Policy No: 42 Recruitment & Selection Policy 2015-2016
Policy Recruitment and Selection Policy Epping Forest College is committed to adopting a quality approach to staff recruitment following best employer practice and statutory requirements. Its policy is to recruit the most appropriate person for each approved vacancy regardless of age, colour, ethnic origin, family responsibility, gender, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or disability. The College will ensure that recruiters understand their responsibilities towards safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. The Principal is responsible for the recruitment of all staff except senior post holders. The Principal may delegate these responsibilities or part of them. Selection will be based on assessment of applicants against pre-defined selection criteria identified for the post and any College selection policies in operation at the time of recruitment. Appointment decisions are made by the chair of the appointment panel to whom this function has been delegated. Procedure When a vacancy occurs college management will consider Whether it is necessary to fill the vacancy. Whether there should be any change of duty. Whether changing work patterns, organisation or technology have produced a different job, or the work can be distributed in a different way The nature of the replacement, e.g. full-time, part-time, permanent, temporary, etc. Whether the post could be considered for job share, part-time working, etc. An employment requisition form must be completed along with a business case and job description and must be presented to a resourcing panel consisting of Senior Managers and the Head of Personnel. No advertising or recruitment will be processed without an authorised requisition form and job description. (Annex 1) 1. Job Descriptions Each vacant post will be specified in a job description which describes the purpose, duties and responsibilities of the post. 2. Person Specification Person specifications will be developed for each post to be filled, covering both the qualifications, skills, experience and qualities essential and those desirable for the post. Specifications will not include any potentially discriminatory requirements, or requirements which may exclude potential employees from disadvantaged groups or unnecessarily limit their chance of employment.
Consistent with the College's Equal Opportunities Policy, a statement on Equal Opportunities will be included in the person specification. 3. Advertising Recruitment advertisements will be placed only for approved vacancies, carrying appropriate written authorisation to recruit. All vacancies, including temporary and part-time, will normally be advertised. Any exceptions to this practice will require approval from the Head of Personnel & Organisational Development (e.g. an externally funded post which covers only the post holder). Advertisement may, initially be internally only or simultaneously both internally and externally. Posts may be advertised internally only, where it is anticipated that a suitable field of applicants exists, and in response to specific College needs such as budgetary constraints and redeployment needs. Internal advertising will initially be via e-mail and then placed on the intranet. Personnel will provide details of any vacancies to employees on maternity leave. Where a wider field of applicants is sought, external advertising is required and will be placed in appropriate publications or websites. 4. Drafting of Advertisements Staff Recruitment advertisements will be written by Personnel liaising with the line manager and in conjunction with the College s advertising agency. Advertisements will be prepared in line with the College s specified style and format, Advertisements will contain the post title, whether it is full-time or part-time, temporary, casual or permanent, salary, a summary of required qualifications, experience, skills and qualities, and will also carry a brief description of the post duties. All recruitment advertisements will carry an agreed statement on the College's Equal Opportunities Policy. Where appropriate recruitment advertisements and/or further particulars will state that applications are welcomed from groups under-represented in the current staff profile in accordance with equal opportunities objectives. The appropriate line manager will be required to ensure the accuracy of advertisements before they go to press. 5. Application Forms All applicants are required to complete an application form. Applicants who only submit a curriculum vitae will be sent an application form to complete. Special provision will be made for for those applicants with a disability or other needs who are unable to submit their application in the College format. Advice is available from Personnel if this is the case and will be included in the Application Guidance Notes. Information relating to ethnic origin, gender, disability and where the post advertisement was seen, will be included with the application form on a separate anonymised sheet and kept for monitoring purposes. This information is not used for short listing or selection. Information regarding disability is requested on the application form itself to allow managers to make reasonable adjustments if necessary.
