UPSU Staffing Policies and Procedures Recruitment and Selection Policy September 2018

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1 UPSU Staffing Policies and Procedures Recruitment and Selection Policy September 2018 Page 1

2 Approvals and review details Approval Route: Last full review June 2014 Last administrative review September 2018 Finance and Staffing Committee -> Governance and Appointments Committee -> Trustee Board Manager responsible: HR Manager About this policy The Students Union Recruitment Policy is not contractual, but is to provide managers and staff with information on UPSU s approach to recruitment Scope This policy applies to recruitment for all posts at UPSU, with a focus on salaried posts. Recruitment for casual posts is mentioned in a section towards the end of this document. Policy Statement UPSU recognises that its members of staff are fundamental to its success. UPSU therefore needs to be able to attract and retain staff of the highest calibre and a strategic, professional approach to recruitment is essential to do this. This policy has been prepared in accordance with: Employment Rights Act 1996 Equality Act 2010 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Data Protection Regulations Advice on good practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission Requirement got compliance with UK Immigration legislation Purpose To provide a sound framework for the recruitment and selection of staff which also meet the requirements of UPSU s Equal Opportunities Policy To help ensure the procedure is adhered to To ensure fair and consistent treatment for all applicants regarding recruitment and selection in line with relevant legislation To ensure appointments are made on merit Page 2

3 Preparation for recruitment The recruitment and selection process should not commence until a full evaluation of the need for the role against the area s strategic plans and budget has been completed. When replacing a member of staff that has left, with no changes to the job role, hours, or salary grading, and where the role is still deemed appropriate to the needs of the organisation, recruitment can proceed without authorisation from the Finance and Staffing Committee. Where replacing staff and making changes to the job role, hours or salary grading, in response to the needs of the organisation, the departmental Director or Senior Manager should discuss with HR and and SLT. In the case of significant changes, it may be appropriate for a paper to be submitted to F&S committee outlining the proposed changes and the rationale behind them, listing the various options available and your preferred outcome. The paper will then be discussed at the Committee meeting and one of the options will be approved, or an alternative decision will be made on how to proceed. As this stage, Job Descriptions and Person Specifications should be reviewed and checked for relevancy, accuracy, and legality. In line with the Equality Act 2010, HR will ensure that Job Descriptions and Person Specifications do not unjustifiably exclude disabled people or any other protected group. Any updates or changes should be checked and agreed with the HR department and approved by the Finance and Staffing Committee. Where Fixed Term Contracts are being put in place, there should be transparent, justifiable and objective reasons for using them (such as providing cover for elongated staff absence, maternity leave cover, funding etc.) Where fixed term roles are due to expire and a renewal, extension, or brand new contract is desirable, the options should be reviewed and evaluated before proceeding with a replacement. Fixed term contracts should not be used as an alternative to performance management. It can be acceptable or even preferable to appoint internally in some circumstances. To do so, a paper must be submitted to the Finance and Staffing Committee meeting. Acceptable reasons can include avoiding redundancy; reward for performance; reduction of recruitment costs; or retention of staff. Staff subject to redeployment will be given access to vacancies before they are advertised. Formal authorisation to recruit to a post should be sought from the relevant director before commencing the recruitment process. HR will not proceed without this authorisation on the Request to Recruit form. Recruitment Panel The manager of the vacant post will normally be the chair of the panel and will liaise with HR on all matters throughout the process. Before advertising, the panel, selection process and Page 3

