Digital personnel files in Türkiye: what goes in them and how to move off paper

How do you move paper personnel files to digital?

Start with an inventory of your files, then scan each document and name it by type. Before scanning, find missing paperwork, set sensitive documents such as health reports apart and decide who sees what.

1. Take an inventory. Count current and former employees' files and note which document groups each one holds.
2. Find the gaps. Compare the list with the groups below and record missing items by employee and type.
3. Set a naming rule. For example employeeno_doctype_yyyy-mm-dd, so two copies of a document can be told apart.
4. Scan and upload by type. For certificates and health reports, enter the expiry date too.
5. Separate special category documents. Keep health reports and criminal record certificates under their own permission.
6. Keep the originals. A scan does not remove your duty to keep the wet-signed original.

What documents should a personnel file contain?

The contents depend on the nature of the work and the rules that apply to it; there is no single closed list. In practice, documents fall into identity, hiring, contract, pay, leave, training and exit groups. Health documents sit apart, under narrower access.

What does Turkish law say about personnel files?

Article 75 of Labour Law No. 4857 (İş Kanunu) obliges employers to keep a separate personnel file for each employee. The file must hold the documents other laws require the employer to keep, and be shown to competent authorities on request.

Article 75 also requires information about the employee to be used honestly and lawfully, and kept confidential where the employee has a legitimate interest. Text: Labour Law No. 4857, Legislation Information System.

Article 6 of KVKK (Türkiye's Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data) lists special categories of data, including health, criminal convictions and biometrics, and requires the adequate measures set by the Personal Data Protection Board. Article 12 asks the data controller for technical and organisational measures against unlawful processing and access. Text: Law No. 6698, Legislation Information System.

Article 75 gives no retention period in days. Article 7 of KVKK says data must be erased, destroyed or anonymised once the grounds for processing end. Agree a period for each document type with your legal adviser.

Where do paper and Excel personnel files break down?

Paper folders and Excel sheets hold the same information in several places and record nothing of who looked. Problems surface at an inspection, an exit or a document expiry.

• Several copies: Pay changes in Excel, the contract in a folder, the address in an email; nobody knows which is right.
• Broad access: Hiding the pay column of a shared sheet from some colleagues is hard in practice.
• No trail: Nobody knows who changed what.
• Expired documents: A lapsed certificate is noticed only when someone opens the folder.
• Remote access: Branch managers ask for photocopies, which then circulate.

How do personnel files work in Sora İK?

In Sora İK, each employee's identity, job, pay and document details sit on one employee card. The user's role decides who can open it, and every change goes into the audit log. Leave, puantaj and payroll read from the same card, so you enter each detail once.

You upload your employee list in one step from a CSV or xlsx template; a preview flags faulty rows, and nothing is saved until they are fixed. T.C. identity numbers pass a checksum test.

Pay is entered with an effective date; earlier pay stays in the history. Documents carry their type, validity date and version, and one list shows those expired or expiring within 30 days. For document routines, see the employee document and contract tracking guide.

Employees see their own card but cannot edit it. In-app change requests, address, bank account and emergency contact fields, company-defined fields and field-level permissions are on the roadmap. A leaver's card is kept and marked as departed.

For plans and all modules, see Sora İK. Product details: Digital Employee Records — full feature list.

What should IT and management check in a personnel file system?

The personnel file is a company's densest store of personal data, with identity, pay and health details in one place. Grant access on a least-privilege basis, put special category documents behind a separate permission and log views of sensitive fields.

• Role-based access: In the default Sora İK roles, pay is visible only to the company owner and HR, not even to the system administrator. Managers do not see their team's identity numbers, dates of birth or phone numbers.
• Special category documents: Health reports and criminal record certificates open only for holders of that permission and the employee concerned.
• View logging: Revealing another person's identity number, viewing pay history and downloading a document are each logged. Before-and-after values of changed fields are not logged yet; that is on the roadmap.
• Account security: TLS 1.2 or higher, argon2id password hashing and two-step verification that can be made mandatory company-wide. See the HR software security guide.
• KVKK roles: For employee data, your company is the data controller and Sora İK the data processor. See the KVKK in HR guide.

Modules that work with personnel files

The personnel record is the shared source for documents, onboarding steps and access rights. The guides below cover what feeds and protects it.

• Employee document and contract tracking guide: Document types, versioning, expiry tracking and access rules for managing employee paperwork.
• Onboarding and offboarding checklist: Paperwork, SGK notification, account and equipment steps for joiners and leavers, with owners and timing.
• HR software security guide: A vendor-neutral IT checklist for role-based access, two-step verification and audit logs.
• KVKK in HR guide: KVKK compliance for employee and candidate data: privacy notices, legal bases, retention, destruction and access.

Frequently asked questions

Is a personnel file mandatory in Türkiye?

Yes. Article 75 of Labour Law No. 4857 requires every employer to open a personnel file for each employee, keep in it the documents and records the law requires, and show them to competent officials and authorities on request. Paper or digital, the duty is the same.

What documents should be in an employee's personnel file?

The exact list depends on the job and the rules that apply to it. Most files hold a copy of the ID, the signed employment contract, diplomas and certificates, pay changes, leave records and exit documents; some jobs also need a health report. Agree your list with your employment law adviser.

Can a personnel file be kept digitally?

Yes, the information and scanned copies can live in an organised digital file. A scan does not, however, end your duty to keep wet-signed originals. The real gains are one current record, role-based access and an audit log of who viewed what.

How long should you keep a former employee's file?

Article 75 of the Labour Law sets no retention period; it depends on the document type and the applicable rules. Article 7 of KVKK requires erasure, destruction or anonymisation once the grounds for processing end. Set periods per document type with your legal adviser and record them in a retention and destruction policy.

Who can access personnel files in Sora İK?

Access follows the user's role. By default, the company owner, system administrator and HR see employee cards, while pay is open only to the company owner and HR. Managers see their team's cards without identity numbers, dates of birth or phone numbers. Employees see only their own card.