Hi
I agree broadly with Madi on this.
I think that if you re-open a file, then the retention clock stops and re-sets once it is closed again.
However, I think that you should only be able to re-open a file for a short period after it is closed- say up to 3 months.
After this, I would open a new file- with items from the previous file used for reference only. If a few documents from this earlier file are integral to the new file, then I would take copies and reference them. If the whole file is relevant then I would remove it from retention and place it within the new file with a note of what was done. I would then treat the whole new file as a single entity for retention purposes.
So, broadly the same (hopefully) pragmatic approach as Madi- but maybe some slightly different practices.
To avoid this happening repetitively however, I would recommend a three month cooling off period after the business of a file is concluded before doing whatever it is you do to start retention and move the file into that shadow-land of the slow tick down to retention review.
Thoughts Madi? (and others)...
Meic
-----Original Message-----
From: The Information and Records Management Society mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Madeleine McAllister
Sent: 25 July 2017 12:59
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Re-setting retention periods
Hi Tim
My view is that yes, the retention clock resets once you re-open a closed case, and restarts when you close it again. However, you need to consider whether the records from the original closed case can be protected and not amended themselves, and only new records can be added to the case, or whether by re-opening the case you effectively "undeclare" the records.
If you undeclare the original records, then the records integrity changes if they are subsequently amended, therefore a new retention period must be applied. If you keep the original records protected, then you could say that a new case has been opened even if the matter is the same - and have 2 retention periods apply - but then the case itself would be in two sections, and the case integrity would fail.
Hope that helps.
Kind regards
Madi McAllister FIRMS
Information Governance and Records Management Officer Information Governance London Borough Of Merton
-----Original Message-----
From: The Information and Records Management Society mailing list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tim Cotgreave
Sent: 25 July 2017 10:32
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re-setting retention periods
All,
I am currently leading a review of our internal retention schedule and a question has arisen that I would be keen to get your views on.
I work for a law firm and therefore the question is relating to matter files specifically and the closure of such once the case has ended (although this could easily extend to any other records types so any non-matter related thoughts would also be greatly appreciated).
More often than not, a matter file is opened, closed and then archived with an appropriate retention period. The matter then remains archived until its retention date has been reached (assume standard case files are 6 years) and is then destroyed.
However, in some instances a matter may be re-opened several years into its retention period due to continued work on the case and if so the matter file will come out of its archived state and its status changed back to 'LIVE'
My question is - once the matter is re-closed, should the retention period automatically be re-set to zero and therefore a further 6 years applied to the record? (and would this necessarily apply in all instances?)
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