Policies

CHERRY WILLINGHAM PARISH COUNCIL (CWPC)

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION POLICY

1. Introduction

The intention of the recruitment policy is to ensure that the Council can attract and retain high calibre Employees into its job vacancies. It aims to attract the widest possible response to any employment vacancy.  The Council will take positive steps to advise minority groups of all vacancies and of its Equal Opportunity Policy. The Council recognises the advantages of recruiting individuals with specialist knowledge and experience of local needs.

The selection process is of crucial importance in this policy and must, therefore, be carried out according to objective, job-related criteria.  The Council will ensure that, through appropriate training, people making selection decisions will not discriminate, whether consciously or unconsciously, in making these selection decisions. 

2. Core Principles of the Recruitment and Selection Policy

The Clerk is responsible for Employee recruitment in conjunction with the Council Members. Employment of a Clerk comes under the HR committee.

The Recruitment and Selection Policy will be implemented with regard at all stages to the Council Equal Opportunities Policy, the Equality Act 2010 and subsequent legislation. All persons involved in the recruitment process will be made aware, through training, of the above legislation and its implications.

All stages of the selection process will focus on the needs of the job and the skills needed to perform effectively.

The Clerk and Elected Members will ensure that questions they ask job applicants are not in any way discriminatory or unnecessarily intrusive.

All candidates with a disability that meet the minimum selection criteria will be invited to an interview.

It is the Council’s practice to seek the successful candidate’s consent to seek two written references and to ask for documentary proof of qualifications. 

3. Recruitment and Selection Process

Before embarking upon the selection process, the Clerk should have recruitment authority from the Council, an updated job description and an accurate person specification. Advertisements will be placed appropriately to allow maximum exposure to all sectors of the community.

Candidates invited to interview where possible will be given at least one week’s notice. All letters sent to unsuccessful candidates will be issued as soon as practicably possible after the decision has been made. Reserve candidates may be kept ‘on hold’ for a period of time, and should be notified of the delay in finalising the outcome of their application.

Job Description

• Each job will have an up to date job description that accurately reflects the job requirements;

• Job descriptions should be written in a clear and concise manner in the agreed Council format;

• Job descriptions should be reviewed and discussed prior to the commencement of the recruitment action;

• Where appropriate the equal rights dimension of service provision should be included;

Person Specification

• A person specification will be prepared for every job description reflecting the skills and qualities required to undertake the job;

• Personnel specifications should be reviewed prior to the recruitment action.  A standard format together with guidance on usage will be issued separately;

• Criteria contained in the specification should be strictly relevant to the requirements of the job. The criteria should not be unnecessarily restrictive so as to exclude particular disadvantaged groups, since this may be viewed as indirect discrimination and therefore unlawful;

• All stated requirements must be clearly justifiable in terms of the principal function of the job vacancy, literacy, numeracy, qualifications, age and educational level achieved;

• If the job is to work directly with members of ethnic minorities in promoting their welfare or providing personal services, it may be considered a genuine occupational qualification for a post.

4. Attracting a Field of Applicants

• Publicity material must reflect the Equal Opportunity Policy;

• Advertisements should be approved by the Council prior to being circulated in the public domain;

• Publicity material should, where thought desirable, be translated into ethnic minority languages;

• All posts which are either permanent or fixed term for a period of two or more years should be advertised externally. Where necessary, use should be made of the local press.

• Where necessary, use should be made of the ethnic minority press;

• Advertisements must be clear and unambiguous, so that applicants will be able to determine their own suitability.

Application Forms

• Only Council application forms should be used for recruitment purpose (appendix 1)

• Assistance should be offered to candidates to complete any sections of the form if required;

5. Short listing

• Short listing must only be based on the information contained in the application form and any covering letter using the job person specification and the job description elements as the criteria

• The criteria for short listing must be consistently applied to all applicants

• The application form should not be used as a test of literacy unless a high standard of literacy is required as a genuine requirement of the job

• If academic qualifications are one of the criteria for initial selection they should not be unnecessarily high for the particular job.  Assumptions must not be made about the standard of overseas qualifications

• There should be no unnecessary or unreasonable restrictions on the numbers to be short-listed

• Any disabled applicant that meets the minimum requirements for the job should be short-listed

• Original copies of educational/academic/qualification certificates or documents should be brought to interview.

6. Selection Interview

• All people responsible for shortlisting and interviewing should be aware of interview techniques and current legislation which should include the equal opportunities dimension. No selection interview shall take place without someone that has received such training and is aware of the relevant legislation, in attendance

• At least three people should sit on an interview panel

• Interviewers must keep adequate notes of the interview in order to be able to make a fair comparison between candidates. This will be recorded on an interviewing marking sheet (appendix 2)

• In determining whether or not a candidate is to be progressed to the next stage, interviewers may only consider factors relevant to the job requirements.  If for any reason a candidate does not possess a certain requirement for a job, but is nevertheless short listed for interview, the candidate should not be subsequently declined solely on the grounds of not possessing that requirement.  Reasons for unsuccessful candidates should be recorded for incorporation on the interviewing marking sheet

• All application forms and interview notes should be kept for six months after the end of recruitment action. Monitoring forms should be kept indefinitely

• If any member of an interview panel feels that discrimination has occurred in the selection process, the matter must be reported immediately to the Chair of the Panel/Council. No selection decision should be made until the issue is resolved

• Candidates of all ethnicities/ethnic backgrounds should not be asked questions that could be seen as directly or indirectly discriminatory, e.g. questions which test their understanding of ‘U.K. Customs’. Neither should their fluency in the English language be used as a selection criterion unless it is a bona fide requirement of the job

• Selection decisions must not be influenced either by the traditional racial or sexual profile of the previous post-holder

• Informal interviews must not take place unless they are clearly part of the approved or agreed selection process for all short listed candidates.

