Information Booklet for Candidates

Information Booklet for Candidates

Temporary Clerical Positions
in the
Public Service

This campaign will be conducted in compliance with the Code of Practice for Appointment to positions in the Civil Service and Public Service prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA) These codes are available on

The Public Service is committed to a policy of equal opportunity.

Helpdesk Contact Numbers:

01 858 7724

01 858 7684

01 858 7400

1. Introduction

Public Service bodies including the Civil Service and certain public service agencies may, from time to time, require temporary clerical staff to fill vacancies in various locations throughout the country.

Requests to fill many of these vacancies are undertaken through the Public Appointments Service. To facilitate possible demands, the Public Appointments Service will initiate a selection process to fill vacancies in particular areas, should they arise.

While temporary vacancies may arise at various times during the year, many vacancies occur during the summer period. The terms and conditions, including the duration and period of contracts may vary from post to post.

2.The Role

The duties of clerical staff may vary depending on the nature of work carried out by the employing organisation. This involvessuch clerical/administrative tasks which may be assigned to the employee from time to time by the organisation.

The following outlines the type of work that you may be required to undertake, if appointed.

• General clerical duties e.g. filing, photocopying, answering/making telephone calls, dealing with e-mails, reception desk, etc;

• Supporting line-managers and colleagues

• Working as part of a team in delivering services;

• Dealing with the public/customers e.g. responding to queries and providing information;
  
• Use of Information Technology e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, database, e-mail and internet.
  
• Routine accounts work

1. LOCATION INFORMATION

It is proposed to establish panels in the locations set out in List A and List B below from which vacancies will be filled, should they arise.

You may select ONLY ONE County from List A. Vacancies for which you may be considered will extend only to a city/ town in your chosen County (for exceptions, see List B).

In addition, you may also apply for ONLY ONE of the locations set out in List B below.

You must only select a location where you would be prepared to take up a position. Once you have submitted your selection choice, changes will not be permitted.

PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUWILL BE ASKED FOR YOUR LOCATION CHOICE(S) WHEN YOU ARE COMPLETING YOUR ONLINESKILLS AND EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE. See Paragraph 6

Should you be offered a position (whether you accept or not) you will, in the normal course, cease to be considered for any other position.

List A

Carlow / Longford
Cavan / Louth
Clare / Meath
Cork / Monaghan
Donegal / Mayo
Dublin / Offaly
Galway / Roscommon
Kerry / Sligo
Kildare / Tipperary
Kilkenny / Waterford
Laois / Wicklow
Leitrim / Westmeath
Limerick / Wexford

List B

Buncrana, Co Donegal / Belmullet, Co Mayo
Gweedore, Co. Donegal / Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim
Clifden, Co. Galway / Bantry, Co. Cork
Listowel, Co. Kerry

Candidates who wish to be considered for positions which may arise anytime between the period April to September must be available for the full duration of the contract offered. Extended holiday plans during this period may affect your possible assignment. The duration of the contract period may vary from post to post.

4. Entry Requirements

Candidates must:

(a) have the requisite knowledge and the ability and be suitable to enter on the discharge of the duties of the position. This includes the ability to:

• take direction / follow instructions
• organise and prioritise their work effectively;
• be able to work well with the public and colleagues;
• be flexible in their approach to work;

and

(b)be able to communicate effectively in a clear and concise manner

and

(c)fulfilthe requirements set out as to age, citizenship, health & character.

It is desirable that applicants would have previous relevant work experience and good IT skills e.g. Word, Excel,etc.

Age

Applicants must, on or before 1st February 2012,be at least 16 years of age (i.e. born on or before 1st February 1996).

Citizenship Requirement

Citizens of non-European Economic Area (EEA) States will not be eligible to compete. The EEA consists of the member states of the European Union along with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Special conditions may apply to citizens of Bulgaria and Romania with regard to their entitlement to be employed and work in Ireland. A candidate who is in doubt in this regard should consult the Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation.

Health & Character

Those under consideration for a position will be required to complete a health and character declaration. Candidates should be of good character and a reference maybe required. Some posts will require special security clearance and will require completion of a form for Garda vetting purposes. In the event of conflicts of interest, candidates may not be considered for certain posts.

Candidates should note that people who have taken part in the public service early retirement schemes set out below are not eligible to take part in this competition.

Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement (ISER):

It is a condition of the Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement (ISER) as set out in Department of Finance Circular 12/09 that retirees, under that Scheme, are debarred from applying for another position in the same employment or the same sector. Therefore, such retirees may not apply for this position.

