RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION GUIDANCE NOTES AND INFORMATION FOR ALL APPLICANTS

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1 RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION GUIDANCE NOTES AND INFORMATION FOR ALL APPLICANTS The following information is designed to help all job applicants who are seeking employment with Pluss For the majority of vacancies, we will require all applicants to complete and submit an application form. However, for certain vacancies we will ask for CV s and a covering letter and this will be clearly stated on the advert. If the advert does not make reference to the submission of a CV please ensure you complete and submit an application form.. If you are unsure or if you have difficulties uploading both the CV and covering letter please HR@Pluss.org. Please be advised to thoroughly read all recruitment documents to ensure you are fully aware of the post s requirements and to judge whether you meet the essential criteria. Our literature can be supplied in other formats if required. Owner HR Page 1 of 11

2 GUIDANCE NOTES FOR ALL JOB APPLICANTS Screening Questions: Do you have the right to work inside the UK: - please confirm yes or no. If you answer no then you will not be able to continue with this application. If you answer yes then please click on the continue button. Apply for a Job: If you have applied for a vacancy via ITrent before then please enter your username and password. Then click login. If you have not applied for a vacancy before please click the New User Registration and complete your details. Then click submit. An will be sent to your address with login details. Application Details: Please complete the application pages as listed below. Owner HR Page 2 of 11

3 The icons will indicate when a page is completed which will help you to track your progress through the pages. Supporting text is provided throughout the application pages to provide you with guidance on completing the form so please read this carefully. Your application form will be saved as you move through the application pages e.g. clicking on the buttons Next, Previous or Summary will save your application details. For reference, the application closing date and job details are shown on this page. Personal Details: click onto the personal details section. This section should already be populated with the information you completed when creating an account. If any of this is incorrect please correct it. Click next this will take you onto the next page. Contact Details: Registered address: The address you originally registered with us is displayed below for information only. Further contacts can be added in the Additional Contact Details section below, this address is the one we will use to contact you throughout the application process. Additional Contact Details: You can enter more than one contact by clicking on the 'Add' button. Address Details: Please enter your current address. You can enter more than one address by clicking on the 'Add' button. Qualifications: Please enter details of your qualifications, if you do not have any qualifications, please proceed to the next section. Please note that original certificates of all qualifications will need to be produced at interview, copies are not acceptable. To add further qualification details use the 'Add' button to save the existing details first. Owner HR Page 3 of 11

4 Memberships of Professional Bodies: Please give details of any membership to any professional bodies that are relevant to the post applied for. Please select the professional body from the drop down list, enter your membership number (if applicable) and the level of membership. Current and Previous Employment Details: Please detail your full employment history with the most recent first. This will show us the full breadth of your experience. You should include any voluntary work or work in some other type of role. It is necessary to account for all your time since leaving full-time education. You can add further entries by clicking on the 'Add' button. If you have previously worked for Pluss, please include the department. References: Please give details of two referees covering the last 3 years of employment, (paid/unpaid/voluntary) one of whom must be your most recent employer. If you can only provide one employment reference a character reference will be acceptable. If you are in, or have just completed full-time education, one referee should be from your school, college or university. Referees must not be related to you and must be able to comment on your skills and abilities in relation to the post. If you are unable to provide this information, please contact a member of the Pluss HR Team. Diversity Monitoring Details: The company is committed to diversity monitoring in employment. The questions are designed to assist in diversity monitoring and do not form any part of the selection process. Supporting Statement: Please give examples from your past employment, school or college, voluntary work or life experiences which demonstrate how you meet the requirements listed on the Person Specification. The Person Specification contains a list of standards we would expect the ideal person for the job to meet. The essential criteria are considered absolutely crucial to the job and desirable criteria are considered beneficial. The panel will select candidates for interview by considering each application and looking for evidence to show that candidates meet the criteria. For some jobs there may be a number of criteria and for others there may be just one or two it does not matter how many there are. What is important to us is that you demonstrate how you fulfil each of the criteria. If you are a disabled person and because of your impairment cannot fulfil certain items on the person specification, you can use this section to provide details of how you can meet the requirements in an alternative or adjusted way. It is quite acceptable to use headings or bulleted lists so that your evidence corresponds to the relevant item on the person specification. It is important that you do not just make statements you need to provide evidence. Owner HR Page 4 of 11

