Hi,

We work with a range of clients from young children to adults as well as a body of volunteers who implement many of our services, alongside paid staff who manage the overall process.

Like most organisations, we have fairly extensive polices in place which document our position in relation to data management and GDPR. There seems to be plenty of advice and templates out there to assist with the creation of these. However, what I am struggling to find is a definitive list of recommended document retention periods - particularly for volunteers and for our clients.

Many sites suggest that we should treat volunteers at paid employees when it comes to the retention of application forms, references, performance reviews, etc. Is this the general consensus across this group?

With regard to clients, does anyone have clear information on how long data relating to them should be retained? For example, in Scotland, the general understanding is that data relating to children must be kept until they are 21. However, if we receive a referral for an 8 year old child, but do not actually engage with that child for whatever reason, should we keep the referral until they are 21 or destroy it as soon as we make the decision not to engage?

Does anyone have a document retention schedule that they would be willing to share for comparison purposes?

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this matter.