Me Elyse Macdonald
As an employer, you will meet many people whom, if you so choose, could become your employees. Throughout the years, situations will arise, which will be recorded in your employees’ files: industrial accidents or occupational diseases, medical examinations, group insurance claims, training, implementation of a retirement plan in your company, payroll register, disciplinary measures (from notices to employment termination), working statement. In short, your employees’ files contain confidential information that you are compelled to preserve.
Here is a listing of some of the delays that must be respected.
If your company offers a retirement plan, the Supplemental Pension Plans Act requires that you preserve on a permanent basis, the information relating to any employee admissible to a retirement annuity.
One day or another, your company will most certainly be faced with industrial accidents or occupational diseases. You should be aware that according to An Act Respecting Industrial Accidents and Occupational Diseases, your employees’ medical files must be preserved for the longest of the two following periods: 20 years following the termination of an employment or 40 years following the beginning of an employment. However, no mandatory delay has been set concerning claims that could be presented in virtue of said law. Nevertheless, it could be wise to preserve these documents permanently, as claims could be presented long after an employee has left your company. In order to better defend your company’s interests in case of litigation, it would be indicated to act likewise for claims relating to An Act Respecting Occupational Health and Safety.
Throughout the duration of your staff’s employment, you will be called upon to put in place training programs, and you will obtain contracts and bills related to such programs. According to article 4 of An Act to promote Workforce skills development and recognition, you must preserve all information concerning these programs for a period of six years following the last year to which this information relates.
As to your tax registers and all pertaining documentation, an Act Respecting the Ministère du Revenu and the Income Tax Act require that they be kept for a period of six years following the last year to which said documents or information relate, or a period of six years following the production of a tax report. Consequently, you must preserve all you tax registers and related documentation for at least seven years.
According to the Employment Insurance Act, you must preserve all employment statements and other documentation pertaining to contributions, deductions and claims, for a period of six years following the end of the fiscal year to which they relate, until a decision is rendered, including the appeal delay for litigation cases in virtue of articles 90 and 91 of said law.
Concerning your payroll registers and all related documentation, article 2 of An Act Respecting Labor Standards, requires that this information be preserved for a mandatory period of three years. However, according to article 66 of An Act Respecting the Quebec Pension Plan, it would be pertinent to keep this information for a period of four years.
Furthermore, one day or another, you will have to terminate one of your employees. Since article 2925 of the Quebec Civil Code provides for a prescription period of three years, it would therefore be appropriate to preserve these employees’ files for a period of three years following the date of termination.
If your company offers a group insurance plan, you should know that the Insurance Act does not provide for any mandatory delay as to the preservation of the information contained in your employees’ files. Nevertheless, we would suggest that you review your group insurance contract to find out if it provides for the duration of such a delay.
Finally, as an employer, you detain personal information that could become the object of a request for access under An Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector. Article 37 of said law mentions that you must preserve all information that could become the object of a request for access or rectification, during a period of time sufficient enough to allow any concerned individual to exhaust all of his legal recourses.
In conclusion, you will note that you must preserve a lot of information and documentation for a long period of time. This is why you should keep your employees’ files for numerous years, even up to 40 years when it comes to your employees’ medical files, and this, for prevention purposes. After all, you cannot foresee the future and, in case of litigation between your company and one of its employees or ex employees, it would be preferable that you have all the information you need at hand.
The present article is not a legal opinion and is published for information purposes only. For more information concerning this subject or any related subject, please do not hesitate to contact the writer or one of our professionals.