5 There is a 4000 character limit within the supporting statement section, if you go over this limit then please contact HR Admin ( ) who can upload any further information to your application form. Additional Information: Right to Work: By completing this section you are giving permission for Pluss to contact the Home Office/UK Border Agency to verify my immigration status and eligibility to work in the United Kingdom. In accordance with the Asylum & Immigration Act 1996 if you are invited to interview you will be required to provide evidence (original documents only) that you are allowed to live and work in the UK. If you are offered the post the evidence provided will need to be copied by Pluss prior to commencement. The original documents will be copied and returned, the copy will be retained on your personal file Driving Information: Please complete this section. It is especiallly important if you are applying for a driving vacancy or will be expected to travel on business for Pluss. Rehabilitation of Offenders: All candidates are required to complete this section. If you have a criminal record, it will not necessarily bar you from working with us. It will depend upon the nature of the position that you are applying for and the circumstances and background of your offences. If you tick Yes then you will be asked to provide further details upon appointment. For further advice please contact a member of the Pluss HR Team. Guaranteed Interview Scheme: As users of the Disability Confidence Scheme, we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities. If you have a disability and would like to be guaranteed an interview, then you need to meet the qualifying criteria for the job you have applied. If you do then you will be automatically invited to interview. If you are applying under the guaranteed interview scheme, you are eligible to view the criteria for the post you are applying for. Please contact the HR Department to request this information. See page 9 for clarification of Guaranteed Interview Scheme. Professional Relationships: State if you have any relationships with Pluss Directors or Senior Employees. Declaration: To submit your application you must tick the box agreeing to the terms of the declaration on this page. If you are invited to interview you will be asked to sign your application form. Summary:- if all the sections have been completed correctly then all of the icons on the pages will be green. Owner HR Page 5 of 11

6 If any of the icons are red then you have not completed this section adequately and you will need to go back to this section to complete. Once you press apply your application will be submitted, please select Continue to proceed or Cancel to return to the Application summary. Once you have clicked continue you will receive the following message:- Your application has been successfully submitted. Owner HR Page 6 of 11

7 WELCOME TO PLUSS Pluss is an award winning Social Enterprise that supports thousands of people with disabilities and other disadvantages move into employment each year. We do this through a range of specialist, local employment services and through direct employment within our own Commercial Enterprises. Pluss is located throughout the UK, from way down in Truro, passing through Devon,Somerset, Bristol, Wiltshire we also have offices in Halifax, Liverpool, London, Manchester. Pluss currently employs over 500 staff, 40% of whom have disclosed a disability. Our employment operations help jobseekers who need the most specialist support to find work. Our enterprise operations run alongside to create direct employment opportunities in a wide range of job roles. With a proven track record spanning over 45 years, we deliver a range of nationally and locally procured employment programmes on behalf of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), ESF, Big Lottery Fund, Local Authorities and the NHS. Over the next five years, we will support over 75,000 people to move towards and into work Our vision is simple: To inspire people of all abilities to achieve a career. Business Purpose The provision of services that support the employment of disabled and disadvantaged people always to include individuals considered furthest from the labour market. Our vision, values and business purpose are embedded into every aspect of our work. Owner HR Page 7 of 11

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9 GUARANTEED INTERVIEW SCHEME As users of the Disability Confidence Scheme, Pluss guarantees to interview all disabled applicants whose application meets the minimum criteria for the vacancy. By minimum criteria we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence required for each competence, as well as meeting any of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential. Pluss is committed to the employment and career development of disabled people. What do we mean by disability? The Equality Act 2010, defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and adverse long-term effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. There are 9 protected characteristics arising from the Equality Act which cannot be used to treat people unfairly: Age Disability Gender reassignment Marriage & civil partnership Pregnancy & maternity Race Religion or belief Sex Sexual orientation How do I apply? If you want to apply under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme simply complete The Guaranteed Interview Scheme section on the application form. By completing this section you have declared that you consider yourself to have a disability as defined above. Please complete the section entitled Interview Adjustments required if you require any adjustments. We will try to provide access, equipment or other practical support to ensure that if you have a disability you can compete on equal terms with non -disabled people. If you would like a copy of the shortlisting criteria this can be provided by contacting HR Admin on Owner HR Page 9 of 11

10 STAFF BENEFITS Childcare vouchers ( while still applicable) Pluss operate a childcare voucher scheme with Computershare in which the gross salary you exchange for vouchers is tax free and exempt from National Insurance (NI)contributions. It doesn t cost anything to sign up for childcare vouchers and the scheme applies whatever rate of tax you pay.: Competitive salaries Training opportunities Family friendly policies including flexible working, a job sharing scheme, time off for dependant s care and family support leave Group Personal Pension Scheme: Pluss provides a Group Personal Pension Scheme with Aviva. Employees will be automatically enrolled into the pension scheme after three months of employment providing you met the criteria set out by the government. This also provides a life insurance policy of 4 x salary. Further details will be provided to the successful applicant at offer and contract stage. Up to one day a year undertaking local charity / community work. Company wide annual appraisal scheme Annual Leave: Annual leave is 23 days plus bank holidays pro rata per year from 1 April 31 March. Additionally, leave increases after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15 and 20 years of service. All employees will also be awarded a days additional leave for their holiday.. All employees will be awarded an additional day of annual leave for their birthday. Owner HR Page 10 of 11

11 TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT Salary:- the starting salary for all new employees is at the first point within the salary scale. Salary progression to the next point will not be automatic and will be subject to your satisfactory performance in the job. Employees with less than 6 months service at 01 April each year will not be considered for an increment. Disclosures:- due to the sensitive nature of Pluss work and the people it employs, positions will be subject to a DBS/Basic Disclosure Check. If you have a criminal conviction, it will not necessarily bar you from employment each case will be individually assessed and judged on its merits. We can assure you that any information you provide will be treated in confidence. Probation Period:- All new appointments are subject to a 6 month probationary period. Owner HR Page 11 of 11