NHS Jobs
Guide to the use of filtering questions
NHS Employers
Version 1.0
Introduction
NHS Jobs now has a suite of optional ‘pre-application’ and ‘additional filtering’ questions that can be selected by recruiters when they post vacancies.
- Pre-application questions can be used to improve the quality of applications received by ‘blocking’ applications from candidates that do not meet certain essential criteria required for the post.
- The answers to filtering questions can be used by recruiters to identify the most suitable candidates to forward to recruiting managers for shortlisting.
Purpose of this guide
The purpose of this guide is to introduce the optional questions and associated filtering, and to provide best practice guidance relating to their use. (Full training materials explaining how the features work are available on the NHS Jobs site.)
Overview of the features
The features provide recruiters with options to support the management of vacancies that attract large numbers of applications or unsuitable candidates.
The features cover two main areas:
Pre-application questions
The pre-application questions are options that are selected by the recruiter within Vacancy Manager at the time they post a vacancy. The selected questions are presented to interested candidates as an initial step before they can complete the application form. Each question is displayed with a set of possible answers, one of which must be selected by the candidate. Depending on the answers selected, candidates are either invited to complete an application or blocked from applying for the vacancy.
Additional filtering questions and filter settings
The additional filtering questions are also options selected by the recruiter within Vacancy Manager at the time they post a vacancy. The selected questions are inserted into the online application form for that vacancy, and must be answered by candidates (again by selecting from the possible answers displayed).
Within Application Manager the recruiter can choose to filter the list of displayed applicants according to the answers they have provided to the additional filtering questions as well as the answers they have given to the existing ‘key questions’ on the application form.
General Guidance
It is the responsibility of employers to ensure that the optional questions selected for a given vacancy are appropriate to the person specification and are not in breach of employment legislation.
Some of the optional questions provide additional flexibility by including areas of free text that can be completed by the recruiter. For example, there is a question ‘Do you have XXXXXX qualification?’ in which the XXXXX is replaced by text entered by the recruiter at the time the question is selected on a vacancy. This facility must not be mis-used to produce inappropriate questions.
In order to ensure consistent treatment of applicants the optional questions associated with a vacancy cannot be changed on NHS Jobs once the vacancy is published there.
If it is necessary to change optional questions then the vacancy must be expired and a new vacancy started. In such a case employers must ensure that any applicants who applied to the initial version of the job advert are treated in exactly the same way as subsequent applicants, and are invited to re-apply if necessary.
It is strongly recommended that the optional questions to be used for a specific vacancy are agreed in advance with the recruiting manager and senior HR staff and must reflect the criteria for the job and person specification. To reduce the risk of potential discrimination claims and other legal challenges, recruiters should seek advice from HR specialists if they are unsure about the applicability of any optional questions.
Optional questions only work automatically with on-line applications. It is recommended that the optional questions are used only with vacancies that invite “on-line applications only”.
Where employers allow parallel paper applications, any optional questions used with the online vacancy should also be sent out with paper application forms and job packs. Employers are responsible for ensuring that the same selection criteria are applied both to online and offline applications.
Employers remain responsible for ensuring that they record the selection criteria applied through the recruitment process for selecting candidates.
Guidance for using pre-application questions
The pre-application questions are selected by the recruiter at the time the add a new vacancy on NHS Jobs:
Since the effect of these questions can be to bar a candidate from making an online application, they must be used with caution, and should only be applied where they truly represent the essential criteria in the Person Specification. This means that the pre-application questions are only used to exclude candidates that are unsuitable for the post.
There are 6 pre-filtering questions, which may be selected in any combination. They cover: meeting the Person Specification requirements; the right to live and work in the UK; PLAB2; IQE; qualifications; and registration. The full questions and answers are provided in Annex A, showing which of the answers will result in the barring of a prospective applicant.
Where pre-application questions are used, they should not be repeated as additional filter questions. The responses to the pre-application questions are not available for filtering in Application Manager, as applicants giving the wrong response have already been rejected.
