Lancashire Probation Trust is committed to a policy of Equal Opportunities in employment and as such bases its employment practices on the need to ensure fairness and non-discrimination to all its existing and prospective employees. All decisions made in the areas of recruitment, training and promotion will be made with regard only to the requirements of the job and shall not be influenced by any other considerations. No job applicant or employee shall receive less favourable treatment because of their sex, age, marital status and civil partnership, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity or dependants, religion or belief, trade union or political beliefs or convictions.
In order to ensure the effectiveness of this policy, monitoring of applications will be carried out.
You are therefore asked to complete the monitoring information in section 2. Please be assured that this information is exclusively for monitoring purposes and will remain strictly confidential.
GUIDANCE NOTES ON COMPLETING YOUR APPLICATION
Please take time to read through these guidelines before completing your application form.
- Please note that this application form is available in various formats and can also be downloaded from the internet on For applicants with visual impairments, assistance in completing the application form can be sought from For applicants with English as their second language, assistance in completing the application should be sought from the Human Resources Team on 01772 201209.
- Please ensure that before you complete the application form you have read through all the information provided on the post you are applying for. (e.g. the advert, job description / person specification).
- Please ensure that you complete your application form clearly in typed format / black ink.
- You should complete all sections of the application form as indicated.
- Please complete this form accurately and in full. Incomplete applications will be rejected.
- You may use continuation sheets where necessary to complete your answers, (a maximum of 2 sides of A4 only).
- Where questions indicate, please tick the appropriate box.
- Please do not enclose Curriculum Vitae's as they will not be accepted.
- Please ensure that your application form is signed and dated before you return it
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 1
Please ensure that the post title and job reference number are completed in order that we can effectively process your application. Ring Human Resources if you do not know the reference number.
Complete all other details as indicated.
Please note that your application has a pre-set application reference number. For on-line applications, this number will be allocated on receipt by the HR Team. This enables the Human Resources team to detach section 1 & 2 of the application on receipt.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 2
We ask you to provide this information so that we can monitor whether our Equal Opportunities in Recruitment Policy is effective. The information you provide in section 2 will not be available to the selection panel during the recruitment and will be used for equal opportunity monitoring purposes only.
Please note that in line with our commitment to equal opportunities in employment, disabled applicants will be considered on their abilities and interviewed when they demonstrate they meet the criteria for the post..
Commitment to Diversity
We recognise and value the diversity that exists within the Lancashire community. We are committed to reflecting this diversity in our workplace.
Why Monitoring?
We collect and analyse monitoring information so we can find out how well our workforce reflects the diversity within the Lancashire community.
This information helps us spot trends that may show if our processes aren’t working as well as they should. We would then look at the process in a more detailed way.
Monitoring Categories
We use the recommended categories that are widely used by public bodies. This allows comparisons to be made with other bodies.
Data Protection
We will use the information that you provide on this form during the recruitment process and to help meet your needs. It is recorded on the Human Resources computerised record system.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 3 (a)
This information will help us to assess whether you fulfil the essential criteria for the post in question and you will be asked to provide evidence of any relevant qualifications.
You should list your education establishments starting from those attended from the age of 11 onwards.
If you have any overseas qualifications which may be equivalent to those requested on the person specification, you will need to provide evidence that they are suitable
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 3 (b)
Please remember to include any current courses of study and any expected qualifications.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 4
In this section please detail any training programmes or short courses which you have attended and any qualifications gained, (e.g. First Aid at Work, Health & Safety or in – house IT courses).
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 5
In section 5 detail your membership registration or renewal date for any professional bodies, Please include your membership status and the date on which relevant professional qualification was attained.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 6
Please give details about your current post. If you are currently unemployed please detail your most recent employment. You will then need to detail your previous employment(s) starting with the most recent first. Please account for any gaps in your employment history.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 7 - This is the most important section of your application form.
- Here you are given the opportunity to tell us why and how you think you can do the job for which you are applying. The job description tells you about the purpose of the job and the duties involved in the post.
- The person specification will tell you about the areas of experience, knowledge, skills and abilities which we think are needed in order to be able to carry out these duties.
- The essential criteria are those which the postholder must possess to do the job. Desirable criteria are those which would be useful in order to help the postholder do the job.
- It is not sufficient to say that you have done something. You will need to demonstrate and provide real examples and evidence of your experience, knowledge, skills and abilities which we have listed as either essential or desirable in the person specification.
- As a guide you may wish to use each of the criteria on the person specification as headings to help you outline any paid / unpaid work or life experiences, positions of responsibility or interests in this section.
- Candidates who do not demonstrate that they meet all of the essential criteria will not be shortlisted. Candidates who meet the essential criteria will then be matched against both essential and desirable criteria. Please ensure that all areas of the person specification are addressed. It is best if you try to provide recent examples (where possible).
- Finally, please take time completing this section and be sure of what you want to say before completing the application form. You may wish to draft your application before finalising.
- If you do use continuation sheets to complete your answers, please use a maximum of 2 A4 sides of paper.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 8
Most posts within Lancashire Probation Trust are exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that if you are applying for a post within the Service, you may have to tell us about all previous convictions / cautions or bind-overs however minor and regardless of whether or not they are considered spent. Please refer to Job Description/Person Specification as to whether you are applying for such a post. If the post is not subject to a DBS check then only any current convictions/cautions should be disclosed.
Candidates successful at interview may be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service for a criminal records Disclosure - advice will be forwarded on this procedure to successful candidates. Lancashire Probation Trust is committed to the Disclosure and Barring Service Code of Practice, for all guidance and information please go to
Failure to disclose information in this section may disqualify your application and result in any offer of employment being withdrawn by the Lancashire Probation Trust.
Any offences committed by you and not outlined in this section at the time of application, which subsequently come to the attention of Lancashire Probation Trust, may lead to dismissal.
If you need any advice on this section please call the Human Resources team on 01772 201209.
GUIDELINES ON SECTION 9
Your first referee should be your current employer (for Probation Officer grades this should be your Assistant Chief Executive), or your most recent employer if you are unemployed. Your second referee should be either a past employer or someone who has knowledge of your skills and ability to do the job for which you are applying. For those who have no work experience your referees should be taken from your most recent educational establishment. For internal candidates referees should not be a member of the selection panel. An alternative employment referee should be provided.
Please note that should you have worked for more than one employer during the last 2 years you will need to provide a referee from each of the employers you have worked for. If you need any advice on this section please call the Human Resources team on 01772 201209.
GUIDELINES ON THE DECLARATION
Once you have completed all sections of the application form, please read through the declaration on page 1 and ensure that you sign and date your application indicating that you understand and accept the statements outlined.
RETURNING YOUR COMPLETED APPLICATION FORM
Completed application forms should be sent to Human Resources, Probation Headquarters, 99 – 101 Garstang Road, Preston, PR1 1LD or electronically to