Registers commonly expected
- Register of employees with personal and employment particulars
- Attendance and muster roll
- Wage register with components and deductions
- Overtime register
- Leave register with balances
- Register of fines, deductions and damages, where applicable
- Accident register, where applicable
- Contractor and contract-labour registers, where applicable
Electronic maintenance
Many jurisdictions now accept electronic registers, provided they can be produced on demand, are tamper-evident and carry the same particulars as the prescribed format. A system-generated register with a locked period and an audit trail meets this expectation better than a printed book.
Retention guidance
| Record type | Practical retention |
|---|---|
| Personnel file | Duration of employment plus several years after exit |
| Payroll registers and payslips | Long-term — needed for statutory and tax queries |
| Attendance and leave records | Several years, aligned to the longest applicable limitation period |
| Statutory challans and returns | Long-term, with acknowledgements |
| Recruitment records of unselected candidates | Short-term, then deleted |
| Disciplinary and grievance records | Long-term, with restricted access |
Retention is also a privacy duty
Holding personal data longer than needed is a risk, not a safety net. Define a retention period per document type, delete on schedule, and log the deletion.
This resource is shared for general guidance. Rules, rates and due dates change and vary by state and establishment — confirm the current position with your advisor before acting on it.
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