Permitted exceptions to external advertising of jobs

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Recruitment and Selection Policy – see section on ‘Permitted exceptions to external advertising of jobs’.

DMU’s policy commitment is to inclusive and diverse recruitment and therefore job vacancies, whether temporary or permanent, will ordinarily be advertised both internally and externally in order to attract suitable applicants from the widest and most diverse field.

This guidance provides further detail on the permitted exceptions to external advertising as referred to in the Recruitment and Selection Policy.

Acting up opportunities......

Internal secondments......

Internal restructuring......

Job share......

Reserve candidates......

Temporary to permanent status......

Student employability......

Named person on research grants......

Other......

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Acting up opportunities

1.1 / If a vacancy arises on a short term acting up basis, such an opportunity may be ring-fenced for internal applicants or to a specific team or type of role, in order to deliver key priorities or in response to an urgent business need.
1.2 / The pool of potential candidates will be those who have the appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to undertake the temporary appointment in the most effective manner given the short-term nature of the role and the urgency of the need.
1.3 / In exceptional cases, the short-term opportunity might be offered to an individual where it is not possible to identify a suitable wider pool or where the need for cover is immediate. The urgency of the need will be balanced with the need to be fair in the availability of acting up and other development opportunities for staff.
2 /

Internal secondments

Where an internal secondment is being considered on a short-term temporary basis usually no more than 12 months. Seek advice from HR where an internal secondment is being considered.
3 /

Internal restructuring

A vacancy may be restricted to internal-only applicants or a particular team/pool in order to maximise redeployment opportunities as part of an internal restructuring exercise where existing jobs are at risk. See the university’s Managing Change – Restructuring and Redundancy Policy and the Redeployment Procedure.
4 /

Job share

If a job-share employee leaves their job, the remainder of the post may be offered to the remaining job-sharer in the first instance. See the Flexible Working Options Policy.
5 /

Reserve candidates

Following a normal competitive recruitment process, should a vacancy arise within the six-month period following appointment for the same post or a post with the same or very similar duties / requirements within the same faculty/department, any appointable candidates may be contacted and offered the post to help avoid unnecessarily re-advertising the post. The appointable candidates can be contacted in order of suitability as ranked by the initial recruitment exercise.
6 /

Temporary to permanent status

Where a permanent job is being covered by an employee on a temporary or a fixed term contract and the below criteria apply, the employee should normally be offered the role on a permanent basis. Employees who are covering permanent vacancies on a secondment basis may be treated in accordance with this section at the university’s discretion and following advice from HR on the specific circumstances.
i.The temporary postholder is not an agency worker.
ii.The temporary position was recruited to following an approved internal or external competitive process.
iii.Approval to fill the job on a permanent basis has been obtained following the normal approval route – see ‘Approval to fill a vacancy’ in the Recruitment and Selection Policy.
iv.The temporary postholder has been in post for a significant period of time of at least 12 months and is performing to the required level.
v.The vacancy has not been matched to an employee on the redeployment register. If a suitable match is identified, the temporary postholder will still be considered for the permanent role but on a ring-fenced basis.
7 /

Student employability

A job might be restricted to existing DMU students as part of a DMU approved student employability initiative, as long as the job is not needed for an employee on the redeployment register.
8 /

Named person on research grants

8.1 / Where there is a named person on a research grant, selected for objective and justifiable reasons, the individual may be appointed without the need to advertise the post.
8.2 / The individual will be required to complete a DMU application form.
9 /

Other

The Director of POD may approve that a job is restricted to internal-only applicants for any other reason that is not in conflict with the spirit or principles of the Recruitment and Selection or any other university policy.

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NOVEMBER 2013