If an employee makes a data subject access request (DSAR) to their employer, the employer must then supply them with a copy of the employee’s data held at that time.  This is typically carried out by providing the employee with a digital copy of any relevant documents held, whether physical or digital.  There are no specific regulations which mandate that physical access must be given. However, it is worth noting that should the employee insist on seeing the hard copies, there would need to be an exceptional reason not to grant the employee supervised access to their files. If the employer does not allow access, it could be viewed poorly by a tribunal looking at this in connection with a claim.