Is It Legally Required to Keep Hard Copies of Resignations Under the Shops & Establishment Act?

Dear Patrons,

Employee Personal File - Resignation of Employee Under Shops & Establishment Act, 1948

I am currently working with an IT company, having joined in December 2021. Due to the fiscal year-end, our Chartered Accountant was performing an audit of the HR Department. They raised a query stating that in some employee files, the resignation documents of those who have resigned are not attached.

Is it mandatory to keep a print of Resignation & Resignation Acceptance in Employee Files as per S & E Act, 1948?

My management has instructed us to keep the resignation and acceptance of resignation as a print copy. Throughout my 10-year career in HR, I haven't seen any resignation in physical copy; I always received a mail from the employee's personal ID. Nowadays, in the digital era, people prefer to have a soft copy rather than a hard copy.

So, kindly suggest the legal aspects on the subject and revert on this.

Thanks & Regards,

Maulik Dave

If you are keeping a personal file of employees (ESR - Employee Service Record) in physical form, it is essential to file and keep everything right from their employment application form (if they have applied against a job advertisement, also include a copy of the advertisement), the company employment application form, interview assessment sheet, copies of internal approvals, the job offer letter, acknowledged copy of the detailed Offer of Appointment letter, supporting documents such as copies of academic/professional/technical qualification certificates, work experience certificates, a copy of the medical fitness format duly certified by a doctor, the probationer evaluation form duly filled in and approved, a copy of the confirmation letter duly acknowledged by the employee, the annual appraisal form, salary increase letter, promotion letter, and so on.

In short, the personal file or ESR is physical proof of the employee's journey from the date of onboarding in your company until the final exit, whether through superannuation, resignation, termination, etc.

Therefore, it is crucial to keep all papers related to an employee in physical form if you are maintaining a physical personal file.

However, you are also free to maintain a digital copy of the personal file to avoid loss or damage.

Thank you for your response. I would like to inquire whether it is legally mandatory to keep a printout of the resignation letter or not?

There is no legal mandate in this regard. As rightly pointed out by RKN Sir, hard copies of these documents are kept in the personal file; otherwise, there is no need for a personal file at all—everything can be in soft copy. In the eventuality of the computer crashing or some other unforeseen occurrence, considerations on where all such information can be sourced shall be thought of.

Digital Document Compliance and Security Concerns

Under the current regulations, digital copies are adequate for compliance, as long as they are genuine and tamper-proof.

If you are keeping everything in email, is your email secure? Will you be able to find it quickly if needed? In case of inquiry or demand by court, will you always be able to show it?

Printing out an email is not secure either because it can be tampered with and changed very easily. Therefore, having an actual document with proof that it was sent by a certain person and signed by that person is required. What will you do if the employee denies having sent the email and accuses HR or the Manager of sending it from their account? The IT department can change passwords at will.

What if the employee concerned creates fake documents and accuses the employer of malfeasance and manipulation?

Therefore, people keep physical copies, or if they have a good HRMS, then that will provide adequate protection. Alternatively, you need to digitally sign the documents because it is extremely difficult (though not really impossible) to put wrong dates on digital signatures.

In any case, if the management says you need to keep physical documents, then there is no option for you.