4 recruitment timeline must be agreed. Any part of this process can be varied in consultation with HR. The interview panel will be made up of at least 2 managers or staff from the appropriate department and will preferably include members from each gender. A Sabbatical Officer will sometimes be asked to sit on the panel and may or may not take part in shortlisting. HR will not normally sit on the panel, but will offer full support throughout. In addition to being available to offer advice on any stage of the recruitment process, HR staff can join an interview panel, if requested in advance, in some circumstances. All panel members must have attended the University of Plymouth s Interview training. All chairs must have attended the University of Plymouth s chair training. It is recommended that all managers and Sabbatical officers attend both of these courses as soon as they start working for UPSU. Advertisement All jobs will be advertised, widely and fairly. Beyond this, consideration will be given to advertising in Agencies, Newspapers and any other relevant or specialist publications, depending on the budget available and level of job. For external vacancies, allow at least 14 days from the date of the advert being published (if recruiting internationally, allow 28 days) before the closing date. Applications will generally be directed through the website. A standard advert layout will be used here and all forms will be available to applicants. Paper copies can be provided if required. The application pack will include: Advert, Job Description, Person Specification, Application Form (in 3 parts); Staff Incentives; and any other relevant information. In some circumstances, with the approval of the Director of Central Services, CVs may be accepted as an alternative to an application. In line with the Equality Act 2010, adverts must not be discriminatory. HR will be involved in all aspects of recruitment. Applications In the interests of objectivity and fairness, and to avoid claims of prejudice, preference or discrimination, the HR department will place the advertisement, deal with any ensuing enquiries and manage the application stages of the recruitment process to ensure complete anonymity is preserved prior to, and during, the short listing process. HR will also be responsible for recording any necessary data from the application forms. Applications will be stored electronically. Postal applications will be scanned. Page 4

5 Shortlisting Once the closing date has passed, HR will prepare the received application forms for shortlisting. The personal details page will be detached. These details will be held by HR in secure filing until the short listing process has been completed. The main body of each application form will be numbered according to the matching personal details, checked to ensure they are anonymous. The panel will receive electronic shortlisting packs from HR, unless they request a paper pack and provide a compelling reason for this. Short listing should be undertaken within 3 working days of the closing date whenever possible. In the event of excessive applications being received (in excess of 50) a preliminary shortlisting may be undertaken by a member of the interview panel based on one or two of the essential criteria. For example, where a specific qualification is critical to the role, applications which do not fulfil that criterion can be separated off and filed as not suitable. This will keep the short listing process manageable without compromising the legality of the procedure. Using the person specification, the panel should shortlist on Education, Experience and Availability only. Skills, Knowledge and Personal Qualities will be assessed at interview. Chairs must ensure the panel are all using the same scoring system. Scoring should be based primarily on essential criteria although desirable criteria may also be considered if there are not sufficient essential points to enable some definition between the candidates. Initial short listing should be done by each member of the panel independently and then based on their individual results they should meet to discuss and agree on a final selection. Clear notes should be kept throughout the process showing how the scoring was marked, the initial results and reasons for them, then any changes or areas of disagreement and the justification for these. Panel members should ensure they base their decisions on facts and the evidence supplied by the application forms and not base their decisions on gut feelings or irrelevant reasons such as poor handwriting (unless clear and legible hand writing is an essential criteria for the job role of course). Records must be kept of the shortlisting process, including a clear indication of the reasons for selection or rejection based on the relevant person specification. All comments must be factual, unambiguous and impersonal. All scoring should be totalled to ensure clarity and to demonstrate fair process. There must be a clear rationale on how the final shortlist was arrived at and all forms should be completed. It should be noted that applicants may request to see their shortlist scores and in discrimination claims these forms could be required by an employment tribunal. On completion of the shortlisting, the packs should be returned to HR. Page 5

6 Interviews The HR department will contact the shortlisted candidates to arrange the interviews and check if there are any special adjustments required for the interview process. In the case of disabled candidates who require reasonable adjustments, these will be taken into account by HR when making arrangements for the interviewing procedure. The selected candidates should normally be given a minimum of one week s notice of the interview date and time, particularly if the process includes a prepared presentation. HR will notify the candidates who have not been shortlisted. If a short listed candidate withdraws, HR will advise the selection panel and record the reason given. Prior to the interview, the Chair of the selection panel will provide HR with a copy of the questions to be used during the interviews and (if applicable) the topic for the presentation or the task to be set. HR will check for suitability and legality and amendments will be made, if necessary, in consultation with the Chair of the selection panel. HR will then prepare an interview pack for each member of the Selection Panel. Interview packs will consist of the relevant Person Specification and Job Description, interview questions and note-taking/scoring sheets, a copy of each candidate s application form and any paperwork relating to presentations or tasks that are part of the interview process. The purpose of the interview is to obtain and assess information about a candidate that will allow an objective decision to be made about each candidate s ability to do the job. All interviews must be conducted in a professional manner. During each interview, all panel members should make notes to be kept as a factual record, completed in pen and signed and dated by the relevant panel member. These records will be kept for 6 months in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act Any paperwork, notes and scoring used for presentations and tasks will also be kept on file for the designated amount of time. Candidates may request to see a copy of their interview notes. If the panel proposes to use other selection methods, such as a task, there should be a clear reason for doing so and they should be discussed and agreed in consultation with HR. Selection Tests and Presentations Consideration should be given to using job-related selection tests or asking candidates to give presentations as part of the selection process if there are some elements of the person specification that are difficult to test at interview. If selection tests or presentations are to be used, all candidates should be given the same written information as to how long they will take, the topic area(s) they will cover, and what - if anything - they should prepare in advance Page 6

