Policies and Procedures: HEFT Framework and Template V2

Policies and Procedures: HEFT Framework and Template v2

Recruitment and Selection Policy

Key Points

The policy covers the recruitment and selection of all permanent and temporary staff and applies to all staff involved in this process.

Key Changes

• Inclusion of Pre-employment checks policies – see superseded policies
• Amendments to meet NHSLA requirements
• Process for monitoring compliance with the policy

Paper Copies of this Document

If you are reading a printed copy of this document you should check the Trust’s Policy website ( to ensure that you are using the most current version.

Ratified Date: July 2015

Ratified By: HR Committee, JNCC

Review Date: Accountable Directorate: Human Resources

Corresponding Author: Head of HR Shared Services

Table of Contents

Section / Subject
1 / Circulation
2 / Scope
3 / Introduction
4 / Aims and Objectives
5 / Process
6 / Complaints Process
7 / Responsibilities
8 / Training Requirements
9 / Monitoring and Compliance

Glossary of Terms

Hiring Manager / Department manager taking overall responsibility for recruiting a new employee to a vacant post
Recruitment Services Team / The central recruitment team that assist and advise Hiring Manager with their recruitment activity
Candidate / Person applying for a position in the Trust.
Internal Candidate / An applicant that already is employed by the Trust
External Candidate / An applicant not employed by the Trust
Staff Side / Staff representative committee

Revision History

Version / Status / Date / Consultee / Comments / Action from Comment
0.1 / August 08 / HR and Governance / Revisions to comply with NHSLA minimum criteria / Updated version to 0.2
0.2 / August 08 / HR and Governance / Revisions to comply with NHSLA minimum criteria
1.0 / November 08 / Staff Side
2.0 / July 2009
3.0 / August 2011

Meta Data

Document Title: / Recruitment and Selection Policy
Status / Active
Document Author: / Head of HR Shared Services
Source Directorate: / Human Resources
Date Of Release: / July 2015
Approval Date: / July 2015
Approved by: / HR Committee, JNCC
Ratification Date: / July 2015
Ratified by: / HR Committee/Equality Team Procedure approval/advise for policy
Review Date: / July 2017
Related documents / AFC Starting Salary Procedure
Alcohol, Drugs and Substance Misuse Policy
Clinical Staff Involved in Inter-Organisation Working Arrangements Policy
Data Protection Policy
Disciplinary Policy and Procedure
Display Screen Equipment Policy
Equal Opportunities in Employment Policy
Fixed Terms Contracts Policy
Flexible Working Policy
Health and Safety Policy and Procedure
Hepatitis B Policy
Blood Borne Viruses & Employment Policy (under development by OH)
Manual Handling Policy
Probationary Period Guidance Notes for Managers
Removal Expenses Policy
Secondment Policy
Travelling Expenses Policy
Work Experience Policy
Superseded documents / Recruitment & Selection Policy – April 2008
Recruitment & Selection Policy – Good Hope Hospital
Policy & Procedure for the Disclosure of Criminal Background (Protection of Children & Vulnerable Adults)
Pre-Employment Checks - Employment & Immigration Status
Pre-Employment Health Screening Policy & Procedure
Relevant External Standards/ Legislation / The Police Act 1997 (Enhanced Criminal Record Certificates) (Protection of Vulnerable Adults) Regulations 2002
The Protection of Children Act 1999
Pre-and Post Appointment Checks for all persons working in the NHS in England (HSC 02/08)
Guidance on Criminal Records Bureau Disclosures, published by the Department of Health December 2002
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975)
Asylum and Immigration Act 1996
NHSLA Risk Management Standards (2007)
Health Care Standards
Key Words / Recruitment, Selection, CRB, Immigration, Occupational Health, Statutory Registration

1Circulation

This Policy should be read by all staff responsible for the recruitment and selection of staff, whether to a permanent or temporary role.

2Scope

The policy covers the recruitment and selection of all permanent and temporary staff and applies to all staff involved in this process.

This Policy does not apply to work experience placements, clinical attachments or agency staff employed via the bank.

3Introduction

Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust’s vision is to be the most exciting and influential healthcare organisation worldwide. People are the key factor that will enable us to achieve this vision, and, as such, the Trust needs to recruit and retain first-class staff that believe in and drive forward our vision and reflect our values.

This recruitment policy provides an overview of how the Trust will recruit and select to the wide variety of roles that exist within the organisation. The policy meets with best practice and legal obligations, but also has flexibility in recognition of the fact that the process of recruiting is an evolutionary one which can be difficult, especially in times of labour shortages. This policy is not intended to be an exhaustive document and the Recruitment Services Team are available to provide advice or support on individual approaches to recruitment.

