Recruitment & Selection Policy

 

General

The Company recruit’s new members of staff on the basis of merit and aptitude to do the job.  We are committed to ensuring diversity in our workforce and our recruitment procedures from job advertisements through to interview stage are designed to ensure compliance with The Equality Act 2010 which involves non-discrimination on the grounds of any of the protected characteristics.

 

The Company's future lies in the quality of the Employees and their ability and motivation to undertake the responsibilities they are assigned, consistently and conscientiously.

 

Recruiting the right people for vacant positions is therefore important and the Company will ensure this objective is achieved, whilst meeting social obligations, ensuring financial stability and maintaining and promoting harmonious Employee relations.

 

Recruitment and Selection

This policy applies to both temporary and permanent employees, but is not applicable to casual staff, work experience students, apprentices or self-employed consultants.

 

The Company recognises that it is fundamental to the success of the business to attract and appoint candidates who are of the highest caliber and who have the appropriate skills and experience to help the business grow and evolve through their willingness to learn and adapt and their ability to work as part of a team.

 

The Company pledges to:

• Ensure that the best candidate is recruited based on their merit.

• Ensure that the recruitment and selection process is conducted professionally, fairly, efficiently and consistently.

• Provide appropriate training and support for anyone involved in the recruitment process.

• Ensure that anyone involved in the recruitment process is aware of and adheres to the relevant legislation.

• Ensure that the recruitment process is relevant and up to date; continually developing and evolving to make sure that a rigorous and accurate recruitment process is in place.

• Treat all documents with the utmost confidentiality and in accordance with Data Protection regulations.

 

Recruitment and Selection Procedure

This procedure is designed to ensure that recruitment is undertaken in line with the Recruitment and Selection Policy and Equal Opportunity Policy, promoting equality of opportunity and is compliant with the Data Protection Act.

 

This procedure outlines the Company’s responsibilities and details the key stages of the process:

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Identification of a vacancy

Once it has been identified that a vacancy exists, then appropriate authorisation must be sought from the business before the recruitment process can be initiated. Under no circumstances can recruitment be started prior to receiving authorisation to recruit.

 

Job Description

A job description or specification will be created for all job vacancies, broadly detailing the duties and tasks required for the role.  However, due to the nature of many of the job roles, significant flexibility and adaptability is required. All job descriptions must include a Job Title.

 

Advertising and Short listing

• If feasible, consideration will be given to advertising job vacancies internally in the first instance.

• It is not the Company’s usual practice to use recruitment agencies to aid the recruitment process, but in certain circumstances, this may be considered.

• When advertising external vacancies, consideration will be given to advertising the roles in a way that will generate the best response from candidates, given cost and time constraints.

• Candidates will be provided with sufficient information about the role to enable them to make an informed decision regarding their potential suitability for the role and Company.

• A decision to shortlist will be taken without regard to the potential candidate’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex or sexual orientation.

• All job applications will usually be acknowledged within two weeks of receipt however the Company reserves the right not to respond to all applications if the volume of applications received is excessive.

• Some candidates may be automatically rejected if they do not meet minimum selection

criteria e.g. provision of a covering letter/minimum qualification.

 

Selection and Interview

A decision to shortlist will be taken without regard to the potential candidate’s gender, racial or ethnic background, religion or belief, sexual orientation, age or disability.

 

• Short listing of candidates will be conducted, after an interview process, in order to assess if the candidate fits with the Company culture and potential ability to undertake the role.

• It is the Company’s current practice to conduct at least two telephone or face to face interviews as part of the selection process, but depending on the job role, a range of selection methods may be used in addition to this, including; presentations, etc.

• Candidates will be informed of their success, or otherwise, either verbally or in writing, once all interviews have been completed, or within a reasonable timescale, and feedback offered.

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Interviews

Interview questions will relate to the selection criteria.  No questions will be based on assumptions about roles in the home and the family, or the assumed suitability of different ethnic groups for the post in question.  In particular, questions about private personal relationships, marital status, children, domestic arrangements, marriage plans, or family intentions will not be asked at interview.

 

Where it is necessary to obtain information on personal circumstances, for example, if one of the criteria for a particular position requires flexible working hours, then the question will be asked of all candidates.

 

In the case of a disabled applicant (who identifies themselves as such before interview), appropriate arrangements will be made to enable candidates to feel comfortable and able to compete on an equal basis.

 

Offer of Employment

Once an offer of employment has been accepted, written confirmation of the offer will be sent, along with all the relevant Company documentation.

 

All offers of employment will be conditional upon satisfactory pre-employment checks, including references, proof of academic and professional qualifications, medical assessment, evidence of eligibility to work in the UK and any other appropriate checks.  For more information, please see the pre-employment checks section below.

 

All appointments will be made subject to satisfactory completion of a probationary period.

 

Induction

Once a start date has been arranged with the successful candidate, the candidate’s future line manager is responsible for managing and preparing a comprehensive induction programme.   

 

Pre-Employment Checks

Depending on the job role, employees may be subject to the pre-employment checks, please be aware that the Company reserves the right to change the checks or methods with which they are carried out, subject to legislative requirements or business needs.

           

Right to Work in the UK

All candidates must provide appropriate, original documents which demonstrate their eligibility to work in the UK before they start employment with the Company.

 

This can be done either via an on-line or manual check.

 

It is the Finance Manager or Operations Directors responsibility to undertake the right to work check. If a manual check is undertaken it is important that all documents are valid and genuine and that the personal details match the candidate (ideally this must be done in person).  The documents will then be photocopied, countersigned by the person undertaking the checks, and kept on the employee’s personal file. 

 

Alternatively, the Finance Manager or Operations Director can conduct an online right to work check by accessing the Home Office online right to work checking service.  However, bear in mind that not all employees, or prospective employees will have an immigration status that can be checked online.

 

You need to recheck the right to work of those individuals who have time-limited permission

to work in the UK. This should occur when their previous permission comes to an end.

The follow-up check is designed to prevent people from overstaying their immigration leave

where this is time-limited.

 

If an employee is not able to provide the appropriate documents to demonstrate their right to work in the UK, the Company will consider holding the position open for a limited period of time.  However, depending on the needs of the business, it may not be possible to hold a position open, and in any event a role will only be held for a reasonable length of time to enable the relevant documents to be obtained. To ensure that you do not discriminate against anyone, you should provide every opportunity to enable an individual to prove their right to work.

 

The Company is committed to equal opportunities and will treat all employees and candidates in the same way; checks will be made regardless of an individual’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex or sexual orientation.

 

For details of the documents that prove an individual’s right to work in the UK, including Lists A and B, please see Home Office Document ‘An Employer’s Guide to Right to Work Checks (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/right-to-work-checks-employers-guide) OR Appendix 1/Human Resources.