Every Philippine office has a cabinet, or a folder on a shared drive, labeled 201. It holds the paper trail of one person's employment, from the application to the last day. When DOLE inspects, when a worker files a complaint or when a bank calls to verify employment, the 201 file is where the answer is. Here is what belongs in it.
- A 201 file is the personnel file for one employee. The term is office shorthand, not a legal one.
- It runs from application to separation: hiring papers, contract, movements, evaluations, discipline and exit.
- Keep employment records for at least three years from the last entry.
- Medical results and ID numbers are sensitive personal information under the Data Privacy Act.
The 201 file checklist
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Application | Résumé or application form, interview notes, assessment results, job offer |
| Pre-employment | NBI clearance, police or barangay clearance, medical certificate, PSA birth certificate, diploma or transcript, 2×2 photo |
| Government numbers | SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and TIN, and the BIR Form 2316 from a previous employer in the same year |
| Contract | Signed contract or appointment, job description, and for a probationary hire the regularization standards given on day one |
| Licenses and training | Professional licenses, a security guard's LESP, driver's license, training certificates, each with its expiry date |
| Movements | Regularization, promotions, transfers and salary changes, each with its effective date and approval |
| Performance | Probation and annual evaluations, signed by the employee and the rater |
| Discipline | Incident reports, notices to explain, the employee's explanations, hearing minutes and notices of decision |
| Separation | Resignation letter or termination notices, clearance, final pay computation, quitclaim, certificates of employment issued |
Not every employee needs every item. A diploma matters for an accountant, a license to exercise security profession (LESP) for a guard. Decide the list per position, then check each new hire against it. The pre-employment requirements guide covers the hiring documents in detail.
The documents that protect the employer
Three records decide most labor cases, and they are the ones most often missing:
- The regularization standards. A probationary employee who was not told the standards for regularization when hired is treated as regular (Labor Code Art. 296). The signed contract or a signed copy of the standards is the proof.
- The two notices. A dismissal for just cause needs a notice to explain and a notice of decision. Without them the dismissal is defective even when the cause is real. See the notice to explain sample.
- Payroll and time records. They are not usually filed in the 201 folder, but they answer every money claim. Money claims can be filed within three years (Art. 306).
How long to keep it
The Labor Code's implementing rules require employment records to be kept for at least three years from the date of the last entry. Since money claims can be filed for three years after they arise, keep the whole file for at least three years after the employee leaves. Records needed for an ongoing case are kept until the case ends.
When someone leaves
Separation adds the last papers to the file: the resignation or the termination notices, the signed clearance, the final pay computation and any quitclaim. DOLE Labor Advisory 06-20 gives the employer 30 days to release the final pay and three days from a request to issue a certificate of employment. Keep a copy of every certificate issued.
Paper or digital
A digital 201 file is easier to keep complete. Payslip.ph keeps each worker's documents by type with expiry dates, flags licenses and clearances about to lapse, and records every movement, evaluation and disciplinary step against the same worker record that payroll uses. A certificate of employment is generated from that record when the worker asks for one.