Probation periods - EIF

Prior-checking Opinion regarding probation periods and the e-probation tool at the European Investment Fund (Case 2015-1107)

During the probation evaluation of a staff member and the adoption of the probation report, the EIF processes personal data of that staff member. To ensure transparency and fairness, information on this processing should be provided to the concerned individuals through a specific data protection notice. This notice should be made available on the Intranet. A link to the notice should also be added to the respective forms, reports and/or to the messages sent to the staff members in the different stages of probation evaluation. The notice should also clearly set out the procedures for granting individuals' rights, including also information on within which time limit a reaction can be expected from the EIF to the requests of the individuals. Staff members should be granted access to all their data kept in their personal file and in the electronic database, even after the end of employment. While letters containing probation decisions would need to be kept throughout the career of a staff member, probation reports may not necessarily remain relevant during the whole career. The retention of probation reports up to five years after the end of a particular appraisal procedure would be considered appropriate.