7 In all cases care should be taken to ensure that job-related tests are well explained in writing for candidates, in plain language, that all candidates are subject to the same tests under exactly the same conditions, (excluding any allowances made as 'reasonable adjustments' to disabled candidates) and that presentation topics do not favour any one candidate. It is very important that selection tests are not unfairly discriminatory. Advice is available from HR for those wishing to develop selection tests. Appointment When all the interviews have been conducted, the panel must agree on a successful candidate and (if necessary) a suitable reserve. The panel should record the reasons for their selection. All interview packs should be returned to HR for filing. The Chair of the Selection Panel will contact the successful candidate, in the first instance, and make a verbal job offer. If the offer is accepted, the Chair should instruct HR to draw up the necessary paperwork and confirm the agreed start date. If the job offer is declined the Chair may approach the reserve candidate (if applicable) with the job offer. Refer to the Reward and Recognition Policy for information about the Start Pay Policy. Once the job offer has been verbally accepted, the Chair should contact the unsuccessful interviewees and advise them of the decision, being prepared to offer constructive feedback, if requested. When providing feedback, care should be taken to ensure that it is objective, based on the interview records and post selection discussion. HR will also then confirm the decision in writing as a matter of courtesy. If no candidate is deemed suitable then discussions should commence with the HR department to discuss options for re-advertising. Recruitment records will be retained for a period of 12 months after which time they will be destroyed. All job offers are subject to satisfactory references being obtained. The candidate must also be eligible to work in the UK. Some posts may also be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. HR will send a conditional offer letter, where possible, within 5 days of the interview. HR will administer all necessary administration for new employees and organize staff ID cards, accounts, staff badges and personnel filing. Payroll paperwork will be passed onto the Finance office as required. Complaints Applicants for posts with UPSU have the right to complain if they feel they have been discriminated against contrary to the Recruitment and Selection Policy and Equal Opportunities Policy. This procedure does not affect an individual's right to complain to an Page 7

8 Employment Tribunal, e.g. under the Equality Act This procedure does not preclude individuals from seeking reasons for a decision, before deciding whether to pursue a complaint The complaint shall be made as soon as possible to the Director of Central Services, and must be within 2 months of the action in question. The complaint must be made in writing giving as much detail as possible and clearly stating why the breach of policy is considered to have occurred. On receipt of the complaint, the Director of Central Services will acknowledge receipt of the complaint, if feasible and appropriate "freeze" the appointment pending the outcome of an investigation, and arrange for an investigation to be conducted and completed within 2 weeks. The investigation will include interviewing relevant people including those on the recruitment panel. The Director of Central Services will determine what action will be taken and inform the complainant and relevant officers according. The decision is final. If a complaint is upheld, the remedy offered will aim to restore, as far as possible, the complainant's position in the selection process. Candidates known to the panel If a panel member spots, on an application form, that they know a candidate, they should: Inform the panel chair Inform HR Explain the exact nature of your knowledge and relationship with the candidate Complete the shortlisting forms as normal There is no need to change the process at this point If a panel member spots, on the interview schedule, that they know a candidate, they should: Inform the panel chair Inform HR Explain the exact nature of your knowledge and relationship with the candidate Depending on the nature of the relationship, the following actions will be considered by HR Note kept on file and no significant change to the process Change of panel members Additional panel members (e.g. HR Manager) Additional training for panel members It is not always necessary to change the process or panel members, but in this case the panel chair should do the following: Page 8

