Recruitment Policy

2.1  It is against UKSA’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity Policy and a breach of legislation to discriminate either directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, gender, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, ethnicity, cultural or religious beliefs. Reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process will be made to ensure that no applicant is disadvantaged because of any disability or additional need.

2.2  All employees are required to comply with the requirements of the Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity Policy at all stages of the recruitment process, including the production of job descriptions, advertising material, and instructions given to external recruitment agencies, shortlisting of applications, interviewing, selection decisions and offers of employment.

2.3  All policies and procedures reflect our commitment to achieving and maintaining equal opportunities within the workplace.  It is the responsibility of every employee to monitor continually and evaluate formal and informal practices and procedures to ensure that they do not directly or indirectly discriminate against any individual or group of society.

2.4  Any employee who is found to be discriminating in any way during the recruitment process will be subject to the UKSA disciplinary procedure and may be liable to dismissal.

3.1  In order for us to monitor the effectiveness of equal opportunities and equality and diversity within the recruitment process, UKSA request that all candidates complete the Recruitment Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form. Any data which is collected from this form will solely be for the purpose of monitoring equal opportunity and will be held confidentially by UKSA and protected from misuse. This data will only be recorded and maintained by the Human Resources Department.

4.1  Any vacancy must be authorised by the hiring manager and Director of Finance & Business Services before any attempt is made to fill the role.

5.1  Once authorisation has been obtained, the hiring manager must produce a job description for the vacancy which provides a fair and accurate representation of the role. The job description will include a clearly drafted person specification.

5.2  The job description will describe the duties, responsibilities and seniority of the post and the person specification will describe the qualifications, knowledge, experience, skills and competencies required.

5.3  The job description and person specification will form part of a candidate information pack that is specific to the role being recruited for, and will be available as part of the vacancy advertising.

5.4  Particular care must be taken when producing job descriptions to ensure that no requirements are placed on the job holder which could directly or indirectly contravene equal opportunities and equality and diversity regulations.

6.1  All vacancies must be advertised internally and via external means to ensure all candidates have equal and fair opportunity to apply. External means may include employment agencies or advertising in suitable press, social media or industry publications.

6.2  Any advertisement must not show any intention to discriminate and follow the Equal Opportunities Commission recommended code of guidance.

7.1  In order to shortlist candidates for interviews, UKSA will:

• 7.1.1 Identify specific job-related criteria using the job description.
• 7.1.2 Match these criteria with those detailed in the candidate’s application.
• 7.1.3 Use this information to select which candidates will be invited for interview.

7.2  Candidates who apply for positions with UKSA, whether through a direct advertisement or a recruitment agency, will always be informed of the outcome of their application as quickly as possible.

8.1  UKSA uses a combination of competence and value based interview questions, and other methods of assessment such as presentations, practical exercises and written exercises to ensure we meet our commitment to safer recruitment practices and to successfully appoint the best candidate into the role.

8.2  A panel of at least two managers will conduct recruitment interviews. Interview notes will be taken and are available to a candidate to view if requested, and will be retained for a suitable period of time.

9.1  Once the most appropriate candidate has been selected, this appointment needs to be approved by the Head of Department and the terms and condition of the offer of employment must be confirmed by the Director of Finance and Business Services.

9.2  An offer will be made verbally to the candidate initially, followed by an Offer of Employment letter. Once the offer has been accepted in writing, the Contract of Employment will be generated.

10.1  All employment offers are conditional upon receipt of satisfactory references that cover a three year period of employment history. One reference must be the candidates current or previous employer, although in the case of a college or school leaver, an academic reference is acceptable.

10.2  References will not be sought without the applicant’s permission.

10.3  References will be sought in writing and require that a standard reference form be completed.  If a response to a written request for a reference has not been received, then the Company will telephone the referee where the details have been provided and may request that the candidate also make contact to request the reference is responded to.

10.4  If full referencing is not received within the designated probationary period, then UKSA may consider terminating the contract of employment within the probationary period.

10.5  If references received are not deemed to be satisfactory, it may be necessary to withdraw the offer of employment or UKSA may consider terminating the contract of employment within the probationary period.

11.1  When recruiting for roles that may be vulnerable to bribery risks, and subject to the requirements of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, UKSA may need to carry out additional checks during the recruitment process, which may include bankruptcy and credit reference checks and/or taking up additional references.

12.1  UKSA is committed to the Safeguarding and protection of the young people and children we have visiting our site. As such, all roles (whether employed, contracted or voluntary) are subject to a Safer Recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote Safeguarding and Safer Working Practices across UKSA.

13.1  Applicants may be required to provide evidence of qualifications either in the form of original certificates which will be copied and then returned, or confirmation from the relevant Examination Board if certificates cannot be produced.

13.2  The employment offer may be conditional upon valid evidence of qualification and the offer may be withdrawn if this is not supplied within a reasonable timescale.

13.3  If an applicant falsifies certificates or evidence of qualifications and this subsequently comes to the attention of UKSA at any stage during employment, then the individual may be subject to disciplinary action and liable to dismissal.

14.1  It is against the law to employ a person who does not have permission to live and work in the UK. UKSA could be prosecuted and fined under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 for employing somebody who does not have permission to work in the UK.

14.2  All successful applicants will be required to provide evidence of their identity for a right to work check to be undertaken by the HR Department.

14.3  Original documentation from the list below must be verified as part of the right to work check:

• 14.3.1 A document giving the person’s National Insurance number and name.  This could be a P45, a National Insurance card or a letter from a government agency;
• 14.3.2 A document showing that the person can stay indefinitely in the UK or that they have no restriction preventing them from taking employment.  This may be an endorsement in a passport, separate VISA or Home Office Letter;
• 14.3.3 A work permit or other approval to take employment from the Department for Education and Employment;
• 14.3.4 A document showing that they are a UK Citizen or have right of abode in the UK.  This may be an endorsement in a passport, a birth certificate, a registration or naturalisation document, proof of settled status or a letter from the Home Office;
• 14.3.5 A document showing that they are a national of a European Economic Area country.  This may be a passport or national identity card: or
• 14.3.6 A document confirming registration with the Worker Registration Scheme.

14.4  In order to avoid discrimination, it is essential that the same criteria are applied to every person who is offered employment with UKSA.

14.5  If an applicant is not able to produce one of the listed documents then they will be advised to contact any relevant agencies for further advice and their offer of employment will be put on hold for a reasonable period until evidence can be produced. Failure to produce the required documentation evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.

15.1  Personnel records are held by the HR Department. A file containing paper records, and an electronic file is held for each employee. Employee data is recorded in the Sage HR system database.

15.2  All records are held in a secure environment in full compliance with GDPR regulations.

16.1  Any applicant who may consider that they have been unfairly treated or discriminated against during the recruitment process should write to the HR Manager stating the grounds of the complaint. Any employee who wishes to raise a complaint about their experience of the recruitment process should do so by means of the UKSA Grievance Procedure.