A company keeps all former employees’ complete personnel files indefinitely “for references.” Which storage-limitation response is most appropriate?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
“Keep forever for references” is a junk drawer with a fancy label. Keep what you still need for real purposes and legal clocks, then delete or anonymise. Forever is not a retention schedule.
Full Explanation
Storage limitation requires personal data to be kept in identifiable form only as long as necessary for the purposes or for legal obligations and claims. Indefinite retention of full personnel files solely for occasional references is disproportionate. Employers should define purpose-specific retention periods, minimise fields retained for references, and implement deletion or anonymisation when those periods expire.