4Aims and Objectives

The Trust is committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is effective, efficient and professional. The key principles that underpin it are as follows;

• The process will be centered on finding the right person for the right role. This means that there should be a two-way exchange of accurate information to enable the Trust and prospective candidates to make informed decisions about working for us.
• Any selection decisions will focus on an individuals skills, abilities and personal qualities andshould be in line with the organisations valuesbeliefs.
• The recruitment team will ensure candidates and Hiring Managers are keep up to date of throughout the recruitment process.Wherever possible, the recruitment process will reflect best practice and use innovative techniques and approaches which are easy to understand, avoid unnecessary time delays and are effective.
• Throughout the recruitment process the Trust are committed to maintaining confidentiality and ensuring that all information is handled appropriately and sensitively and in accordance with the Trust’s Data Protection Policy & Procedure.
• Throughout the recruitment process the recruitment team will strive to ensure that our workforce is representative of the communities we serve. Employment opportunities will be offered regardless of gender, race, colour, ethnicity, disability, age, religious beliefs or sexual orientation.
• We will maximise the use of technology to make the process quicker and more efficient.
• We will measure and report on the effectiveness of recruitment and seek feedback from candidates and Hiring Managers. This will inform and identify any changes or improvements which need to be made.
• And above all, the recruitment teamare committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults who use our services. To this end the recruitment policy supports Line Managers and the Recruitment Team to help them to identify candidates that share this commitment and are suitable for the role.

5Process

5.1Approval for substantive, fixed term appointments and bank bookings

5.1.1Substantive and fixed term appointments

In order to commence the recruitment processes for posts including substantive, fixed term and medical workforce (excluding Deanery posts) the Recruitment Services Team need confirmation that the post has been approved to be advertised. This is provided through the Electronic Vacancy Approval System (EVAS). EVAS is an electronic system which is available for hiring managers to complete on the Trusts intranet (click on this link: EVAS). Once EVAS approval the Hiring Manager is required to send the vacancy, via the operations director, to the Vacancy Control Panel for final approval.

There may be circumstances when a post is approved on a fixed term basis, for example to cover maternity leave or in order to undertake time-limited project work. If the post is fixed term then this will need to be indicated on the approval form and authorisation to recruit to this post sought in the usual way.

It is usual practice for fixed term contracts to be for a relatively short period of time, not normally in excess of 12 months. An extension can be granted to a fixed-term contract but advice on this must be sought from the relevant HR Consultant for any extension or approval of a fixed-term contract beyond 12 months.

It may be necessary from time to time to restrict recruitment of new / replacement employees for business reasons. In these circumstances, express instructions will be issued to all managers within the Trust and Staff Side will be informed.

5.1.2Bank bookings

The bank provides temporary staffing cover for Nursing posts, Medical posts, Health Care Assistants and Administration posts bands 1-4.

In order to book temporary cover the department will need to first provide a reason for the booking (i.e. maternity or sickness cover).

Shifts can be booked either via the comupterised booking system available on the Trust’s intranet or via telephone through the HR Phone Line (0121 424 8993) and select the option for bank bookings.

5.2How to place substantive and fixed term vacancy

5.2.1Contact the recruitment team

Once you have the appropriate approval the following documents need to be sent to the recruitment team, and confirm the timeline for recruitment and the key people involved in the process, such as theshort listing/interview panel.

• EVAS number
• Job Description
• Personal Specification
• Advert

5.2.2Advertising

As a rule substantive and fixed term vacancies will be advertised online (NHS Jobs/Trust website), and where appropriate additionaladvertisements placedin the relevant media e.g. ‘hard to fill’ posts, senior appointments.

The Hiring Manager has the choice in NHS Jobs to restrict the audience and as such define whether advertscan only be viewed by internal applications or applicants.

Internal fixed term contracts/secondments should,wherever possible, be advertised on NHS Jobs. If for business reasons it is not viable to place the advert in NHS Jobs, the department must circulate a message to all their team requesting applicants express their interest in the post to a named contact, with a clear deadline for submissions.

All posts will be advertised via NHS Jobs for a period of 7 days. Where it is recognised that a post will attract a significant number of applications in a short period of time, the post will be monitored and when the number of applications reaches approximately 50, the post can be closed early.

Posts which are suitable for staff ‘At Risk’ of redundancy due to organisational change or ill health will be ‘ring-fenced’ in order to enable the Trust to meet its obligation to these staff. The post will only proceed to open advertisement once all suitable ‘At Risk’ candidates have been considered against it.

The advertisement must provide all relevant information about the post including whether it is fixed term, suitable for job sharing, requires specific knowledge, skills or qualifications and subject to any special conditions such as a CRB disclosure.

All advertisementswill make reference to the Trust’s committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

The Recruitment Services Team will provide expert advice and support on attraction strategies including copy writing of adverts and planning advertising campaigns.

5.3Selection – Short-listing, Selection Tests and Interviews

5.3.1Short listing

When positions have been advertised on NHS Jobs, shortlisting will be undertaken online, as this supports the Trust’s commitment to Equal Opportunities as short-listing is completely anonymous.

Short-listing of suitable candidates must be approached in a systematic and transparent way, clearly identifying reasons for selection and non-selection against the Personal Specification.

