The University recognises that its long term reputation, prosperity and success will depend primarily on the quality and the commitments of its staff, and the training and staff development provided for them. The payroll costs of the University are its most significant expenditure and therefore the appointment of staff is one of the most important decisions that line managers will make. The University, through the HR Department, places the highest strategic importance on continually reviewing and improving the quality of the recruitment and selection process, and is committed to ensuring that wherever possible those involved in the process are adequately trained. This will ensure that, as far as possible, applicants will only be shortlisted and selected on the basis of individual merit and ability to undertake the position for which they applied.

 

 

 

1.1 All vacancies must be approved in accordance with the regulations detailed in the University's Authorisation Procedure, prior to any adverts being placed or offers of appointment being made.

 

1.2 Offers of employment, whether temporary or permanent, including oral offers, must not be made without prior approval from HR (special arrangements apply to the engagement of part-time hourly paid lecturing staff by authorised Campus Administrative staff).

 

 

2.1 In accordance with the University's policy on Conflicts of Interest, no member of staff should participate in any appointment or selection process where they have a close personal, family or business relationship with anyone under consideration for appointment to that post.

 

2.2 Should such a situation arise, they must approach their line manager or HR, in confidence if necessary, so that arrangements can be made to avoid a potential conflict. (See Staff Handbook, Section 3, Part 11.)

 

 

3.1 It is the responsibility of the appropriate Head of Unit, or their nominee, to produce a Person and Job Specification for the vacant post. HR will provide copies of previous versions for existing posts.

 

3.2 Person and Job Specifications must be drafted in the University Standard Format, as agreed by VCEG.

 

3.3 The HR Department is responsible for ensuring that the relevant paperwork is supplied prior to the advert being placed and that the information provided does not breach good recruitment practice.

 

3.4 Where the HR Department consider that the information provided does not meet satisfactory standards, or where it breaches good equal opportunities practice, the documentation will be returned to the originator with advice on how to make the improvements required. The recruitment process will be suspended until the necessary criteria/standards are met.

 

 

4.1In order to ensure that adequate service levels are provided to Heads of Unit and to job applicants, HR and line manager must agree in advance of advertising the key stages and dates for the whole recruitment and selection process, ie advertising, closingdate, shortlisting date and interview dates.

 

This ensures that the necessary resources are allocated to the campaign, that the dates are realistic, and that key individuals have the necessary dates logged in their diaries in advance. It will also enable dates of interviews to be included in job adverts and/or further particulars for the information of applicants.

 

4.2 At peak periods of the year, the HR Department may, having discussed the matter with the relevant manager, recommend an alternative program in order to manage the recruitment process more effectively. At all times the needs of the delivery of University courses shall be paramount.

 

 

5.1 All vacancies of more than twelve weeks in duration (or for an equivalent cumulative period of 420 hours) must normally be advertised in accordance with this procedure. (Special arrangements may apply in the case of part-time visiting lecturing hourly paid staff.)

 

5.2 The recruitment requisition should specify whether the post is open to external, internal, or internal-only applicants and any such restriction must be clearly stated in the advertisement. Normal practice is to advertise all permanent or long term vacancies externally, in support of our diversity policy.

 

5.3 Internal adverts may be used where appropriate, eg to provide career development opportunities for lower graded staff or redeployment opportunities for surplus staff. In some circumstances after discussion with a senior manager within the HR Department, it may be agreed that a vacancy should be 'ring fenced' to a particular Campus, site, Department, School or Unit.

 

5.4 There is no legal requirement to advertise posts although it is usual to do so to ensure an open and competitive selection process and a high quality field of candidates, and to ensure we develop a diverse workforce which represents the communities we serve.

 

5.5 Use of alternative recruitment methods such as specialist agencies or direct search may be appropriate in some circumstances but should be discussed with HR in advance, and the appointment handled through HRl.

 

5.6 HR will keep a register of people available for short term or casual employment, and negotiate competitive arrangements with commercial agencies for the use of temporary staff.

 

5.7 The cost of advertising is the responsibility of the appropriate budget holder. The HR Department will however provide functional guidance and assistance in drafting advertisements. Recommendations will also be made as to the most appropriate media in order to maximise cost effectiveness and ensure value for money, for example by combining these with vacancies from another Department, School or Unit. All advertisements should adhere to the Corporate Guidelines developed by the Marketing & Development Department.

 

5.8 Advertisement proofs will be forwarded to the originator for approval prior to being placed in the external media. It is the responsibility of the originator to approve the content and media, and ensure that the budget holder approves the cost of the advertisement promptly. Signing and approving the cost of the advertisement by the budget holder should confirm that funds exist to cover the cost within the budget ,and also delegate authority to HR for authorising payment of the corresponding invoice.

 

5.9 On receipt of advertising invoices, the HR Department will be responsible for authorising payment in accordance with the authorisation already obtained. HR will forward them to the Finance Department for payment.

 

 

6.1 See Annex A.

 

 

7.1 The HR Department will be responsible for removing the Equal Opportunities Monitoring information from application forms prior to them being released for shortlisting.

 

7.2 The shortlisting Panel will normally consist of a minimum of two individuals, one of whom must be the originator of the vacancy. Both genders must be represented at this stage, and one member must be external to the Department where the vacancy has arisen. Shortlisting Panels should not normally exceed four persons.

 

7.4 It is good practice for the shortlisters to work through the application forms independently initially, before comparing notes and reaching a consensus.

 

7.5 The criteria used for shortlisting MUST be as detailed in the Job/Person Specifications, which must be applied consistently to ALL applicants, whether internal or external, in order to avoid the risk of successful legal challenges for discrimination.

 

7.6 There is no obligation to shortlist internal applicants, although it will be clearly important to treat them courteously and confidentially, and give them accurate and honest feedback on the reasons for non-selection.

 

7.7 NOTE: In applying the criteria for shortlisting, Panel members must be mindful of the requirement to make reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants as laid out by the Disability Discrimination Act.

 

7.8 It is the responsibility of the Chair of the Panel to provide accurate notes of why candidates were or were not selected. Notes of the criteria used and the relevant score or mark for each candidate must be accurately recorded. In the event of any individual submitting a complain of unfair selection, it will be the responsibility of the Chair to defend the Panels' decision.

 

7.9 The HR Department will be responsible for notifying candidates of the outcome of the shortlisting exercise; care must be taken to maintain confidentiality and to ensure that all applicants are made aware of the Panel decisions in a formal and consistent manner.

 

7.10 Shortlisted external candidates should be sent a copy of the relevant Digest of University Terms and Conditions, and a Medical Questionnaire to return.

 

7.11 All shortlisted candidates should be given at least seven working days' notice, between receiving the invitation to interview and the interview date.

 

7.12 Internal applicants who are not shortlisted for interview are entitled to an informal discussion with the Chair of the Panel for feedback and career development advice.

 

 

 

8.2 It may be appropriate to hold more than one stage of selection interviews, and the size and constitution of the Panel may vary according to the stages of selection. (Core membership rules apply to shortlisting and final Panels only.)

 

8.3 Where performance or other tests or multi-stage interviews are used, candidates should be advised of this in advance, and care must be taken to ensure the test which is used fairly and accurately measures that which it is intended to measure. HR can advise on this. All shortlisted applicants will be asked to produce originals of their certificates and qualifications at interview for verification.

 

8.4 When planning the schedule for interviews, the Chair should endeavour to allow sufficient time to introduce the Panel members, and for both the Panel and the applicant to ask questions, and to follow these up properly. The purpose of the interview is to obtain information in a structured way from the candidate, so interview Panels should be as small as possible, to ensure that the candidate does most of the talking.

 

8.5 Panel members should rehearse their respective roles and areas of questioning to make the best use of the time and ensure consistent information is obtained from all candidates. Questions should relate to the selection criteria and be behaviourally based as far as practicable. 

 

8.6 The final interview Panel should normally consist of the initial shortlisting Panel members (both genders must be represented and one member must be from another School, Unit or Department). Where appropriate, the interview Panel may also be extended to include a more senior staff member, or a technical or academic specialist adviser. However, interview Panels should not normally exceed four people.

 

8.7 It is the responsibility of each Panel member to record the performance of each candidate independently. Candidates should be assessed against the selection criteria to determine (I) whether they meet the requirements of the post; and (ii) a rank order to indicate the most suitable of the latter group, in order of preference.

 

8.8 Candidates should not be discussed between the interviews, and at the end of the interviews, the individual ratings and overall rank order of each Panel member should be completed and passed to the Chair for comparison.

 

8.9 Where the first choice is unanimous, an appointment may be recommended. Where there are differences in ranking, each Panel member should discuss the merits and shortcomings of each applicant against the Person Specification until a consensus is reached.

 

8.10 It is often prudent to identify potential 'reserve' candidates (where they meet the criteria) in case the first choice declines the offer. The decision of the Panel is final.

 

 

9.1 It is the responsibility of the Chair of the Panel to notify the HR Department of the Panel's decision and this should be done, in writing, within two working days of the interviews being held.

 

9.2 The Panel Chair may make a recommendation as regards starting salary, which should be as low as possible on the relevant authorised scale, whilst still providing some incentive to accept. However, managers must take account of the need to avoid discrimination by applying equal pay for work of equal value. Often female applicants may be less well paid than males and the university must not replicate external gender discrimination by default. In order to maintain fairness and equity internally line managers should consider the qualifications and experience of appointees and make a judgement as to where on the "learning curve" of the job this will place them compared with the position and salary of existing staff. Managers should take into account the pay levels of existing, experienced staff and, as far as possible, maintain consistency with these. Managers are strongly advised not to appoint on or very near to the scale maximum, as this allows no scope for incremental progression.

 

9.3 The HR Department are solely responsible for notifying candidates of the outcome of the process.

 

9.4 The HR Department will issue an offer of employment to the successful candidate(s), providing that the terms and conditions to be offered are within the remit of the signed authorised documentation. In the event of discrepancies, the Chair of the Panel will be notified and no offer will be made until the necessary authorisations have been obtained.

 

 

10.1 Discussions about candidates at both Shortlisting and Interview stage are confidential. All Panel papers must be returned to HR for retention for six months, in case of tribunal claims. After six months, they will be destroyed.

 

 

11.1 References are of limited value in predicting successful appointments and should not be relied upon heavily. Unless requested prior to the interview by the Chair of the Panel, references will normally be taken up only after an offer of appointment has been made. (Such offers are normally conditional upon satisfactory references and medical clearance.)

 

 

12.1 An internal candidate who considers that they have been unfairly rejected should, in the first instance, contact the HR Department to request a meeting to discuss their concerns with the Chair of the Panel. In the event that the matter remains unresolved, staff should have recourse to the Grievance Procedure. However, the lodging of such a complaint will not normally delay an offer of appointment being made in accordance with the Panel's original decision.

 

 

13.1 There is currently no central funding available to help successful candidates relocate to London. However, if the candidate concerned was actually the best available for the post, and the Department can fund this, consideration would be given to the University meeting relocation costs subject to approval in advance to a maximum of £3,000 and subject to a pro-rata claw-back if they resign within four years. Details of this type of offer should be discussed with HR before offering to the candidate appointed. Prior authorisation will be required by the appropriate Senior Manager.

 

 

 

 

Vice-Chancellor or nominee

 

Provost

 

External advisor (non University)

 

 

 

Provost or nominee

 

Dean of Appointing School

 

External advisor (non Campus member)

 

 

 

Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor or nominee

 

VCEG member responsible for Unit

 

External

 

 

 

Manager of Department/Supervisor

 

External to Department

 

 

                                                                                            Redrafted 19/01/04