date the entry was made. The Health and Safety Executive recommends keeping the file for the same period as other civil claims, which in practice is 6 years. Where the accident involved a member of the public or a notifiable disease, the record should be kept for longer.

From 30 October 2026 a new protection from third party harassment will apply, and the employer's log of customer or client incidents is likely to be the first thing a tribunal asks for. If the accident book was lost, the RIDDOR report sent to the HSE is a substitute, and the HSE keeps its own copy of the F2508 form for 3 years.

What to do in the meantime

Three practical steps if you are chasing old records, starting today.

1. Write to your old employer in writing, asking for copies of your personnel file, the last 3 years of payslips, your P60, and your written statement. Allow 30 days for a response.
2. If they refuse, raise a subject access request under UK GDPR. The clock for SAR responses is one month, and the maximum statutory fee is currently 0.
3. While you wait, ask HMRC for a copy of the RTI submissions for the years you worked there, ask your pension provider for the contribution history, and ask Acas to start early conciliation so the tribunal clock does not run out under the new six month deadline.

Most importantly, do not assume that a missing file means you have no claim. The new six month time limit that runs from October 2026 starts from the act complained of, not the date you found the evidence, so the longer you wait to ask, the harder the case is to bring.