The Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) answers the question “How long the employer shall store the personal data of the participants in the procedures for personnel recruitment and selection in accordance with the requirements of Art. 25k of Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) on one hand, and considering his legitimate interest in storing this data for three years in order to protect his rights in initiated procedures under the Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA), on the other hand.”
According to the CPDP the documents of the job applicants as CVs, cover letters, documents proving qualification and experience and other documents provided or collected for the purposes of the selection process, as well as the copies of them shall be stored in accordance with the general terms of Art. 25k from PDPA namely for a period not exceeding 6 months unless the applicant has given his or her consent for longer storage period.
In point two of its position the Commission clarifies that there is no obstacle for the purposes of the procedure under ADA, personal data of the participants in the selection procedure, contained in the internal documents created by the employer or the appointing authority in the carried out recruitment and selection procedures, to be stored within the three years period provided for in Art. 52 of the ADA in compliance with the main principles under Art. 5, par. 1, p. “v” and “d” of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 27th of April 2016 – “data minimization” and “storage limitation”.
The Commission’s main motives are related to the way recruitment and selection procedures are conducted and to the opportunity for “reproduction” of the applicant`s data (excluding the storage of originals or copies of their documents other than the storage under the general terms of Art. 25k from PDPA) in the internal documentation (orders, minutes of the commissions for candidates ranking, resolutions etc.) of each employer or the appointing authority whereby the selection decision in the procedure under the ADA is justified. Тhereby, the employer will have proofs for the purposes of eventual procedure under ADA without violating the provisions of Art. 25k of PDPA by his actions.