SCOPE

1.   This Policy is aimed at regulating the retention, maintenance and disposal of documentation, both personal and other, within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, as provided for in the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and its Subsidiary legislations, and in consonance with the principles of data protection legislation, and other legal provisions in Maltese Law.

BACKGROUND 

2.    The GDPR puts forward the principle that personal data and sensitive personal data should not be retained for periods that are longer than necessary. In this context, the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations will be putting forward a retention policy for all data and documentation that it collects and processes, with the purpose of ensuring compliance to the Regulation and to ensure that no resources are utilised in the processing and archiving of data which is no longer of relevance.

OBJECTIVES

3.       This policy aims to achieve the following objectives:

a. Regulate the retention of and disposal of the various types of documentation whether held in manual or automated filing systems within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, while adhering to the Data Protection principle that personal data should not be retained for a longer period than necessary;

b. Dispose of unnecessary documentation that is no longer relevant and is taking up useful storage space;

c. Promote the digitisation of documentation as may be reasonably possible in order to minimize the use of storage space required to store the required documentation, as well as to promote a sustainable use of paper and printing consumables. 

ADMINISTRATION

4.        Documentation is held and recorded by the Registry and Administration sections within the department. This Policy is therefore applicable to all such documentation. It will be the responsibility of the relevant the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations and its Data Controller to ensure that all provisions of this Policy are adhered to. In the case of any issues with personal data, the final decision rests with the the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations’ Data Protection Controller and Data Protection Officer for endorsement.

DOCUMENTATION HELD WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

5.      As part of its operating requirements the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations, requests, keeps and maintains a wide range of documentation which may include personal data. The various types of documentation utilised by the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations may be categorised as follows:

HR And Administrations:

a.      Personal Data of DIER employees;

b.      Attendance and absence records;

c.      Discipline related Records;

d.      Financial records including payslips, tax and national insurance contributions, procurement documentation, etc.;

e.      Medical records;

f.       Other related records

Collective Agreements:

a.      Details of Employer and Union that negotiated the agreement;

b.      Employment conditions of the Employees  the agreement covers

Employment Agencies:

a.        Personal Data of the competent person;

b.        Details relating to the type of activities of each agency

Employment Status:

a.        Personal Data of the two parties to the exemption request

Posted Workers:

a.        Personal Data of workers being posted;

b.        Conditions of work of these employees (salaries, bonuses and allowances);

c.        Details of posting company and contact person within the company

d.        Duration of posting period;

e.        Other relevant details

Termination Files Cases:

  a.      Cases that are solved at DIER

  b.      Cases that are solved at Court

Inspection Files Cases:

  a.      Cases that are solved at Court

Union Registration:

a.       Personal Data President and Secretary of the Union/Association;

b.       Statutes of the Union/Association;

c.       Other relevant details.

Young Persons:

a.        Personal Data of the young person, guardian and employer;

b.        Employment conditions.

Dossier Files (Company Files)

Affidavit Records

Trade Dispute Files

Industrial Tribunal Files

Fines Permits

Banking of Hours Permits

Trade Unions Verification Files 

Public Contracts Files 

Warnings received by DIER 

Generic Emails

Miscellaneous Files – Inspectorate and Termination Files

SECURITY OF DOCUMENTATION

 6.    Documentation is maintained in an accessible but secure location with adequate access provided to officials who have the clearance level to access the relevant documentation. In the case of documents with sensitive personal data with higher clearance levels, access control protocols are fully adhered to, to ensure that only those that have the required security clearance can access to such documentation.

 7.      In the case of personal data, the GDPR also stipulates that only those required to process personal data should have access to personal records.

 8.    Personnel who are found to be in breach of these security protocols, and thus in breach of the GDPR, will be subject to disciplinary action.

MANUAL VS ELECTRONIC RECORDS

9.   In terms of retention periods, it needs to be pointed out that the same retention period will apply for            both electronic and manual data.

EXEMPTIONS

–      Registration of Trade Unions – chapter 452 legislation

–       Employment Agency – S.L 343.24

RETENTION PERIOD

10.    Retention of different categories of documents is governed by different requirements and different legislation and regulations. The following schedule outlines the retention requirements for the various categories of documentation within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations.

CONCLUSION

This retention policy aims to achieve a good working balance between the retention of useful and meaningful information in line with the provisions of the relevant legislation and the disposal of data which is no longer required and is being archived unnecessarily. Data that needs to be destroyed after the noted timeframes will be disposed of in an efficient manner to ensure that such information will no longer be available within the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations. Data Protection Controllers, Heads, and DPOs are aware of the noted retention periods and will instruct all relevant personnel to follow the indicated procedures accordingly.

It is to be noted that anonymised or statistical data do not fall within the parameters of this Retention Policy, since they do not constitute identifying personal data.