Candidates should be selected based on their knowledge, skills and experience

5.3.2 Interviewing

Interview panels should consist of a minimum of 2 people. It is the responsibility of the Hiring Manager to ensure at least one member of the panel has sufficient knowledge of the area to adequately test the candidates suitability to the post, and that at least one panel member has attended a Recruitment and Selection training programme.

It is the responsibility of the Hiring Manager to ensure that in addition to assessing thecandidates’ suitability to the post against their knowledge, skills and experience, an additional assessment must be in place to test the candidates’ attitudes, values and beliefs. And to ensure that any gaps in employment history are explained, any criminal convictions/cautions or reprimands are explored and that the candidates’ commitment to safeguarding vulnerable adults and children is assessed.

Where a panel member has a personal/business connection to one or more of the candidates, this must be declared and advice sought from HR/Recruitment team.

5.3.3 Behavioural Assessment

Where a behavioural assessment (behavioural panel interview) is to be used alongside a technical assessment (technical panel interview) then the candidate will be asked to attend both assessments on the same day. The behavioural interview will be assessed by a panel no greater than two members who have received the appropriate behavioral interview training. During the behavioural interview the candidate will be asked three questions (10 minutes each) taken from a pre-agreed bank of behavioural questions plus 10 minutes of questioning taken from the candidate’s Thomas International profile report (where applicable). In total the behavioural interview will last for 40 minutes. The behavioral interview will be scored against the identified aligned and non-aligned indicators for each behaviour.

After the behavioural interview and the technical interview are carried out, both panels will come together to converse and a joint appointment decision will be made according to behavioural and technical competence and suitability.

If a joint decision between both panels is made to appoint a candidate despite the candidate scoring poor or satisfactory in his/her behavioral interview then a clear development plan for improvement must be put in place for the appointee which is monitored and audited as part of an on-going plan and during annual appraisals. It is the responsibility of the Hiring Manager to monitor and audit the appointee’s behavioural plan particularly during his/her three month probationary period and thereafter.

When a joint decision between the two panels cannot be made then it will be the responsibility of the chair of the panel to either make the overall appointment decision or decide to escalate for discussion with the AMD/DMD.

5.3.3 Testing

Interviewing alone may not necessarily suitably assess the candidates’ ability to undertake the role, therefore it is recommended that additional selection methods are used. The Recruitment Services Team can provide advice and guidance on selection tests and differing approaches to interviews, including types of questions and scenarios.

5.4Offers of Employment

All substantive and fixed term verbal and written offers of employment will be made on a conditional basis based on satisfactory achievement of specific criteria (as detailed in section 5.5)which are dependent on the type of role and whether the individual is an internal or external candidate.

Where a candidate, during the application or interview process, has declared a Criminal conviction / reprimand / caution etc, the Hiring Manager must inform the applicant that their case will be assessed by a HR panel where a decision will be made rather or not the applicant is suitable to take up the post. It is the responsibility of the Hiring Managers to ensure that they gather sufficient information from the applicant so that the HR panel can make an informed decision.

In line with the Trust’s Probationary Period Procedure, all offers made to external candidates will be subject to a probationary period.

As a minimum the offer letter will detail the candidates band, job title and salary range. All starting salaries should be offered in line with the national terms and conditions of service for that particular staff group or in line with local agreements where appropriate.

Once the appropriate checks have been completed (as detailed in 5.5) to the standard required by the Trust, an unconditional contract will be issued.

5.5Pre- Employment Checking Process

Job offers will be conditional on the satisfactory outcome of a variety of checks that will be undertaken by the Recruitment Services Team, these include;

• References
• Occupational Health Clearance
• Proof of identity and the right to live and work in the UK
• Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) Disclosure clearance (where appropriate)
• Proof of qualifications, registration or ability to meet statutory conditions e.g. driving (where appropriate)

Candidates will be asked to provide original documents, e.g. passport, degree certificate or driving license (where required). The original document will be examined by the Recruitment Team and where appropriate, a copy taken to be placed on the recruitment/personal files. Applicants should not commence in post until all checks have been completed, however it is recognised that in some instances there is a Risk to patient safety or loss of funding to delay the commencement date and in such circumstances a risk Assessment will be undertaken to identify and mitigate any risks.

5.5.2References

Factual references will be sought for External candidatesfrom their two most recent employers during the last three year period, for medical candidates (doctors) three references will be sought. Any candidate who has not been employed for the last 3 years, employment references will be obtained from the period the candidate was last in employment, plus educational/character reference. For Internal Candidates only once reference is required from their current manager/supervisor.

It is essential that the interviewing panel ensure that the references detailed on the application form are appropriate, namely: that they reflect the employment history detailed in the application form, and are from the applicants most recent posts. In addition, that the named referees directly supervises /manages the candidate.

The Recruitment Team will ensure that references are sent to a named individual. When references are obtained, the Recruitment Team will compare information within the reference against those detailed on the application form and where discrepancies are identified, seek advice from the Human Resources Team (i.e. the name of the referee, dates of employment, grade etc.)