POLICY REGULATING
THE RETENTION OF DOCUMENTATION IN
THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
SCOPE
1.
This
Policy is aimed at regulating the retention, maintenance and disposal of
documentation, both personal and other, within the office of the Public Service
Commission, as provided for in the PSC General Regulations (S.L.
Const. 01), the PSC Appointments Regulations (S.L. Const. 05) and the PSC
Disciplinary Regulations (S.L. Const. 03),
and in accordance 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 office
of the Public Service Commission 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 office of the Public
Service Commission, 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 documentation, as well as
to promote a sustainable use of paper and printing consumables.
ADMINISTRATION
4.
Documentation is held and recorded by the
Registry Section, Support Services Unit, office of the Public Service
Commission. This Policy is therefore applicable to all such documentation. It will be the responsibility of the
relevant Registry Section, Support Services Unit and its Data Controller, the Executive
Secretary, Public Service Commission, to ensure that all provisions of this
Policy are adhered to.
DOCUMENTATION
HELD WITHIN THE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION
5.
As
part of its operating requirements the office of the
Public Service Commission, requests, keeps and maintains a wide range of documentation including
personal data. The various types of documentation utilised by the office of the
Public Service Commission may be categorised as follows:
a)
Personal
Data of the Chairman, Deputy Chairperson and members of the Public Service
Commission,
b)
Personal files of the Executive Secretary and staff;
c)
Attendance and
absence records of staff;
d)
Medical
records and certificates of staff;
e)
Financial
records including payrolls,
FS3’s, tax and
national insurance contributions, etc.;
f)
Accounts
and procurement records;
g)
Administrative
and Policy Files;
h)
Minutes
of the Commission meetings;
i)
Files
of Post/Positions in the Public Service;
j)
Petition
files on selection processes in the Public Service;
k)
Disciplinary
Files;
l)
Oral hearing audio-recordings;
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
have 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.
RETENTION
PERIOD
9.
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 office of
the Public Service Commission.
|
Category
|
Retention
Period
|
|
Personal Information
|
|
|
Employees Personal
Files
|
Up to the age of 75,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Personal Record Sheets
(GP 46)
|
Until the age of 75,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Service and Leave
Record Sheets (GP 47)
|
For the same period as that kept
for the relevant job application forms
|
|
Annual performance
reports (including PMPs)
|
10 years
|
|
|
|
|
Attendance and Absence Records
|
|
|
Attendance Sheets
|
2 years, after which
they are to be destroyed
|
|
Vacation Leave Cards
|
4 years, after which
they are to be destroyed
|
|
Sick Leave Cards
|
Until the age of 75,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Requests for
the appointment of a medical board
|
Until the age of 75,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Reports by
a medical board
|
Until the age of 75,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Medical Records
|
|
|
Sick Leave
Certificates
|
One year from issue of certificate,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Sick Leave Records
|
5 years, after which
they are to be destroyed
|
|
|
|
|
Financial Documentation
|
|
|
Procurement Records
|
10 years,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Accounting Records
|
10 years,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
Yearly Financial
Statements
|
10 years,
after which they are to be destroyed
|
|
|
|
|
PSC Workings
|
|
|
Minutes of Meetings
|
30 years,
after which they are to be transferred to the National Archives for permanent
preservation.
|
|
Files of Headship Positions
|
30 years from
the date of issue of the call for applications, after which they are to be
transferred to the National Archives for permanent preservation.
|
|
Files of Calls for Applications - Ineligible posts
|
2 years from
the date of issue of the call for applications, after which they are to be destroyed,
with a sample of 5% to be transferred to the National Archives for permanent
preservation after 30 years from the date of the issue of the call. (5% sample to be retained at the office of
the PSC till 30 years have lapsed)
|
|
Files of Calls for Applications – Posts/Positions (where a result has been issued)
|
15 years from
the date of the issue of the call for applications, after which they are to
be destroyed, with a sample of 5% to be transferred to the National Archives
for permanent preservation after 30 years from the date of the issue of the
call. (5% sample to be retained at the
office of the PSC till 30 years have lapsed).
|
|
Disciplinary Files (Guilty)
|
Up to the age
of 75, after which they are to be destroyed, with a sample of 5% to be
transferred to the National Archives for permanent preservation.
|
|
Disciplinary Files (Not guilty)
|
2 months from
the conclusion of the case, after which they are to be destroyed, with a
sample of 5% to be transferred to the National Archives for permanent
preservation.
|
|
Files of the Commission (relating to the workings of the PSC)
|
30 years,
after which they are to be transferred to the National Archives for permenent
preservation.
|
|
Petition files (relating to complaints submitted by candidates who feel
aggrieved by the result of a specific selection process)
|
15 years from
the date of issue of the call for applications, after which they are to be
destroyed, with a sample of 5% to be transferred to the National Archives for
permanent preservation after 30 years from the date of the issue of the
call. (5% sample to be retained at the
office of the PSC till 30 years have lapsed)
|
|
Audio recordings of Oral Hearings with the Public Service Commission
regarding Disciplinary Cases
|
3 months from
the conclusion of the case, after which they are to be deleted.
|
Audio recordings of Oral Hearings with the Public Service Commission regarding the making or revocation of appointments |
3 months from the date the Commission’s final decision was communicated to the applicant, candidate or officer concerned.
NOTE: When applicant, candidate or officer concerned fails to attend the Oral Hearing, the audio recording will be deleted right after the minutes of the hearing have been compiled.
|
Photos produced as evidence during oral hearings regarding disciplinary cases and cases relating to the making or revocation of appointments |
Photos are to be returned to the officer concerned
at the end of the case.
NOTE: Before returned, photos are to be signed by the members of the Commission and by the officer concerned, accompanied by a declaration signed by the data subject stating the number of photos returned. This declaration is to be kept in the respective PSC file.
|
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 office of the Public Service Commission. The Data Protection Controller and DPO
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.