The short answer
For most staff employment records, schools commonly keep them for six years after a member of staff leaves. That figure comes from the limitation period for bringing a contract claim under the Limitation Act 1980, so it is the window in which most disputes could realistically arise.
But six years is not a universal rule. Payroll, leave, recruitment, right to work and safeguarding records all have their own periods, some shorter and some much longer. The most widely used reference for schools is the Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) toolkit for schools, which sets out a detailed retention schedule. Your own retention policy and data protection officer should always be your final word.
Why retention matters under UK GDPR
UK GDPR includes a principle called storage limitation. In plain terms, you should not keep personal data for longer than you actually need it for the purpose you collected it. Holding old staff records indefinitely, just in case, is not compliant, and it increases your risk if there is ever a data breach.
At the same time, you must keep some records for set minimum periods to meet legal and tax obligations. Good retention is therefore a balance: keep what you are required to keep for as long as you are required to keep it, then delete it securely.
Common retention periods
The periods below are commonly recommended starting points, not legal advice. Always check the current IRMS schools toolkit and your own retention policy, as periods can change and some records have exceptions.
| Record | Commonly kept for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Staff employment / personnel file | 6 years after leaving | Limitation Act 1980 (contract claims) |
| Annual leave / working time records | 2 years | Working Time Regulations 1998 |
| Payroll and PAYE records | At least 3 years, often 6 | HMRC requirements |
| Statutory maternity, paternity and sick pay | 3 years after the end of the tax year | HMRC regulations |
| Recruitment records (unsuccessful applicants) | 6 months to 1 year | Window for discrimination claims |
| Right to work documents | Employment + 2 years | Home Office guidance |
| Safeguarding allegation records | Much longer (see safeguarding guidance) | Retained per safeguarding and inquiry guidance |
Annual leave records specifically
Annual leave and working time records sit at the shorter end. The Working Time Regulations 1998 require employers to keep adequate records to show that working time and leave limits are being respected, and these are commonly retained for two years.
In practice, leave data rarely lives in isolation. It feeds into payroll, and questions about holiday pay can surface later than two years, so many schools keep leave records aligned with their wider payroll and employment retention rather than deleting them in isolation. The key is to have a clear, consistent rule rather than leaving it to chance in a spreadsheet.
The risk of keeping records too long, and too short
Keeping records too long breaches the storage limitation principle and leaves more personal data exposed than necessary. If you suffer a breach, every old record you did not need to keep is extra harm and extra liability.
Deleting too early is just as risky. If you cannot produce payroll records for HMRC, or evidence to defend an employment claim within the limitation period, the school is exposed in a different way. This is why a documented retention schedule, applied consistently, protects you from both directions.
Practical steps for your school
- ✓Adopt or update a written retention schedule, using the IRMS schools toolkit as your reference point.
- ✓Record a clear retention period against each category of staff data, not just one blanket rule.
- ✓Make deletion a routine, scheduled task rather than something that only happens when storage runs low.
- ✓Keep leave and working time records in a system that timestamps and retains them reliably, instead of ad hoc spreadsheets.
- ✓Have your data protection officer review the schedule periodically, since legal periods can change.
Keep leave records clean and auditable
Spreadsheets make consistent retention hard. LeaveHub gives you an accurate, auditable record of every leave request and approval in one place, so your data stays organised, easy to report on, and easy to manage against your retention policy.
Book a chat →This guide is general information to help school staff understand the issues. It is not legal advice. Retention periods can change and depend on your circumstances, so always refer to the current IRMS schools toolkit, HMRC guidance, your own retention policy and your data protection officer when making decisions for your school.