All applicants for posts must disclose unspent criminal convictions and an Enhanced disclosure (CRB) is required, this will be indicated on the job description. Applicants must then complete the appropriate section of the application form, disclosing details of any criminal record, including spent convictions and for Enhanced Disclosure any other information that may have a bearing on his/her suitability for the post. Applicants will be advised in initial correspondence sent with the application form and further details of the post (or on-line if on-line applicant) that if they have not been contacted by a specific date, normally 4 weeks after the closing date, then they have not been short listed. 6. Members of the Same Family/Partners The College does not preclude the appointment of spouses/partners/members of the same family of present employees to posts within the College. All appointments will be made on the basis of selecting the best candidate for the post, in accordance with this Policy and Procedure. Appointment panels must be aware when considering applications of any relationships which might lead, for example, to managerial problems in such matters as supervision and working relationships with other colleagues. No member of the same family/partner will be involved in: the appointment panel; the selection of shortlists; the provision of a reference to the candidate in question, or any other candidate, without disclosure of interest; any other aspect of the recruitment and selection process; applicants must disclose on the application form if they are related to existing employees any post involving a member of the same family/partner must have been advertised in accordance with this Policy and Procedure; if a member of the same family/partner is involved in an appointment to a part-time hourly paid or casual post, s/he must disclose an interest and withdraw from the selection process. 7. Shortlisting Candidates will be selected for interview according to whether they possess the requirements identified in the person specification. To aid this, shortlisting forms will be provided by Personnel s. The shortlisting panel will always be made up of those employees who will be in the interview panel plus a Personnel Advisor. Shortlisting Forms The Chair is responsible for recording the assessment of all applicants against the selection criteria, noting the reasons for selection/rejection on the shortlisting form referred to in paragraph 26.
The shortlisting form will be sent to Personnel along with a list of shortlisted applicants to inform the monitoring process, and any potential subsequent equal opportunities claims. 8. Interviewing Shortlisted applicants will be invited to interview by letter or telephone directly by the Personnel team. Personnel will ensure that all candidates with a disability are fully provided for at interview. 9. Appointment Panels Interviews will be conducted by an appointment panel chaired by the authorised Chair of the appointment. The panel will include those staff involved in shortlisting at earlier stages of the appointment process. Appointment Panel Members must have attended Recruitment and Selection training before participating in the recruitment and selection process. The appointment panel will consist of those individuals best placed to assess candidates capabilities against the identified criteria, and where appropriate those who have a particular interest or involvement with the post. The Chair of the panel will have delegated responsibility from the Principal to make appointment decisions. Wherever possible the panel will include a balance of gender and ethnicity. The minimum number of panel members will be three. Larger panels, that is, of four or five members or more may not always be as effective (depending on the post) as carefully constructed smaller panels. Chairs are asked to consider this when selecting the panel. Under no circumstances can an interview be carried out by one person. 10. Assessment Depending on the role being filled it may be appropriate to carry out assessments appropriate and relevant to the role. This may include personality profiles, in tray exercises verbal and non verbal reasoning tests etc. For lecturing posts the candidate must give a presentation (previously advised ) to the panel. Any assessment must be scored against agreed criteria 11. Interview Process Prior to interview the appointment panel will receive interviewees applications, the job description and person specification and the shortlisting feedback form. Appointment panels will set aside sufficient time before interviews commence to ensure adequate preparation of areas of questioning to ensure candidates are fairly and consistently assessed against the identified criteria as noted in the person specification. The panel will ensure the appointments process is used to explore the candidate's attitude to Equal Opportunities and to the College's Mission, Vision and Strategic Objectives. Applicants will be asked to bring their qualification certificate(s) to the interview. These must be checked and photocopied by Personnel and reviewed by the Chair of the panel. The Personnel Advisor on the panel will be responsible for ensuring that all the forms and documents are recorded in the Personnel Section with the successful applicant s details at the time an employment contract is requested using the request to offer proforma (Annex 2) The Chair of Panel must nominate a Mentor for the successful candidate.
