What records you must keep
Employers are required to maintain certain records for every employee. In Ireland this includes details such as name, PPS number, dates of employment, and — critically — records demonstrating compliance with working-time rules, including hours worked, rest breaks and annual leave. The WRC can inspect these records, and failure to keep them is an offence in its own right.
In the UK, employers must keep records sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, working-time limits, and payroll obligations to HMRC. Statutory payments such as sick pay and family leave also require supporting records.
Beyond the strict legal minimum, it is sensible to hold a coherent personnel file for each employee containing the contract, key correspondence, performance records and training history. Well-organised records make everyday HR faster and are invaluable if a dispute ever arises.
GDPR, data retention and security
Employee records are personal data, so GDPR (in Ireland and the EU) and UK GDPR (in the UK) apply in full. You must process the data lawfully, keep it accurate, restrict access to those who need it and protect it against loss or unauthorised disclosure. Special-category data, such as health or trade-union membership, attracts additional protections.
Retention is a frequent weak spot. GDPR's storage-limitation principle means you should not keep personal data longer than necessary. Establish a written retention schedule that reflects both statutory minimum retention periods — for example, working-time and pay records — and the practical need to defend potential claims, then delete data once those periods pass.
Employees have rights over their data, including the right to access it. Be ready to respond to a subject access request within the statutory timeframe (generally one month), and make sure managers understand that informal notes about staff can fall within scope. Train anyone handling personnel data on basic data-protection hygiene.
The employment contract
The contract of employment is the backbone of the relationship and the reference point for almost every dispute. It should be clear, lawful and consistent with the written statement of terms you are required to provide. Terms can be express (written or spoken) or implied by law, custom or conduct.
Take care with restrictive covenants, probation clauses, notice periods and any provisions on bonuses or commission. Clauses that are unclear, unreasonable or contrary to statutory rights may be unenforceable, and you cannot contract out of an employee's statutory entitlements.
Review contract templates periodically. Employment law evolves, and a template drafted several years ago may no longer reflect current requirements — for example, changes to statutory sick pay in Ireland or to the timing of the written statement in the UK.
Ongoing obligations to WRC, HMRC and Revenue
In Ireland, payroll operates through Revenue's PAYE system, with real-time reporting of pay and deductions each pay period. Employers must operate PAYE, PRSI and USC correctly and keep the underlying records. The WRC enforces employment-rights legislation and can carry out inspections, so your working-time, leave and pay records must be in order.
In the UK, employers report pay and deductions to HMRC in real time through PAYE, deducting income tax and National Insurance. Auto-enrolment pension duties are overseen by The Pensions Regulator. As with Ireland, accurate records underpin all of this.
These reporting duties are US-distinct: the American equivalents such as the W-4 withholding form and W-2 wage statement do not apply here. If you come across guidance referring to them, treat it as US-specific and look instead to PAYE real-time reporting in Ireland and the UK.
Policies and the staff handbook
A staff handbook gathers your key policies — grievance and disciplinary procedures, dignity-at-work, data protection, health and safety, and leave — into one accessible place. It sets expectations, promotes consistency and supports fair, defensible decision-making.
Policies should be more than shelfware. Communicate them, apply them consistently and review them as law and practice change. A well-followed handbook is strong evidence of a fair process; a handbook that is ignored can be worse than none at all.