•  All appointments require satisfactory verification of the individual’s identity, eligibility for employment in the UK and home address. No contract of employment will be issued without sight of at least 3 forms of original identity document bearing the applicant’s current name.  

            In order to establish a person’s eligibility for employment in the UK at least  

            one document must be provided from the following list:

1. A passport or national identity card showing that the holder is a British citizen 

or is a national of the European Economic Area or Switzerland

2. A passport endorsed to show that the holder is exempt from immigration 

control, is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK, has the right of abode in the 

UK and has no time limit on their stay in the UK

3. A UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland birth or adoption 

certificate

4. A certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen

5. A letter or Immigration Status Document issued by the Home Office or the 

Border and Immigration Agency to the holder which indicates that the person

           is allowed to stay indefinitely in the UK.

Items 3, 4 and 5 must be accompanied by an official document giving the person’s permanent National Insurance Number.

7. Letters of Appointment

• Appointment letters should contain the following statement: "As an Employee of the Council you will be required actively to pursue the Council’s policies on Equal Opportunities and Race Relations and to undergo any training associated with this";

• The appointment letter is required to be signed and return to indicate acceptance of the job offered, and which is retained in the personal record.  

• If letters to unsuccessful candidates state reasons for non-selection, then these must be valid.  Unsuccessful candidate letters should also indicate to candidates the name and telephone number of the person to contact if further information or feedback is required;

• Reasons for non-selection should be given to candidates if requested.  The reasons will be those stated on the recruitment monitoring form;

• All appointments will be subject to receiving two satisfactory references, one of which must be from the most recent Employer or educational institution.  If satisfactory references are not received, the Council may terminate the employment relationship.

• All appointments will be subject to a satisfactory right to work in UK

8. Records

All records of job applicants and interview notes should be kept for a minimum of 12 months. These must be held in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, which requires records to be accurate and stored confidentially.

A recruitment file should be produced for all candidates who are selected for appointment.  The recruitment file should contain all the documents relevant to the candidate’s employment as they are received, including:

• Job description

• Application form

• Interview notes

• Written test (if applicable)

• References

• Copy of any relevant qualification certificates

• Copy of documents provided as proof of identity, eligibility for employment in the UK and home address

• Signed acceptance letter

• Signed contract of employment

Upon receipt of a signed contract of employment a personal file will be opened for the employee concerned and will initially contain the contents of the recruitment file.  

9. Retention and Development

The Council’s strategy is to ensure all staff remain motivated in the working environment. This is done by way of regular supervisions where everyone has their input listened to and they are clearly informed of business updates. Staff development is enhanced by the way of regular internal/external training courses on subjects that are relevant to the business and also to personally develop their own working skills.

Every individual receives regular reviews where personal progress is discussed along with the individual’s requirements to further enhance their work and working environment.

Every individual who decides to leave the Council will be offered an exit interview. ( Appendix 4)

A suitable person will be allocated to carry out the interview. The results of the interview can be used as feedback into the business to enhance staff retention.

10. Monitoring

The Clerk is accountable for the Recruitment and Selection Policy. The Clerk will monitor the implementation and effectiveness of the policy, and provide regular monitoring reports to the Council.

APPENDIX 1

Application Form

Link below

https://forms.gle/2N5r26EHJgHYx6HV9

                    Appendix 2

Interviewer’s  Marking  Sheet

Please mark the candidate’s responses to the interview questions on the grid below. Scores are allocated between 0 and 5, with 0 being the lowest score and 5 the highest.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 3

Question 4

Question 5

Question 6

Question 7

Overall Outcome

              Appendix 3

Cherry Willingham Parish Office

Millennium Hall

16 High Street

Cherry Willingham

LN3 4AQ

DATE

CANDIDATE NAME

CANDIDATE ADDRESS

Dear Candidate,

We are pleased to offer you the Full time/part time position of XXXXXXX, at Cherry Willingham Parish Council, with a start date of  XXXXXXX. This offer is conditional upon satisfactory references.

You will report to XXXXXX at Location.

Your employment is subject to a six month probationary period.

As an employee of the Council you will be required actively to pursue the Councils policies on Equal Opportunities and Race Relations and to undergo any training associated with this.

Please confirm your acceptance of this post by Date

We look forward to you joining the Cherry Willingham Parish Council team, if there is any further information you require please don’t hesitate to contact the Council.

Yours sincerely 

Ian Fleetwood

Chair of HR Committee

APPENDIX 4

Please use the reverse for any additional information that you would like noted.

Once completed please send Chair of HR Committee