Each member of the appointment panel will make notes on each candidate during the interview process for feedback and discussion with the panel following interview. These notes will be retained by the interviewer for six months following interviews. The notes should be made on the prepared proforma supplied by Personnel, if separate notes are made these must include the candidates name and post being assessed for. The Chair is responsible for formally recording the assessment of all interviewees against the selection criteria noting reasons for selection/rejection. This formal record will be completed by the Chair, with the agreement of the panel, and copied to Personnel Section for monitoring purposes and potential subsequent equal opportunities claims. The information for unsuccessful candidates will be held for six months for those appointed the forms will be held in their personnel files. All interviewees have a right to request access to their interview notes under the Data Protection Act 1998. Other appropriate forms of assessment may be determined for use when these are a means for effectively assessing a candidate against aspects of the identified criteria (for example, presentations or ability tests, OPQs). Care must be taken to ensure the content of such activities does not disadvantage individuals on grounds of age, colour, ethnic origin, family responsibility, gender, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or disability. The interview assessment form must indicate where the evidence for each criteria has been derived i.e. Application form, interview or test (if used). 12. References Two references will be requested for the recommended candidate prior to a formal offer being made. References may also be requested prior to interview for all shortlisted candidates. One reference must be taken up from the current or most recent line manger, although candidates who are recent school leavers or have recently graduated may nominate a head teacher, lecturer or tutor. In very exceptional circumstances, references may be obtained by telephone subject to the referee being asked for confirmation in writing. In case a written reference is not received, a file note should be made, which is signed and dated, summarising the nature and content of a verbal reference. Personnel will file this with the candidate s details. (Non receipt of written reference must be followed up until they are received). In no circumstances should a successful candidate be allowed to take up post without any references. If he or she does take up post without all the references being received, every effort should be made to obtain the remaining references with the minimum of delay. In all cases either a written or initially verbal reference must be obtained from last employer before candidate can take up post. Where a successful candidate does not give permission to contact his or her current employer until an offer of employment is made and it is essential that he or she takes up post before all references are received, a provisional offer of employment will be made which will be subject to the receipt of references which are satisfactory to the College. Unsolicited references will not be accepted. 13. Disclosure of a Criminal Record Where an applicant who has disclosed a criminal record is interviewed, the Chair must always contact a Personnel Advisor for advice before reaching a decision to appoint. Where the Chair wishes to appoint contrary to Personnel Advice, the final decision will rest with the Principal. However, it is an offence knowingly to offer a person disqualified from working with children, a post which involves working with children.
All posts that entail working with children, older people and vulnerable adults are exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All applicants for these posts are required to state if they have any convictions, charges or pending summonses regardless if the conviction is regarded as spent. All posts will require an Enhanced Disclosure, the responsibility for obtaining an Enhanced Disclosure for the successful applicant from the Disclosure and Barring Service lies with the Personnel Section. A DBS check and barred list check (formerly list 99 check) will be carried out for all employees that are to be offered a post. Candidates who are to be offered a teaching or support post will not be able to commence employment until an enhanced DBS check has been received and cleared. At the discretion of the Principal and where a current DBS is in force for another organisation the employee may commence employment while the DBS check is carried out for the College. A risk assessment will need to be carried out case by case. A barred list check will be carried out as a matter of course. 14. Medical Checks The College will to seek to establish that the person they intend to appoint is medically fit to perform the work. For most jobs, it will be sufficient to ask the prospective employee to complete a general questionnaire which will be assessed by the Colleges occupational health advisor (OHA). However, if the requirements of the job are such that more detailed information about an employee s physical and/or mental health are needed, or if advised by the OHA the College may require the successful applicant, as a condition of employment, to undergo a pre-employment medical examination with an occupational doctor so that a report can be provided to the employer establishing whether the applicant meets the requisite standard of fitness for the job. 15. Correspondence with Applicants following Interview Applicants unsuccessful following interview will be informed of this by letter or telephone by the Chair of the Interview Panel following interview (Letters will be prepared by the Personnel section). Verbal feedback will be provided to unsuccessful external candidates if requested. Feedback will automatically be offered to all unsuccessful internal candidates. All feedback will be provided by the Chair of the appointment panel. 16. Training and Support Recruitment and selection training will be provided to all individuals involved in appointment panels across the College. Advice on recruitment and selection will be provided by the Personnel Advisors. 17. Monitoring Personnel Section will provide staff recruitment and equal opportunities monitoring statistics for regular consideration by the Board of Governors, Executive Team and the Equal and Diversity Committee. 18. Temporary Appointments Fixed term and temporary appointments other than casual staff are within the scope of this policy and are therefore subject to the appointment processes detailed in the Policy.
