Louth Town Council Recruitment and Selection Policy – Last review 25th January 2022, next review by April 2023
1. Introduction
1.1 Effective recruitment and selection is central and crucial to the successful functioning of Louth Town Council. It depends on finding people with the necessary skills, expertise and qualifications to deliver the Council’s strategic objectives and the ability to make a positive contribution to the values and aims of the organisation.
2. Advertisements
2.1 Vacancies will generally be advertised in an appropriate newspaper or journal, and will not be confined to those media which, because of their particular source of applicants, provide only or mainly applicants of a particular group.
2.2 Advertisements will also be notified to the appropriate local job centre where this is appropriate.
2.3 Vacancies will also be posted on the Town Council website, and notice boards. Louth Town Council will also give consideration to internal promotions wherever possible as development opportunities for its staff.
2.4 Louth Town Council may, on occasions, decide to restrict advertisement to internal candidates only. Furthermore, junior posts will always be advertised internally in the first instance, to provide continuous development of existing members of staff unless the Management team agrees that this is not appropriate due to the specialist skills required for the post involved.
2.5 Employees on maternity leave will receive copies of all advertisements for posts advertised by Louth Town Council during their period of maternity leave.
3. Application Form
3.1 Candidates for all posts will, except on some occasions when a vacancy is restricted to internal recruitment, be asked to complete a standard application form, in order that they can be judged on the basis of comparable information.
3.2 In applying for posts, all candidates will be provided with a job description, details of the appropriate conditions of service and details about Louth Town Council. A brief statement about the appointment procedure will also be provided and, if possible, an indication of the date (or week) when interviews will be held. The job description will include a list of the main duties and responsibilities of the post, together with an outline of the qualifications and experience which candidates are expected to possess.
3.3 In drawing up the job description and conditions of service Louth Town Council will ensure that no job applicant receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of disability, gender, race, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, caring responsibilities or hours of work, and that no applicant is placed at a disadvantage unjustifiably by requirements or conditions which have a disproportionately adverse effect on a particular group.
3.4 Applicants will be asked if they wish to make the Council aware of any disabilities, as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and whether there are any reasonable adjustments needed for them to attend an interview. All applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for a job will be interviewed, and considered on their merits, with no regard taken of their disability.
3.5 Applicants will be required to supply the names and addresses of two people from whom references can be obtained, one of which should normally be the applicant’s current or most recent employer.
3.6 Only references for short listed candidates for interview will be obtained. References will normally be sought prior to interview, unless the candidate indicates otherwise.
3.7 References should normally be made in writing or email, but those received by telephone will be accepted, provided that a note of the conversation is recorded and placed on file.
3.8 All candidates will be asked to declare on the application form whether they have ever been convicted of any criminal offence which cannot be regarded as ‘spent’ in terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
3.9 For posts that involve working with children and vulnerable adults / finance work, applicants will be asked to reveal details of ‘spent’ and ‘unspent’ convictions. Successful candidates for such posts will be required to provide the necessary documentation in order to complete a standard criminal records disclosure. Posts which require such a disclosure will be clearly indicated on the conditions of service and appointment procedure.
3.10 Applicants will also be required to declare if they are related to any Councillor or member of staff within the Town Council. Canvassing of members of the Town Council is not permitted. No councillor should be put into a position where he or she is asked to interview a person to whom they are related.
3.11 It is the Town Council’s policy not to communicate further with applicants other than those who are shortlisted. A note to this effect is included in the details sent out to applicants and a date given by which they may expect to receive notification by shortlisting.
3.12 Applicants details will be recorded at the point of receipt. Information relating to equality and diversity will be hidden from all those involved in the recruitment and selection process. The information collected will be solely used for the purposes of equality monitoring.
3.13 All completed application forms are private and confidential and should only be made available to those directly involved in the recruitment and selection process.
3.14 All application forms will be collated by the Town Clerk and supplied to the Personnel Committee and interview panel for shortlisting purposes.
4. Selection Methods
4.1 Interviews of short-listed applicants will be held by a panel comprising of ideally three persons, but a minimum of two persons, gender balanced wherever possible. The interviewers will encourage candidates to be at ease during the interview, in order that they can give a fair and accurate impression of themselves.
4.2 The selection and appointment of the Town Clerk will initially be made by members of the Personnel Committee with a recommendation made to full Council and the panel will be chaired by the Mayor.
4.3 A set of questions will be agreed by the interview panel in advance and will be developed from the current job description for the post. The panel will seek to develop questions which ask the candidates to give examples of their previous relevant experience.
