Chapter 19 — Retention and disposal
Lesson map
Lesson 19 published. Map, example, EX055.
flowchart TD
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["19.1 The schedule"]
N2["19.2 Automating disposal"]
N3["19.3 Evidence"]
N4["19.4 Backups and copies"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4
N4 --> EX["Worked example"]
EX --> Q["Exercise EX055"]
Logical drawing
flowchart LR
N0["Learning outcomes"]
N1["19.1 The schedule"]
N2["19.2 Automating disposal"]
N3["19.3 Evidence"]
N4["19.4 Backups and copies"]
N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> Q["EX055"]
[Learning outcomes]
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v
[19.1 The schedule]
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v
[19.2 Automating disposal]
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v
[19.3 Evidence]
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v
[19.4 Backups and copies]
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v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX055]
Learning outcomes
You will (1) apply a retention schedule technically; (2) automate disposal; (3) record disposal as evidence.
19.1 The schedule
Calder Valley's retention schedule says repair job records are kept for six years after completion, tenant records for six years after the tenancy ends and call recordings for six months. Ravi translates each rule into a query that finds records past their retention date. He checks the rules with the records officer, who confirms exceptions, such as records involved in legal claims, which must be kept until the claim ends. Ravi adds a legal hold flag to the jobs table so that such records can be excluded automatically.
19.2 Automating disposal
Ravi writes a monthly script that lists records due for disposal, excludes those flagged for legal hold and produces a report for the owner to approve. After approval, the script deletes or anonymises the records, depending on the schedule. For repair jobs, the property and job type are kept for long-term analysis, but tenant links are removed. He tests the script on synthetic data first and runs it with logging enabled. The first run removes tenant links from thousands of old synthetic jobs.
19.3 Evidence
Each disposal run produces a record: date, rule applied, number of records, approval and any errors. Ravi stores these in a disposal log. When the regulator asks how Calder Valley ensures it does not keep data longer than needed, Mrs. Okonjo shows the schedule, the script, the approvals and the log. Ravi notes that evidence of disposal is as important as the disposal itself for demonstrating compliance. The regulator's reviewer accepts the evidence and notes Calder Valley's disposal practice as a strength in the review report.
19.4 Backups and copies
Disposal in live systems does not remove data from backups and extracts. Ravi confirms with IT that backups expire after ninety days, so disposed records disappear from backups within that time. He also checks the shared drive for extracts older than the schedule allows and asks owners to delete them. Ms. Moreau explains that retention must cover every copy, and that extracts are the hardest to control because they are created informally. Owners delete most of the old extracts, and the rest are given deletion dates.
Worked example
Ravi turns retention rules into queries with legal hold exceptions, automates approved monthly disposal that keeps property and job type but removes tenant links, logs disposal as evidence and checks backups and extracts.
Synthetic case. The schedule is synthetic.
Errors and limits
Disposal limited to live systems leaves data in extracts and backups.
Exercises
- EX055 — Recording retention. How long are call recordings kept? Rubric: 3 = six months;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
- EX056 — Kept fields. What is kept after repair job disposal? Rubric: 3 = property and job type;; 2 = both;; 1 = one;; 0 = none.
- EX057 — Backup expiry. When do backups expire? Rubric: 3 = after ninety days;; 2 = partly correct;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
Continue studying — lesson 19 (chapter 19 of 30)
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