A fixed term or temporary post may be advertised as fixed term or temporary. The advertisement, associated documentation and contract must clearly state that the post is fixed term/ temporary. If there is a need for the post to be made permanent the post will be re-advertised. 19. Acting Posts This is a situation where a member of staff temporarily takes on the full responsibility of a post of a higher grade to cover a short-term need (No longer than 3-4 weeks). Where immediate action is required an individual may be selected by the relevant member of Management Team and appointed without the post being advertised. This selection will be based on an individual's suitability to take on the responsibilities of the vacant position and will include the consideration of relevant experience, skills and qualifications. In conjunction with the immediate appointment, at the discretion of the relevant member of Executive Team, the acting position may also be internally advertised. Selection would then be in line with this Policy and Procedure. Where a member of staff is needed to temporarily take on the full responsibilities of a senior management post then, in conjunction with the immediate appointment, the acting position must also be internally advertised at the outset, and selection must follow this Policy and Procedure. Secondments: this is a situation where a member of staff temporarily takes on the responsibilities of a different post, often outside their own work area. Secondments need not be advertised where the secondment does not incur an upgrade for the secondee, provided there is a justifiable reason for not advertising the vacancy. Where an upgrade may be involved, secondment opportunities must be advertised, and appointed to in line with this Policy and Procedure. 20. Agency Staff Where there is a need to source agency staff the Agency will be required to demonstrate same level of checks have been carried out as for directly employed staff.(i.e What ID checks have been made, the right to work in the UK, What teaching qualifications are (for academic staff), DBS number. These will be recorded in the HR system. 21. Data Protection All information obtained from application forms, references and their contents will be processed in accordance with the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). 22. Expenses The College will pay reasonable expenses to candidates invited to interview on production of receipts. The College will only pay where it can be demonstrated that the most economical journey means has been used to attend interview.
Please complete all areas any omissions will cause delay as the form will be returned to you Section 1 - to be completed by Line Manager in consultation with Personnel New Post Contract Variation Replacement of existing Post Job Title: Post No: Centre/Department: Reporting to: Hours WorkedPer day Mon Tues Weds Thu Fri Reason for recruitment /change in post: New/Change to Job Description Yes / No If yes you must attach an updated Job Description Leavers Name: Leaving date: Start Date: Permanent / Fixed Term*/ Agency* Finish Date*: Hrs per week: Weeks per year: Contact Hours: Scale/SCP: Name of MT Member: Countersignature (For Academic Depts). Name of Cluster Director Signature: Signature: Date: Date: Section 2 - to be completed by Personnel Date received: Date sent / returned to MT Member: Date sent to Finance: Section 3 - to be completed by Finance Cost Centre: Cost Code: Funding Detail: Received: Date sent / returned to MT Member: Date sent to SMT: Section 4 - to be completed by SMT Approval: Notes: Received: Date sent / returned to MT Member: Date sent to Personnel:
Request to Offer Form Annex 2 Candidate Details Name: Address: Telephone number: (Home) (Mobile) Conditions of Employment Department: Grade: Line Hours per Week: Location: Pay Point: Permanent / Temporary/ Fixed Term Weeks per Year: For Lecturing Staff please attach a copy of the proposed time-table Other Allowances: Start Date: Start Time: Probation Period: months Contact on First Day: Department Mentor: Special Requirements: Authorisation Head of Centre: Date: NB. Please attach all interview notes. Personnel office use only Payroll: (email details) Reception: (email details) XC: (email details) MIS: (email details) PDU: (email details) CRB Form: References Review requested: date of Policy/IA: February 2016 HOHS questionnaire: Offer letter: Contract: P46 form: IT user account form: