University of Oxford s5

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Recruitment & Selection:

Guide to the Appointment of Academic Staff

Part I: Guidance

Written by Rebecca Nestor, Oxford Learning Institute, with advice from officers of the Personnel Services section

Approved on behalf of the Personnel Committee: May 2003

Last updated: 23 January 2007 1

CONTENTS

1. Overview 3

(a) Status of the handbook 3

(b) Further advice 3

(d) Principles of good practice 4

(e) University policy and guidelines 4

2. Legislative Framework 5

(a) Introduction 6

(b) General principles 7

(d) Practical implications for members of selection committees and panels 18

3. Responsibility for recruitment and selection 21

(a) Composition of the selection committee 21

(b) Responsibilities and duties 22

4. Describing the post and its context 24

5. Selection criteria 25

(a) Definition and purpose 25

(b) Relationship to description of post 25

(d) Structure 26

6. Advertising 28

7. Shortlisting and references 29

(a) Purpose 29

(b) Assessment against selection criteria 29

(d) Timing 30

(e) Notifying candidates of the shortlisting decision 31

8. Interviewing, selection exercises and informal activities 32

(a) Reliability of interviews: eliciting direct evidence 32

(b) Practical arrangements for the interview 33

(d) Recording information 34

(e) Selection exercises 34

(f) Informal activities 35

9. Making the final decision 37

10. Informing candidates 38

11. Conclusion 39

1. Overview

Section Contents

(a) Status of the handbook

(b) Further advice

(d) Principles of good practice (consistency, transparency and objectivity)

(e) University policy and guidelines (joint appointments procedure, equal opportunities policy)

(a) Status of the handbook

1.1 This handbook is issued by the University Personnel Committee and is designed for those who serve on selection committees appointing academic staff. Recruitment and selection is a legally complex activity on which the committee and its officers are increasingly asked for advice. This handbook aims to provide guidance on the legal framework and university policy in this crucially important area.

1.2 The principles set out in this handbook include reference to the University’s procedure on joint appointments, which appears in Part II as Annexe A to the handbook. The handbook does not aim to provide advice on the detail of procedural matters such as placing advertisements, recruitment monitoring, and adding new staff to the payroll, which are the responsibility of administrative colleagues and on which advice is available from the University Offices.

1.3 The information included in this handbook is published both on the Personnel Services website and as a printed booklet (available for downloading from the Personnel Services website at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/ps/managers/recruit/academic/1new.shtml), and is updated at regular intervals. Please check the website at the start of each recruitment exercise to ensure that your printed version is still current.

(b) Further advice

1.4 The Oxford Learning Institute runs seminars on recruitment and selection at which the advice in this handbook is discussed in greater depth, and at which there is the opportunity to practise some of the techniques of effective selection. Tel: 2-86808 or email: for further details.

1.5 Sector Personnel Officers within Personnel Services (tel: 2-89900, email: personnel. ) and the Diversity and Equal Opportunities Officer, (tel: 2-89821, email: ), can provide advice in specific cases.

(c) Key stages in the recruitment and selection process

1.6 There will be some variation in the structure and sequence of recruitment and selection processes adopted across the University. We think that it is, none the less, helpful to consider each stage in turn. In this context, the handbook defines, and offers advice on, the key stages of the process as follows:

· Describing the post (Section 4)

· Defining selection criteria (Section 5)

· Advertising the post (Section 6)

· Shortlisting and references (Section 7)

· Interviewing, selection exercises and informal activities (Section 8)

· Making the decision (Section 9)

· Informing candidates (Section 10)

(d) Principles of good practice

1.7 Complying with legislative or policy requirements is sometimes perceived as being at odds with the objective of appointing the person most suited to the post – the ‘best person for the job’. But in fact the key principle both of the legislation and of university policy is quite simple, and entirely consonant with this overriding objective. The principle is to be clear and explicit about what constitutes ‘best’, recognising that this will vary depending on the post in question and on the different views and perspectives of the members of the selection committee. Hence the practice of defining and publishing selection criteria for each vacancy, which is generally recognised as good practice and is explored in Section 5 of this handbook.

1.8 The law and good practice require that the selection process be conducted in a manner that is consistent, transparent, and objective. Consistency is achieved by ensuring that, at each stage of the process, all candidates are considered against the same criteria and are given the same opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for the post. Through the sharing with candidates of information about the post, as well as the selection criteria, methods and decisions, the selection process can be shown to be transparent. The use of selection criteria against which each candidate is assessed using evidence gathered from a number of sources is the means by which we seek to ensure that selection decisions are objective.

(e) University policy and guidelines

1.9 The main sources of policy for recruitment and selection are the joint appointments procedure described in Part II, Annexe A, and the University’s Equal Opportunities Code of Practice on staff recruitment and selection which is also included in Annexe B in Part II. The Equal Opportunities Policy has been designed to reflect the requirements of current legislation, and is reinforced by codes of practice issued by the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Commission for Racial Equality, and the Disability Rights Commission. It is particularly important that all those involved in recruitment and selection are aware of the provisions of these documents, and of the underlying legislative framework, which is summarised in Section 2 of this handbook.

2. Legislative Framework

(a) Introduction

(b) General principles

Direct and indirect discrimination

Exceptions

‘Positive action’

Harassment and victimisation

Bringing a complaint

Burden of proof

Role of the Commissions

Equal Pay Act 1970 and Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (SDA)

Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003

Race Relations Act 1976 and Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003

Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003

Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000

Employment Act 2002 – Flexible working

Fixed-term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002

Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act 2000

Employment Equality (Age) Regulations

(d) Practical implications for members of selection committees and panels

Selection criteria

Selection processes

Consistency

Transparency

Employment tribunal requirements

Conclusion

(a) Introduction

2.1 The UK has a significant body of legislation affecting recruitment and selection (see part (c) of this section), most of which is aimed at ensuring that individuals do not suffer unfair discrimination in any of a wide variety of matters relating to employment, as well as to education and training, and to the provision of goods and services.

2.2 Legislation covering discrimination on grounds related to gender or race has been in place since the 1970s, and the Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in 1995. During the past few years the existing acts have been supplemented by a number of extensions and amendments, together with new regulations covering matters such as religion or belief, age, sexual orientation, and fixed-term, part-time, or flexible working, all of which can be relevant to recruitment processes. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations are also effective from 1 October 2006.

2.3 Grounds for discrimination in recruitment and selection that are currently specifically prohibited by UK legislation (as at October 2006) are:

· Gender

· Marital or civil partnership status

· Colour

· Racial group

· Nationality[1]

· National or ethnic origin

· Disability

· Gender reassignment

· Sexual orientation

· Religion or belief

· Age

In addition, existing staff applying for new jobs within the University, particularly those that would involve training or promotion, are protected from less favourable treatment (i.e. discrimination) on grounds of their status as either fixed-term or part-time workers.

2.4 So far as recruitment and selection are concerned, discrimination on any of the grounds listed above is unlawful in respect of:

· the arrangements made for the purpose of determining who should be offered employment;

· the terms on which employment is offered; or

· refusing or deliberately omitting to offer employment, including deliberate omission from a short-list.

2.5 There are, of course, many ways in which discrimination can occur that are not directly related to recruitment and selection, and are therefore outside the scope of this guidance. Further information may be obtained from the University’s Diversity and Equal Opportunities Unit (see their web page at http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/).

(b) General principles

Direct and indirect discrimination

2.6 The legislation outlawing unfair discrimination covers both direct and indirect discrimination.

2.7 Direct discrimination occurs where people are treated less favourably than others on grounds of age, gender, race, etc. This can include:

· Action taken as a result of stereotyping (whether or not the stereotype is a negative one) – for example, rejecting an application from a married woman for a post which would require travelling, because married women are thought to be less mobile than single women or married men. This would be discrimination on grounds of both gender and marriage;

· Inconsistency - for example, not shortlisting an ethnic minority candidate because of a lack of certain qualifications, while white candidates without those qualifications are shortlisted. This would be discrimination on grounds of race;

· Concerns about acceptability – for example, refusing to employ a candidate whose manner at interview gives the impression that he is gay, because it is felt that other staff or students might object to him. This would be discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation;

· Action taken because of pregnancy – for example, refusing to select a woman for promotion because she is, or may become, pregnant. This would be discrimination on grounds of gender.

2.8 Indirect discrimination occurs where, although everyone is treated in the same way, an employer imposes requirements which put members of one gender, age, race, etc. at a disadvantage compared with other people, and which cannot be justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. All selection criteria for employment are covered by this definition.

2.9 Indirect discrimination has four essential components:

· The employer must operate a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ which is applied equally to all – for example, a selection criterion requiring candidates to be aged under thirty with at least five years’ previous relevant experience

· The requirement must have a disproportionate effect on members of a group covered by the legislation – for example, on women, who are more likely to have spent time out of paid work to bring up children, and are therefore less likely than men to be able to meet an age-related criterion

· There must be a detrimental effect on members of the group in question – for example, that they are barred from being appointed to the job

· The requirement must not be justifiable on grounds unrelated to gender, age, race, etc.

Exceptions

2.10 It is not unlawful to discriminate in circumstances where authenticity is required (e.g. a waiter in a Chinese restaurant, or an actress playing a female character), or where personal services are performed (e.g. an Asian female carer). This is known as a ‘genuine occupational qualification’. However, the legislation specifically excludes a requirement for physical strength or stamina as possible grounds for such a qualification.

2.11 There are other rare exceptions to the legislation which may be relevant to work within the University, for example, schemes sponsored by the European Union in order to foster the interchange of knowledge between member states, under which it is lawful to offer grant-funded employment only to researchers who are nationals of certain countries (normally, members of the EU other than the country in which the employment will be carried out). In cases of doubt, advice may be sought from Personnel Services.

‘Positive action’

2.12 Some limited ‘positive action’ is permitted under the legislation. Employers may use job advertisements to encourage applications from members of particular racial groups or members of one gender or age where it can be shown that this group is under-represented among the employer’s staff compared with numbers in the relevant recruitment pool. Offering specific training or opportunities for work experience for members of under-represented groups is also permitted with the aim of enabling them to compete for posts on equal terms. ‘Positive’ discrimination on racial grounds or on grounds of gender, age, marital or civil partnership status at the point of selection remains unlawful.

Harassment and victimisation

2.13 Anyone who, in good faith, makes a complaint about discrimination, or assists someone else in making a complaint by providing information, is protected by the legislation from any form of harassment or victimisation that occurs as a result of the complaint. (This is a separate right from the general right to be protected from harassment at work, which is covered by the University’s Code of Practice on Harassment - see http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/har/)

Bringing a complaint

2.14 Those who feel they have suffered unlawful discrimination in recruitment or employment can take their case to an employment tribunal[2]. Where an employment tribunal is satisfied that a complaint of discrimination is well-founded, it can:

· Make an order declaring the party’s rights;