Department of Health and Children Circular (7/2010):

The Department of Health Circular 7/2010 dated 1 November 2010 introduced a Targeted Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) Scheme and Voluntary Redundancy Schemes (VRS). It is a condition of the VER scheme that persons availing of the scheme will not be eligible for re-employment in the public health sector or in the wider public service or in a body wholly or mainly funded from public funds. The same prohibition on re-employment applies under the VRS, except that the prohibition is for a period of 7 years, after which time any re-employment will require the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. People who availed of either of these schemes are not eligible to compete in this competition.

Declaration:

Applicants will be required to declare whether they have previously availed of a public service scheme of incentivised early retirement. Applicants will also be required to declare any entitlements to a Public Service pension benefit (in payment or preserved) from any other Public Service employment and/or where they have received a payment-in-lieu in respect of service in any Public Service employment.

5. To make an application

You should make your application online through using the steps shown below. All sections of the application form must be fully completed.

Step

1Logonto publicjobs.ie

2If you have not already done so,you must ‘Register’ before applying -Please do not confuse registering with submitting an application for the position.

3Once registered, you must then access the application form, complete and submit it.

4Once you have submitted your application form, it is suggested that you return to your ‘publicjobs account’ and ensure that your application has been successfully submitted via ‘my applications’ i.e. status of application will appear ‘submitted’.

5You will receive an email acknowledgment of receipt of your application.

Note: Only fully submitted applications will be accepted into the campaign. Only one application per person is permitted.

After the closing date, you will be required to complete and submit an online Skills and Experience Questionnaire. For full details see paragraph 6 below.

6. Selection process

Stage 1 – On- Line Skills and Experience Questionnaire

Stage 1 of the Selection process will be conducted by the Public Appointments Service and will comprise of an online Skills and Experience Questionnaire.Following the closing date you will be contacted by email (at the email address you provided at registration). You will receive your Candidate Identification Number along with instructions on how to access the online Questionnaire. If you do not receive these details by Friday 24thFebruary2012 please contact the Public Appointments Service on 01 858 7684 / 8587724. The onus is on you to ensure that you complete and submitthe questionnaire before 5.00pmTuesday 28th February 2012.

If you have not completed and submitted the Questionnaire before the deadline, your application will receive no further consideration.

Candidates will be ranked on the outcome of the Questionnaire and maybe called to Stage 2 in accordance with their ranking.

You must complete your own Questionnaire. The responses you provide will be verified later should you come under further consideration.

The on-line Questionnaire will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Once you start the Questionnaire you must complete it, as it is not possible to return to the Questionnaire if left incomplete. Before commencing, ensure you have your own email address and PPS number to hand.

Stage 2 - Interview

Candidates will be ranked based on the results of Stage 1. Those invited to Stage 2- interview will be called in accordance with their ranking however; the number to be invited will be determined by the number of vacancies arising in their selected location. There is no guarantee that a vacancy will exist for every candidate who is successful at interview.

Should you be invited for interview please note that you will only be entitled to one Interview regardless of whether you have opted for location(s) in List A and List B. Once you have been offered a position (whether you accept it or not)you will,in the normal course, cease to be considered for any other position from this campaign.

Should you be invited to Stage 2 of the selection process you will be required to verify and in some cases provide documentary evidence confirming responsesprovided in the Questionnaire.

Closing date – Midday Tuesday 21st February 2012

7. SampleConditions of Service

(Please note the terms shown below relate to the clerical officer role in the civil service and may vary depending on the organisation/agency to which you may be assigned. These are intended as indicative only. Contracts of employment will be available at time of assignment).

Pay€379.72 per week

Candidates should note that salary will not be subject to negotiation and the rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.

Annual Leave

The annual leave for this position is determined by the number of hours worked.

Hours of Attendance

Hours of Attendance are as fixed from time to time but will amount to not less than 41 hours per week in the case of a full time position.

Duties

You will be required to perform any duties which may be assigned to you from time to time as appropriate to the temporary Clerical position.

Outside Employment

The position will be whole time and you may not engage in private practice or be connected with any outside business which would interfere with the performance of official duties.

Headquarters

Your headquarters will be such as may be designated from time to time by the Head of the Office/Organisation. When absent from home or headquarters on official duty you will be paid appropriate travelling expenses and subsistence allowances, subject to normal regulations.

Sick Leave

Pay during properly certified sick absence, provided there is no evidence of permanent disability for service, will apply on a pro-rata basis, in accordance with the provisions of the sick leave circulars.

The appointee will be required to sign a mandate authorising the Department of Social Protection to pay any benefits due under the Social Welfare Acts direct to the employing Department or Organisation and payment during illness will be subject to the officer making the necessary claims for social insurance benefit to the Department of Social Protection within the required time limits.

