University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Human Resources - Recruitment

Recruitment Policy

Introduction
Aims
Scope
Principles
Recruitment and Selection Procedure
5.3 Planning Stage
5.4 Resourcing Stage
5.5 Onboarding Stage
Employing Staff Overseas

A PDF version of this Policy can be accessed here: Recruitment Policy 2021

1. Introduction

1.1. University Strategy sets out our vision as a world-class, world-changing university; our mission is to bring inspiring people together and create a world-class environment for learning and research. It recognises that it is people who drive our success and that we cannot achieve our ambitions without talented, passionate and motivated staff.

1.2. Accordingly, the University strives to attract, select and retain world leading talent of the highest calibre, it is imperative that we have a fit for purpose recruitment strategy and complementary policies, procedures and resources to achieve this aim.

2. Aims

2.1 The policy is intended to:

demonstrate the University’s commitment to a fair, consistent and transparent process which duly reflects equality of opportunity in our recruitment and selection practice, in support of our diverse and inclusive organisation;
ensure all applicants are considered based on their individual merits and relevant abilities for any particular post;
provide a robust framework for the recruitment and selection of staff underpinned by the principles outlined below, systematically ensuring that the most suitable candidate is appointed.

3. Scope

3.1 This policy covers all activities that form part of any recruitment and selection process and is applicable to every form of staff recruitment.

3.2 Responsibility for ensuring that the correct procedures are followed lies with the School/RI/Service Manager responsible for recruitment activity within their area of responsibility, whilst the ongoing effective conduct of this policy will be monitored and reviewed by the Human Resources Service.

3.3 All staff involved in the recruitment and selection of staff are expected to observe these procedures and to ensure that their actions are consistent with the core principles noted below

4. Principles

4.1 The University operates a competitive recruitment process founded upon a fair, open and transparent approach designed to enable the selection of the most suitable person from the widest possible range of suitable applicants.

4.2 An effective recruitment and selection resourcing strategy is a key aspect of our employer brand with a view to positively enhancing our reputation. The University endeavours to ensure that all candidates are treated fairly, with dignity, respect and courtesy, and to ensuring a positive candidate experience.

4.3 The University wishes to attract and engage staff from a wide and diverse background and proactively seeks to avoid unfair bias in its processes. The University actively encourages the recruitment of staff with disabilities, and will make reasonable adjustments at all stages of the recruitment process as required. The University is a Disability Confident Employer, and operates a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants.

4.4 The University will promote best practice in recruitment and selection, and will continuously develop innovative attraction and delivery strategies in our practices.

4.5 All documentation relating to applicants will be treated confidentially in accordance with data protection legislation and the University’s Privacy Statement.

4.6 All members of an Appointing Committee must undertake training in recruitment and selection prior to participating in any recruitment and selection process. The University will provide appropriate training, development and support to those involved in recruitment and selection activities in order to meet this core principle. To adhere to this policy it is mandatory for staff involved in recruitment and selection to complete the following training:

Equality and Diversity Essentials (online)
Unconscious Bias (online)
Recruitment and Selection Training

4.7 The University encourages applications from all suitably qualified candidates; the successful candidate requires to provide appropriate documentary evidence of their right to work in the UK (See also section on UKVI Sponsorship below) prior to taking up their employment.

5. Recruitment & Selection Procedure

5.1 There are three key stages in the recruitment and selection process, namely Planning, Resourcing and Onboarding. These are outlined in detail below.

5.2 Supporting documents and guidance for each of the stages is also outlined on the HR website within the Recruitment & Selection Toolkit.

