Mondaq Business Briefing -Herbert SmithUnited Kingdom - Part 2 of the Employment Practices Code - Records Management - Now Available.

(From Mondaq.com)

Part 2 of the "Employment Practices Data Protection Code" is now available on the Information Commissioner's website (click here) . The Code is not law, but in assessing whether an employer has complied with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Information Commissioner will have regard to its compliance with the Code.

As with Part 1 (on recruitment and selection), this is a "pre-publication version" - the four parts of the Code will not be formally published until all are complete (expected to be by the end of 2002). The Code covers employees, job applicants, agency workers, casual workers and contract workers (current and former).

Part 2 sets out the recommendations on achieving data protection compliance in relation to employment records. The following areas are included in the guidance.

Collecting and keeping employment records

The emphasis here is on transparency, ensuring workers are made aware of the employer's retention policy and their own rights of access, and on regular checks that employee records held are relevant and accurate.

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