Privacy Protocol 2 – access to a staff member’s own personal information
A staff member wishing to inspect their official University personnel file should contact the relevant human resources advisor within the Human Resources Department. Individual organisational areas may also hold personnel records and a staff member should contact their supervisor to arrange access.
Other areas of the University may also hold personal information on a staff member, such as the Health Service, Counselling Service, the Equity section or the University’s clinics. A client of these services may approach the relevant officer dealing with their file, for instance, their advisor, doctor or counsellor, and ask to peruse their file.
Guidelines for providing access to personal information to staff
Prior to access, the file should be checked for any third party material or confidential matter. Any third party material should be removed before access is given to a staff member. Where records contain information of a confidential or contentious nature, the Freedom of Information Officer should be consulted. Occasionally, the FOI Officer may advise that access to the record should be sought under the Freedom of Information Act, rather than through use of this procedure.
Further, prior to access the staff member’s electronic file in TRIM should be checked for any material that is not on the hard copy. A copy of this material is to be printed and supplied with the personal file. This material can be destroyed on completion of the access request.
Some form of identification should be provided by the staff member (eg staff card or drivers licence) before access is given. The individual should be supervised during inspection and the records must not be marked, altered or re-ordered in any way. The records may not be removed or borrowed, but copies of records may be made and taken away.
No fees are charged for arranging access to personal files under this arrangement, however, the University reserves the right to charge for photocopies of documents where a large number of photocopies are requested. The FOI Officer should be consulted where charging is proposed to ensure consistency with the FOI Act.