An incomplete personnel file bothers nobody for years. It becomes a problem on the day of an inspection, a dispute or a departure — that is, precisely when it is too late to ask a document of someone who is no longer there. The file is built on day one, not when it is needed.
The essentials in five points
- One file per employee, opened on hiring and kept up continuously, never reconstructed afterwards.
- Three families of documents: identity and authorisations, the contract and its amendments, the life of the contract.
- Ask only for what is useful to the employment relationship: the rest exposes you without giving you anything.
- Date and have signed whatever needs it: an undated document proves poorly.
- Keep the file after departure: the useful periods run well beyond the end of the contract.
1. What is gathered on hiring
The first day is the only moment when an employee spontaneously provides what is asked of them. What is not collected then is rarely collected later.
| Family | Documents | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Identity document, contact details, family situation relevant to payroll | To identify the employee and run payroll |
| Authorisations | Work authorisation where required, authorisations tied to the post | Without them, the employment itself can be irregular |
| Qualifications | Diplomas and certifications where the post requires them | Only to be asked for where the post makes them necessary |
| Banking | Bank details for paying the salary | Payment has to be traceable |
| Contract | Contract signed by both parties, in duplicate | The central document of the file |
| Filings | Proof of the filings made on hiring | They are kept with the file, not elsewhere |
The third line is worth reading backwards: do not ask for a diploma for a post that requires none. Collecting information you have no use for obliges you to protect it without giving you anything in return.
2. What is added during the contract
A living file is kept up throughout the relationship. That is what separates a useful file from a folder opened on day one and never reopened.
- Amendments: changes of post, pay, hours or place of work.
- Payslips, or proof of their delivery under your arrangements.
- Leave requests and approvals, with their dates.
- Evidence of absences and sick leave, as they occur.
- Correspondence that carries weight: a warning, a reply, an undertaking.
- Certificates and documents given to the employee, with the date of delivery.
The fifth line is the neglected one and the one that counts most in a dispute. An important exchange left in a personal mailbox is not in the file; two years later nobody can find it, so it does not count.
3. Not collecting what you do not need
A file is not a collection. Every document must have a reason connected to the employment relationship, and that requirement protects the employer as much as the employee.
- The test: Does the document serve to perform the contract, to run payroll, or to meet an obligation? If the answer is no to all three, it does not belong in the file.
- Sensitive data: Information touching on health, beliefs or private life calls for particular care and is not collected for convenience.
- Unnecessary copies: Keeping documents you have no use for creates an obligation to protect them with nothing in return.
- Access: The file must be stored with access limited to those who need it. An open cabinet in a shared office is not storage.
The last line is often the weakest point in a small business, and the simplest to fix. Personnel files contain personal information; whether on paper or in a shared folder, access is limited to those who need it.
What is missing from the file is always discovered too late
An unsigned contract, a verbal amendment, an authorisation never provided: none of it causes a problem while the relationship goes well. On the day it ends badly, or the day of an inspection, those documents are requested from someone who no longer has a reason to cooperate, or can no longer be reached. The file cannot be reconstructed: it is built on day one and kept up as you go, while each document is still easy to obtain.
4. Keeping the file after departure
The end of the contract is not the end of the file. It is often after the departure that documents are asked for.
- Destroy nothing at the point of departure: the useful periods run beyond it.
- Add the end-of-contract documents and proof of their delivery to the file.
- Keep the record of the final settlement and what it covers.
- Keep the payroll records, which serve well after the relationship.
- Have the applicable retention periods confirmed by your adviser, as they differ by type of document.
- At the end of the period, destroy securely rather than letting old files accumulate.
The fifth line is the only one not to settle yourself. Periods vary by type of document and by the obligation behind it; establishing them once with your adviser beats applying a uniform rule that will be too short for some documents and needlessly long for others.
Mistakes to avoid
- Opening a file on hiring and never adding to it again.
- Leaving a verbal amendment with no written record.
- Asking for documents unconnected to the post or to payroll.
- Leaving important exchanges in a personal mailbox.
- Storing files somewhere everyone can reach.
- Destroying the file when the employee leaves.
Frequently asked questions
Which documents should be gathered on hiring?
Identity and contact details, the authorisations required for the post and to work, qualifications where the post requires them, bank details, the signed contract, and proof of the filings made.
Can any document be requested?
No. Each one must serve to perform the contract, to run payroll, or to meet an obligation. Collecting beyond that creates a protection burden with no use, particularly for sensitive information.
Should the file be paper or digital?
Either, provided access is limited and documents can be found. What matters is less the medium than the storage and the access restriction.
How long should the file be kept after departure?
Beyond the end of the contract, for periods that vary by type of document. Have those periods set once by your adviser rather than applying a single rule to the whole file.
Does BelloPOS manage personnel files?
The payroll module is part of BelloPOS Pro and carries the pay components. The personnel file itself, with its contractual and administrative documents, is kept separately, with restricted access.
What to take away
Open the file on day one, add to it at every event, and collect only what serves the employment relationship. Date it, have signed what needs signing, store it with limited access, and destroy nothing on departure. A file kept that way is never noticed — which is exactly what is asked of it.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
- Ministry of Justice, Labour Code, read 31 August 2026
- Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code
Payroll in the same system as sales
The payroll module in BelloPOS Pro carries the pay components, alongside the accounting journals and the exports your accountant expects.
Read next
Other practical guides on the same subject:
- Permanent or fixed-term contract in Morocco: choosing the right one
- CNSS employer affiliation in Morocco: prepare the first hire without confusion
- Can an auto-entrepreneur hire in Morocco? Treat the first employee as a structure threshold
- Accrued expenses and accrued income in Morocco: the closing method