The law of 25 July 1985 and the decree of 13 March 1986 established the single personnel register. It thus replaces the various registers that the employer was forced to set up previously (registers of young people under 18, registers of entries and exits of staff, etc.). This register makes it possible to list all the information relating to employees.

According to article L.1221-13 of the Labor Code, keeping a personnel register is mandatory in all enterprises where employees are employed.

1. The requirements associated with the single personnel register

According to article D. 1221-23 of the Labor Code, the personnel register must include certain information:

• Name;
• First names;
• Sex;
• Nationality;
• Employment;
• The qualification;
• Date of birth of the hired employee;
• As well as the dates of entry and exit from the establishment;
• When an authorization to hire or to terminate employment is required, the date of this authorization or, failing that, the date of the request for authorization;
• For foreign workers subject to the possession of a document authorizing the exercise of an employed activity, the types and serial numbers of the document equivalent to a work permit;
• For workers with a fixed-term employment contract, the term “fixed-term contract”;
• For temporary employees, the mention “temporary employee” as well as the name and address of the temporary employment company;
• For workers made available by a group of employers, the statement “made available by a group of employers” as well as the name and address of the latter;
• For part-time employees, the mention “part-time employee”;
• For young workers with an apprenticeship or professionalization contract, the term “apprentice” or “professionalization contract”;
  

In the particular case of trainees, their first and last names must be entered, in the order of arrival, in a specific part of the register.

Article L.1221-13 of the Labor Code requires that these mentions must be entered “indelibly”, which allows for reinforced protection of employees' personal data.

The Social and Economic Committee, officials and officials responsible for ensuring the application of the Labour Code and the Social Security Code must be in a position to consult the single personnel register at any time.

Finally, article L. 1221-14 of the Labour Code provides that: “An exception may be made to maintain a single personnel register, to take into account the use of other means, in particular computer technology, under the conditions provided for in article L. 8113-6”.
Therefore, it is possible for the employer to keep it on a computer medium. However, it must ensure that the chosen medium offers the same guarantees of control as the paper medium.
When the processing of personal data is automated, it is up to the employer, in the event of an inspection by the labor inspector, to prove by the production of receipts that he has carried out the preliminary procedures with the National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms, except in the case of exemption. In addition, the mandatory information required by article D. 1221-23 of the Labor Code must also appear in the single electronic personnel register (articles D. 8113-2 and D. 8113-3 of the Labor Code).

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2. The preservation period

The register must be kept for five years from the date the employee or trainee leaves the company (according to article R. 1221-26 of the Labor Code)

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3. Possibility to hold the RUP on a digital support

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Legal references: article L. 1221-14 and article L. 8113-6 of the Labor Code.

The RUP can be held on a digital medium as long as it meets the same conditions as if it were in paper format, i.e. durable and indelible.
In this sense, it should be specified that the RUP cannot be changed later. Thus, in case of modification, it is sufficient to delete the mention and not to delete it.

Therefore, whether the RUP is on paper or digital, it is essential that the information be recorded indelibly, that is, it cannot be erased. In this sense, the digital document must be unalterable, and the information entered on the RUP must not be modified or deleted later.

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4. The single personnel register: sanctions

Article R. 1227-7 of the Labor Code provides that the violation of the provisions relating to the single personnel register (articles L. 1221-13, L. 1221-15 and L. 1221-15-1) D. 1221-23 to R. 1221-26) is punishable by a fourth-class ticket, i.e. a fine of €750.

The same article states that the fine “shall be applied as many times as there are persons employed in conditions liable to be punished under the provisions of this article”.

In other words, the fine of €750 is applicable for each employee or trainee for whom a violation of the provisions relating to the single personnel register is observed.

The law of 11 March 1997 made it possible to change the definition of the offence of hidden work. Indeed, since its entry into force, the absence of a personnel register and/or the lack of registration of an employee in the register are no longer sufficient, in themselves, to be considered as a constituent element of the offence of hidden employment. However, they may help to characterize the intentional element of this offence.

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