Guidance for using additional filtering questions
The additional filtering questions are in groups. There is a group intended for general use and groups intended for particular types of job (e.g. nursing). The complete set of additional questions is included at Annex B.
For the convenience of the recruiter, on the Add Vacancy page within Vacancy Manager only the group headings are initially listed. Selecting a group will cause the related questions to be displayed for selection or de-selection.
While any combination of the additional questions can be selected for use with a vacancy, recruiters should ensure that only those relevant to the vacancy are used.
When applications are received for a vacancy, the list of applications in Application Manager may be filtered according to the answers provided by the candidates to the filtering questions. This filtering also works with the answers provided to ‘key questions’ on the application form (for completeness these are included in Annex C).
Filtering is applied by selecting the ‘filter this list’ option, and then selecting from the list of possible answers to the filtering questions.
The result of applying a filter is that only those applications that contain the selected answers are listed on the screen (there is no automatic change to the status of an application by using this feature). The list is headed with a reminder to recruiters that they are working with a filtered list and that a number of applications are hidden.
Recruiters are free to change the filtering settings at any time (or to select the ‘view all’ option to cancel the filtering), and may apply different combinations of filter settings successively to identify the most suitable candidates for long-listing.
Recruiters should be aware that the system will remember the latest filtering settings applied to a vacancy. Recruiters remain responsible for recording, as appropriate, the criteria used to select candidates for long listing, (which may include the answers to filtering questions as well as other factors considered relevant).
Recruiters should summarise their selection criteria for the shortlist panel and use the 1-5 rating system within Application Manager to score the applicants in accordance with the criteria agreed with the panel. An agreed rating such as 1, should then be applied to the applicants that meet the agreed filter criteria, so that these applicants can be clearly identified in the Shortlisting screen. The panel decision on the applicants to be invited to interview should be entered using the Shortlist option.
Paper applications
It is strongly recommended that the pre-application and filtering questions are only used with vacancies that are limited to “on-line applications only” to enable efficient and equitable handling arrangements.
Should recruiters wish to accept paper based applications it will be necessary to ensure that all 3 steps set out below have been applied to those paper applications to ensure equality of treatment:
a) Any pre-application questions used to bar online applicants must also be applied to reject unsuitable candidates who apply on paper.
b) In addition to the paper application form, the recruiter must also send the relevant additional filtering questions (as used with the vacancy online) to the candidate. Please note that when these questions are used online they become mandatory for online candidates, so candidates applying on paper must be made aware that these additional questions have to be completed.
c) Any scoring or filtering criteria applied to online applications must also be applied to the paper applications.
To assist with these steps, an editable MS Word document with all the additional filtering questions is available to download from the NHS Jobs site, and an onscreen report is available within Application Manager (via the “view filtering questions used” link) to show which of the additional questions were used with a vacancy. Recruiters should use the report to find how they should edit the list of additional questions to include only those relevant to the vacancy, to produce hard-copies for offline use.
Further information
Further information on using the new facilities is available from the NHS Jobs site via the Useful Links – User Toolkit side menu, or from the Helpdesk 0870 774 8888.
Feedback on this and all aspects of the service should be submitted using the Contact Us – Feedback form.
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Annex A – Pre-Application Questions
Annex A – Pre Application Questions
Note: Recruiter must ensure that questions can be justified as being essential for the post and ensure that it is clear which part of the person specification is referred to.
1How well do you meet the essential requirements set out in the Person Specification for this job?
Answer / ActionI meet none of the essential requirements / Stopped from applying
I meet some of the essential requirements / Stopped from applying
I meet most of the essential requirements / Able to complete application
I meet all of the essential requirements / Able to complete application
2Do you have the right, under UK immigration rules, to live and work in the UK and without restriction?
Answer / ActionYes / Able to complete application
No / Stopped from applying
Note: Caution should be used when using this question. For further information please contact the Home Office
3Do you have XXXXX qualification or an equivalent?