9 During the interview, the chair should state to the known candidate: 1. I am aware that you and <panel member> know each other from <where they know each other from>. We have informed HR and we have no problem continuing with the process as normal. Our selection process is objective and fair and we obviously wish you the best of luck. Are you also ok with all that? 2. The chair should make a note that this was said to the candidate in the interview notes. 3. Do not be overly-friendly or familiar with the candidate, as this would be highly unprofessional and unfair on other candidates 4. Do not contact the candidate outside of the agreed interview process. If you are normally in regular contact with this person, tell them that you will need to keep some distance while selection is in process. If this is not possible, discuss with HR as the panel will probably need to be amended. If the panel does objectively decide that the know candidate is the best candidate and is appointable, further thought must be given to the circumstances, in consultation with HR, before a decision is made. It can be difficult to work with a friend and even harder to performance manage them, so this needs to be considered. Financial processes may need to be considered as well as managing wider perception of fairness. Conditional offers Offers will initially be conditional on satisfactory references and confirmation of right to work in the UK. Only HR can issue offer letters for salaried staff. It is a criminal offence to employ someone who does not have the right to live and work in the UK. UPSU is therefore required to check the eligibility of all prospective employees. HR will do this on the employee s first day of work. Three references will be sought by HR for all employees using official Reference Request Forms. See the Employment References Policy for further information. These will be assessed by HR and the line managers for suitability. Offers where the post holder will work with children or vulnerable adults will be conditional on a satisfactory DBS check. It should take HR services between one to three weeks to hear back from the Bureau. If it transpires that the successful candidate has unspent criminal convictions it does not automatically mean that the offer of employment must be withdrawn. You should discuss this with the HR Department and assess the nature and circumstances of the individual s offences in relation to the nature of the work to be carried out. UPSU policy to require applicants to disclose any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 as part of their application. The Code of Practice published in the Police Act 1997 obliges registered bodies to have a written policy on the recruitment of ex-offenders; a copy of which can be given to DBS Page 9

10 applicants at the outset of the recruitment process. This section of the Recruitment and Selection policy fulfils that purpose. As an organisation assessing applicants suitability for positions which are included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 using criminal record checks processed through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). UPSU complies fully with the Code of Practice and undertakes to treat all applicants for positions fairly. UPSU undertakes not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a criminal record check on the basis of a conviction or other information revealed. UPSU can only ask an individual to provide details of convictions and cautions that we are legally entitled to know about. Where a DBS certificate at either standard or enhanced level can legally be requested (where the position is one that is included in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and where appropriate Police Act Regulations, UPSU can only ask an individual about convictions and cautions that are not protected. UPSU actively promotes equality of opportunity for all with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcome applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records. UPSU selects all candidates for interview based on their qualifications and experience. An application for a criminal record check is only submitted to DBS after a risk assessment has indicated that one is both proportionate and relevant to the position concerned. For those positions where a criminal record check is identified as necessary, job adverts and recruitment briefs will contain a statement that an application for a DBS certificate will be submitted in the event of the individual being offered the position UPSU makes every subject of a criminal record check submitted to DBS aware of the existence of the Code of Practice and makes a copy available on request UPSU undertakes to discuss any matter revealed on a DBS certificate with the individual seeking the position before withdrawing a conditional offer of employment. Processing of Data All recruitment information will be processed in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulations. Recruitment information, including all job applications and shortlisting / interview data, will be stored for 6 months from the date of any appointment to that role in order to ensure UPSU can respond to any employment tribunal claims. Speculative CVs UPSU will not accept speculative CVs. Some roles will occasionally be advertised as suitable for application by CV. Page 10

11 Casual posts Casual posts do not need to follow the full recruitment procedure. Key differences can include: It is UPSU policy to prioritise University Plymouth students when recruiting to casual posts A senior manager will not usually be involved in selection An executive officer will not normally be involved in selection Applications need not be anonymous. A different application form is therefore usually used for casual posts The line manager will usually arrange the interviews themselves The line manager will issue all offer paperwork However, key similarities include: HR will advertise the job to ensure equality of opportunity among students HR will check the interview questions HR will collate applications and pass over to the line manager For further help and advice, please contact the HR Department END OF POLICY Page 11