4.4 All candidates will be asked the same questions in the same order, and their responses rated between 1-10. The panel will each have a copy of the questions and will score independently of each other during the interview. Time is allocated between interviews for the panel to discuss each candidate and to award a total points score. Additional notes may be made by the panel during the interview, however it should be noted that candidates will have access to all information should they request it.
4.5 It should be remembered that an interview is a two way process, and candidates will be given every opportunity to view the offices where they will work and ask questions about the Council, to ensure that they have a full understanding of the post for which they are applying and the way the Council operates.
4.6 In addition to interviews, a range of other selection techniques may be used. In such circumstances reasonable notice and relevant information will be given to ensure that candidates have sufficient time and information to prepare.
4.7 All appointments will be made strictly on merit and related to the requirements of the job.
4.8 All interviewed candidates will be notified of the outcome of the selection process as soon as possible, either by telephone or letter.
4.9 All unsuccessful Interviewees’ application forms and interview notes will be retained for one year from the date of interviews taking place. After this date they will be destroyed.
5. Relevant Checks
5.1 All offers of employment will be made conditional upon satisfactory results from the following:
• two satisfactory references;
• confirmation of the right to work in this country (if appropriate)
• Disclosure Barring Checks (DBS) (if appropriate).
6. Probationary Period
6.1 All appointments will be made subject to a probationary period of six calendar months. After three months a review meeting will take place between the post holder and their line manager to discuss progress. At the end of the probationary period, and subject to a satisfactory report by the appropriate head of section or line manager, employees will be notified in writing that they have successfully completed their probationary period. The probationary period can be extended by a further 3 months should the individual’s line manager consider this appropriate.
7. Recruitment Monitoring
7.1 Louth Town Council seeks to recruit employees on the basis of their ability and the requirements of the post.
7.2 Louth Town Council wants to ensure that no applicant receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of disability, gender, race, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, caring responsibilities or hours of work.
8. Exit Interviews
8.1 All employees who leave the employment of the Council voluntarily may if necessary have an exit interview with their manager before their last day of employment.
8.2 Exit interviews provide the opportunity for departing employees to discuss their reasons for leaving. The information provided is useful in identifying trends, learning and development and evaluating the effectiveness of the Recruitment Policy and practices.
8.3 The appropriate line manager should receive all appropriate information, such as recommendations made for change, or significant issues raised in the questionnaire, whilst bearing in mind confidentiality issues. The exit interview questionnaire will be retained on the employee’s personal file.
Appendix 1 – Recruitment Checklist
Management Recruitment Procedure:
1 Define the vacancy to be filled.
2 Define the skills required by the post.
3 Define the responsibilities and decision making requirements of the post.
4 Can the job be filled internally?
5 Choose Job Advert media
1 Newspaper advertisements
2 Job Centre
3 Asking current employees if they know anyone
4 Agencies.
6 Choose method of gathering information from candidates:
1 Application forms
2 CV’s
3 Skills tests.
4 Referees.
7 Information to be sent to Applicants:
1 Application Form – if appropriate
2 Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure
3 Job Description
4 Person Specification
5 Equal Opportunities Policy and Procedure
8 Choose method of assessment.
Informal interview Name of Manager responsible –
Formal interview Name of Manager responsible –
Assessment Centre Name of Manager responsible –
Trial work period Name of Manager responsible –
9 Assessment Criteria are based exclusively upon the specific Job Description for the post. The Job Description Criteria are ranked in order of priority and weighted. Individuals are then given a score against each of these criteria. The Candidate with the highest score is the most successful.
10 Information to be sent to successful applicant:
1 Letter of appointment
2 Health questionnaire
3 Request for referees
4 Personal details and contact details
5 Bank details
11 Documents to be issued to New Recruit at Induction
1 Written terms and conditions of employment – contract and staff handbook.
3 Health and Safety Policy and procedure.
4 Job Description.
| YES/NO | |
| Have you explained the profile of the organisation and identified key posts and people? | |
| Have you provided a copy of the Job Description? | |
| Have you provided written terms and conditions of employment and ensure that the employee fully understands them? | |
| Have you fully explained the pay arrangements and ensured you have all relevant information; e.g. P45? | |
| Have you checked entitlement to work in the UK? | |
| Have you provided Personal Protective Equipment and explained the company’s policy and procedure regarding this equipment? | |
| Have you fully explained the company’s Health and Safety procedure? | |
| Have you fully explained the company’s Fire and Evacuation procedure? | |
| Have you fully explained the company’s break procedure and shown them rest facilities / canteens? | |
| Have you conducted a training needs assessment for the new employee? | |
| Have you discussed and agreed a training programme for the new recruit? |