8. GUIDELINES FOR DEALING WITH APPEALS/REQUESTS FOR REVIEW

The Public Appointments Service or the employing body/agency under licence will consider requests for review in accordance with the provisions of the codes of practice published by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). Where a candidate is unhappy with an action or decision in relation to their application he/she can seek a review under Section 7 of the code of practice governing the recruitment process by a person in the recruiting body (initial reviewer). Where a candidate remains dissatisfied following this initial review, he/she may seek to have the conduct of the initial review examined by a "decision arbitrator".

As an alternative to the above, it is open to a candidate to seek to have the matter resolved on an informal basis, as set out below. If a candidate remains dissatisfied following any such discussion it is open to him/her to seek a formal review.

Informal process:

• The candidate can avail of the informal review within 5 working days of notification of the initial decision, and should normally take place between the candidate and the person who communicated the decision (or relevant person).
• Where the decision being conveyed relates to an interim stage of a selection process, the request for informal review must be received within 2 working days of the date of receipt of the decision.
• Where a candidate remains dissatisfied following any such informal discussion, he/she may adopt the formal procedures set out below.
• If the candidate wishes the matter to be dealt with by way of a formal review, he/she must do so within 2 working days of the notification of the outcome of the informal review.

Formal process: Initial review:

• The candidate must address his/her concerns in relation to the process in writing to the licence holder, setting out those aspects of the action or decision in relation to his/her candidature that he/she wishes to have reviewed.
• A request for review must be made within 10 working days of the notification of the initial decision. Where the decision relates to an interim stage of a selection process, the request for review must be received within 4 working days.
• Any extension of these time limits will only be granted in the most exceptional of circumstances and will be at the sole discretion of the licence holder.
• The outcome must generally be notified to the candidate within 20 working days of receipt of the complaint or request for review. The candidate will receive the outcome of the review by means of a written report.
• Should a candidate be dissatisfied with the outcome of the initial review, he/she may request a review by a decision arbitrator of the conduct of the initial review.

Review by the decision arbitrator

The decision arbitrator is appointed by the licence holder. The decision arbitrator is unconnected with the selection process and he/she will adjudicate on requests for review in cases where a candidate is not satisfied with the outcome of the initial review. The decision of the decision arbitrator in relation to such matters is final.

• A request made to the decision arbitrator must be received within 7 working days of the notification of the outcome of the initial review.
• The outcome of the investigation must be notified to the candidate in the form of a written report within 10 working days.

Where a candidate believes that an aspect of the process breached the CPSA's Code of Practice, he/she can have it investigated under Section 8 of the code of practice.

Informal process:

• The CPSA recommends that the candidate avail of the informal process to try to resolve the matter with the recruiting body. If the candidate is still dissatisfied he/she may resort to the formal process within 2 working days of receiving notification of the informal process.

Formal process:

• If you are requesting a formal review you must write to the licence holder, providing details of the breach of the code of practice and enclosing any relevant documentation that might support the allegation.
• The outcome must generally be notified to the candidate within 20 working days of receipt of the complaint or request for review. If a decision cannot be made within this timeframe, the reviewer will keep the candidate informed of the status of the review.
• Should a candidate be dissatisfied with the outcome of this review, he/she may request a further review by referring the matter to the Commission for Public Service Appointments in the form of an appeal of the review of the licence Holder. He/She must write to the Commission for Public Service Appointments within 10 working days of receiving the outcome of the licence Holder's review.

The codes of practice are available on the website of the Commission for Public Service Appointments,

9. Candidates' Obligations

Candidates must not:

• knowingly or recklessly provide false information
• canvass any person with or without inducements
• interfere with or compromise the process in any way.

A third party must not personate a candidate at any stage of the process.

Any person who contravenes the above provisions or who assists another person in contravening the above provisions is guilty of an offence. A person who is found guilty of an offence is liable to a fine/or imprisonment. In addition, where a person found guilty of an offence was or is a candidate at a recruitment process, then:

where he/she has not been appointed to a post, he/she will be disqualified as a candidate; and where he/she has been appointed subsequently to the recruitment process in question, he/she shall forfeit that appointment

Confidentiality

Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts, 1997 and 2003, applications will be treated in strict confidence.

Canvassing will disqualify

Candidates should note that canvassing will disqualify and will result in their exclusion from the process.

10. General

Deeming of candidature to be withdrawn

Candidates who do not complete and submit the Questionnaire before the specified date or do not attend for any stage of the selection process as requested or do not furnish such evidence as requested in regard to any matter relevant to their candidature, will have no further claim to consideration.