5.3 Planning Stage

- The recruitment and selection process will not commence until the need for a role has been established consistent with the strategic plans and budgetary implications of the unit which will be assessed and evaluated.
- Locally based administrative support staff (Local Resourcing Co-ordinator - LRC) will act as the main point of contact for the Hiring Manager for the duration of the recruitment process.
- To begin the recruitment process, the Hiring Manager should contact their LRC with the role requirements, particularly the Job Description guidance on writing job descriptions is available on the HR webpages and project codes. The LRC will take the vacancy planning phase forward until the vacancy is approved and ready to be advertised where appropriate. Where applicable, evidence of the relevant grant award for externally funded posts should also be provided.
- At this point the LRC will also consult with the Hiring Manager to agree the Appointment Committee and the proposed timing and structure of the selection interview and any associated selection tools to be utilised.
- It is essential that the content of the job description clearly reflects the duties, skills and experience required for the post. A replacement post provides the LRC opportunity to re-assess the content of the current job description. In the event of little or no change, the job description should be submitted consistent with the current grade. Where there are substantial and qualitative changes or where there is a new role, the job description will be graded in accordance with the Pay & Grading Procedure. The LRC will be able to advise on this as required.
- The job description should identify the essential and desirable criteria and it is important that these are compiled based on the requisite business needs of the post along with the knowledge, skills and experience required to operate successfully in the role (See shortlisting below)
- Clinical posts are subject to additional requirements, as outlined in the agreement between the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow on the Recruitment and Selection of Clinical Academic Staff which can be found at: University/NHS Joint Working
- The University is committed to preserving and maintaining employment wherever possible and realises that situations can arise whereby employees may find their employment at risk (e.g. in potential redundancy situations or through ill-health). The Redeployment Policy aims to support, as far as is reasonably possible, the securing of suitable alternative employment opportunities within the University for employees in such a position.
  
  Recruiting Managers will be required, as part of the recruitment process, to consider internal ‘at risk’ candidates. A priority interview must be offered to any eligible ‘at risk’ employees who apply for a vacancy and who match the grade and have the potential to meet the essential criteria. Priority interviews are ahead of all other candidates (that are not at risk) with the sole exception that staff at risk on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave are given absolute priority over all others.

5.4 Resourcing Stage

Advertising

The central Recruitment Team are responsible for placing recruitment advertisements for staff.
As a minimum, adverts will be placed on the University’s Jobs at Glasgow web page, however most vacancies will be advertised more widely, and Research & Teaching related posts will normally be globally advertised to ensure we secure the strongest possible field of candidates.
LRCs will liaise with the central Recruitment Team on behalf of the Hiring Manager to agree the most relevant and appropriate attraction strategies for particular posts and the applicable timeframes. The University has access to and utilises a number of global websites and job boards.
Careful consideration will be taken in selecting where to place advertisements as specialist vacancies may require publication in other advertising sources. The central Recruitment Team will provide advice on relevance and the timelines for the scheduling and booking of adverts.
Where challenges have been encountered in recruiting staff to a particular role, the LRC will liaise with the central Recruitment Team to consider alternative routes to market.
Adverts will utilise proactive and positive language, reflecting the University’s strategic aim of attracting diverse applicant pools, including women, minority ethnic groups and those with disabilities, particularly where these groups are underrepresented in a business unit. In addition, it may be appropriate to promote University-wide or local achievements in Athena SWAN, Stonewall Diversity Champion membership and our Disability Confident Employer status.
Regius Professors and some other senior University appointments may be subject to additional requirements. The LRC will liaise with the central Recruitment Team to provide further information and guidance.
It may not be appropriate to advertise a vacancy externally where:

an appointment may be made via an internal advertisement only to support career development and/or retention;
the length of post is less than 6 months and a suitable applicant has been identified;
where a specific person is named in any award funding;
other circumstances, in which case, advice should be sought from the local College/US Head of Human Resources.

Closing Date of Vacancies

Research & Teaching and MPA (Management, Professional & Administrative) vacancies at Grade 6 and above will normally be advertised for 4 weeks on the University’s website, other appropriate external websites and/or publications. Such positions attract international applicants who may not have an automatic right to work in the UK and therefore require sponsorship to take up any such position. The University is required to provide evidence of a robust recruitment in order to satisfy the genuine vacancy requirement for sponsorship.
MPA (up to and including Grade 6), Technical & Operational vacancies will normally be advertised for two weeks on the University’s website and other appropriate websites. The central Recruitment Team will provide further guidance as required.

Cost of Advertising

The central recruitment budget held by the HR Service funds job vacancy adverts placed in jobs.ac.uk. Any additional costs incurred in advertisement placement through other advertising mediums will be charged to the relevant School/RI/Service undertaking recruitment activity. Relevant information will be provided to the Hiring Manager by the LRC following discussion with the central Recruitment Team.

Membership of Appointing Committee

The composition of the Appointing Committee will be determined by the Head of School/RI/Service or relevant Hiring Manager. Full details are contained within the Appointing Committee Guidance Notes within the Recruitment & Selection Toolkit.