Answer / ActionYes / Able to complete application
No / Stopped from applying
Note: Recruiters must ensure that by asking for this qualification it can be justified as a required qualification that cannot be learned on the job.
4Do you have XXXXX registration?
Yes / Able to complete application
No / Stopped from applying
5Have you passed PLAB 2?
Yes / Able to complete application
Not yet / Stopped from applying
Not required / Able to complete application
Note: The majority of doctors from outside the EEA have to pass PLAB before they can be included on the Medical Register. Doctors who have passed PLAB cannot be entered onto the register until they have a job offer so you should expect some doctors who apply for supervised posts to not yet have registration.
6Have you passed the IQE?
Answer / ActionYes / Able to complete application
Not yet / Stopped from applying
Not required / Able to complete application
Note: Dentists from outside the EEA have to sit the IQE before being entered onto the Dental Register.
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Annex B – Filtering Questions
Annex B – Filtering Questions
General questions
Note: Employers should ensure that they can justify asking the question relating only to experience, which does not require a demonstration of competence. Recruiters should be mindful of proposed age discrimination laws (2006) and consult an HR specialist if unsure. Only select these questions if they match the essential or desirable criteria on the person specification.
How much XXXXX experience do you have?
How much XXXXX experience do you have?
Note: This question is available for use twice if two different types of experience are required.
Do you have XXXXX qualification or an equivalent?
Do you have relevant teaching or training experience (as required by the Person Specification)?
Nursing questions
Do you have XXXXX registration?
Does the NMC require you to have a period of supervised practice or to undergo the Overseas Nurses Programme (ONP)?
Note: From 1 September 2005, any nurse from outside of the EEA who applies to the NMC for registration is required to undertake a 20 day Overseas Nurse Programme, before they can be entered onto the register. This may be in addition to a period of supervised practice.
If you have a decision letter for NMC registration, please enter the date of the decision letter.
Note: This will enable Trusts to identify the period of time available for international non EEA nurses to complete their supervised practice
How much experience do you have in the specialty associated with this post (if any)?
Note: See note above regarding “experience” questions
Medical questions
Please state your GMC registration status. If you have limited registration, please explain these limitations in the Supporting Information.
Have you completed research work relevant to this post?
Please select your RoyalCollege.
Please select your RoyalCollege membership status.
How much experience do you have in the specialty associated with this post (if any)?
Note: See note above regarding “experience” questions
Psychologists questions
What grade of Psychology degree do you hold?
Note: Ensure that the advertisement makes it clear that classification of degree will be taken into consideration and that degree class is included in the person specification as desirable criteria.
Allied Health Professionals / Healthcare Scientist questions
Are you registered with the HPC?
Do you hold a relevant degree or graduate diploma as required by the Person Specification?
Health Care Assistants questions
How much care experience do you have? This can be personal or professional experience.
Note: See note above regarding “experience” questions
Dental questions
Please state your GDC registration status
Please select your RoyalCollege.
Please select your RoyalCollege membership status.
How long have you worked as a dentist?
Note: See note above regarding “experience” questions
Protection questions
Does your name appear on the Protection of Children Act List?
Does your name appear on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List?
Note:These questions should be only be used where the post-holder will work with either children or vulnerable adults.Recruiters should consult an HR specialist if positive answers received.
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Annex C – Key Questions available for filtering
Annex C – Key questions available for filtering
The key questions that can be used for filtering purposes are listed below:
- Country (UK, EEC, Other)
- Do you require us to obtain a work permit for you to work in the UK under the terms of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1996?
- Are you a Department of Work and Pensions New Deal candidate?
- Are you an NHS professional Returning to practice?
- Indicate your Professional Registration status:
- Are you currently the subject of a fitness to practice investigation or proceedings by a licensing or regulatory body in the UK or in any other country?
- Have you been removed from the register or have conditions been made on your registration by a fitness to practice committee or the licensing or regulatory body in the UK or in any other country?
- Do you have a valid driving licence for the UK?
- Do you have access to a vehicle which can be used for work purposes?
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