Annex 4.3 Recruitment & Selection Procedures


APPLICATION FORM - Guidelines for Applicants

Please read these guidelines carefully before completing the application form.

Thank you for your time and effort in enquiring about a position with Age UK Wigan Borough.

Your application is a very important document as it will be used as a basis for short -listing and selection.

If you are hand writing the form, please ensure that it is legible and written in black ink. Alternatively you may request an electronic version of this form. Word processed forms should be typed in a minimum font size of 12 point. You should not submit a CV as a substitute as the application form has been designed to gain the information we require in the most practicable format and to put all candidates on an equal footing. For this reason a CV will not be accepted.

Certain sections of the form may not be relevant for all applicants. You should complete the form as it is applicable to you. The guidelines advise you of the sections you must complete.

Please attach any Additional Information sheets firmly to the main part of the form, marked with your full name, the post you have applied for and the reference number, if applicable.

The organisation may wish to check any of the details you have provided. Providing incorrect information or deliberately concealing any relevant facts may result in disqualification from the selection process or, where the discovery is made after an appointment, to termination of the contract.

Please return the form by the closing date specified.

A. Personal Details
You must complete this section. If you do not wish to be contacted at your workplace, please indicate this on the form.
B. Employment & C. Previous Employment
Please give brief details about your current or most recent job
Previous employment-please list all previous jobs and include full and part time work, voluntary or unpaid work, self employment, temporary work and work experience.
D. Education and Training
In some instances certain qualifications may be essential for the job and such requirements will be shown in the person specification. Use this section to show how you have kept your skills and knowledge up to date. Let us know about the knowledge and/or skills gained from training courses attended that may be useful to the job.
E. Suitability for the role
You must complete this section. This is the most important section and gives you the opportunity to explain why you are the best person for the job. You should relate your skills knowledge and experience to key elements of the job description and person specification, giving specific examples of your achievements. Take into account any relevant voluntary or community work and any relevant non -work experience.
F. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
You will be advised if the post for which you are applying is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1994.
It is Age UK Wigan Borough Policy to require applicants to disclose all ‘unspent’ convictions as part of their application.
Additionally, in the case of applications for posts that involve working with or near children or with vulnerable adults or where staff would be in positions of trust, all relevant convictions including ‘spent’ convictions, must be declared.
G. Right to work in UK- Immigration & Nationality Act 2006
The above Act makes it illegal to employ a person aged 16 or over without authorisation by the immigration authorities and all employers must carry out basic document checks to meet the requirements of the Act. You are required to confirm in this section that you have the right to work in the UK.
Short listed applicants will be required to produce relevant documents on the day of their interview.
There are two types of document that can be submitted for checking to meet the requirements of the Act:
You will need to supply one original document set out in List 1 or two original documents from List 2. These will be photocopied and the originals returned to you on the day of your interview.
List 1 documents include
·  A UK passport
·  An EEA passport or national identity card
·  A UK residence permit issued by the Home Office
·  An application registration card issued by the Home Office to an Asylum Seeker stating that the holder is permitted to take up employment
List 2 documents include:
An official document bearing a national insurance number plus:
·  A birth certificate; or
·  A letter from the Home Office; or
·  An immigration status document
A work permit plus:
·  A passport or;
·  A letter from the Home Office
These must confirm that you have permission to enter or remain in the UK and take the employment in question
H. References
Referees must have direct knowledge of your work and must include your line manager from your current or most recent employer. If you have not been employed, a referee related to any unpaid employment such as voluntary or community work may be appropriate. School and college leavers and graduates may give the names of tutors, lecturers or head teachers. Character references from friends and relatives are not acceptable. Please ensure that your referees are in a position to respond promptly and you should give an alternative address where they may be contacted if they are unlikely to be available at their normal place of work,
I. Data Protection Act 1998
The organisation will only use the information you supply on your application form to process your application for the post you have applied for. All information will be held confidentially and (except for data on the equal opportunities monitoring form & rehabilitation of offenders information) will be made available to those involved in the selection process.
For the successful applicant, this data will be held confidentially in both manual and computer records and will be made available to the Chief Officer, relevant line manager and finance and human resources managers for the proper administration of the employment relationship.
Equal opportunities data will be processed in an anonymous, statistical format for use by the organisation or relevant outside bodies for monitoring purposes.
J. Declaration
It is essential that you read and sign this section.
Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form
All candidates are requested to complete this form and include it with their application. Personal information is requested to enable us to monitor our Equal Opportunities and Diversity policy to ensure that all applicants for posts receive equal treatment irrespective of their gender, race, ethnic origin, disability, age, nationality, national origin, sexuality, religion, marital status or social class. It is also requested for the confidential personal record of the successful candidate. The Equal Opportunities Monitoring form will be detached prior to the commencement of the selection process and will not be seen by those responsible for short listing or interviewing candidates.

Recruitment & Selection procedures

March 09 Version 5 Aug 2011

HR15