Shortlisting

The Appointing Committee carries out the initial shortlisting of applications by comparing evidence in the application against the essential and desirable criteria for the post as set out in the job description.
The central Recruitment Team will circulate the relevant documentation (Shortlist Assessment and Interview Request Forms) to all members of the Appointing Committee, once the closing date has been reached. All members of the Shortlisting Panel will be involved in determining the shortlist and be present at the Appointing Committee.
All candidates called for interview should be considered to meet the essential criteria, given the expectation that candidates will not otherwise be able to operate successfully in the role. Where a candidate does not meet one or more of the essential criteria, that candidate cannot be invited to interview. Where a large number of applicants appear to meet the essential criteria then the desirable criteria should be used to identify those who are most suitable to be invited for interview.
The University is a Disability Confident employer in recognition of its commitment to fair recruitment and employment of disabled people. This involves a commitment to interview any disabled applicants who meet the published essential criteria for an advertised post. The applicant's summary form will be clearly marked to indicate that a candidate has applied through this scheme.
Appointing Committees will normally expect to interview no more than six candidates per vacancy.
It is essential that the required information is correctly provided on the Shortlist Assessment Form as this will become the formal record for feedback to candidates with regards to whether or not they have been shortlisted. It is important to remember that individuals may challenge any shortlisting decision and may seek feedback accordingly. Shortlisting decisions must be fair, objective and non-discriminatory, and properly recorded.
Similarly in support of the University’s commitment to staff facing redundancy due to funding end dates or other organisational change, candidates are invited to signal on their application if they are in this position. Those involved in shortlisting should pay particular attention to such applications, and where there is a potential match to the role, an interview should be offered.
The fully completed Shortlist Assessment Form, representing the collective view of the Appointing Committee, must be returned along with the completed Interview Request Form, to the LRC and the central Recruitment Team.

References

It is normal for the University to take up employment references for all staff. These are normally taken up in advance of interview for Research & Teaching and senior professional roles, subject to candidates having given their express permission for the University to do so. For other vacancies references are normally taken up beyond the job offer stage, with any such job offer issued conditional upon receipt of satisfactory referee reports.
The purpose of an employment reference is to obtain information about the employment history of a candidate. References require to be treated with caution by the Appointing Committee, due to the potential for bias whether favourable or unfavourable to a candidate. The central Recruitment Team is responsible for obtaining references at the appropriate time and once permission has been granted by the applicant(s).
In the event of the Hiring Manager having any concern regarding a reference they should discuss this immediately with the Recruitment Assistant who will liaise as necessary with the local Head of HR.

The Interview

All shortlisted candidates will be seen and considered by the same Appointing Committee and should typically be interviewed on the same day. Where this is not possible, the interviews should be held over as short a period as possible.
The Central Recruitment Team will contact all short listed candidates to confirm interview details:

Alternative arrangements may be required for overseas candidates or candidates from elsewhere in the UK who are unable to travel;
Video conferencing facilities are available on campus and should be considered on such occasions. The relevant LRC will coordinate arrangements for this, where required.

The University aims to ensure that all candidates have a positive interview experience at the University. Some candidates may require assistance and all interview locations should be easily accessible. The central Recruitment Team will ask candidates if they require any additional support and where appropriate make reasonable adjustments as required.
Prior to interviews being held, each member of the Appointing Committee should:

Review the job description;
Assess the application form /CV of each applicant;
Review the essential & desirable criteria, and identify areas for further exploration/ questions and the sequencing of these.

The Convenor of the Appointing Committee will normally take responsibility for this discussion and co-ordinate the question set and the allocation/ordering of these via Committee members. All candidates should broadly be asked the same set of questions.

Presentations

Presentations are recognised as a formal part of the selection process for more senior posts and Research and Teaching posts in particular.

In the case of senior professional and managerial roles these will normally be carried out as part of the interview.
Candidates for Lectureships, Senior Lectureships, Readership and the Professoriate will be required to give presentations to members of the School/RI/Service. While it is normal procedure for members of the School/RI/Service to be present at this stage of the process, it must be understood that they have no formal role in the decision making process. However, constructive feedback may be expressed directly to the Head of School/RI/Service in advance of the formal interview
The Head of School/RI/Service, or his/her nominee, will be asked by the Convener of the Appointing Committee to comment on the candidates' presentations following all interviews, prior to the selection decision being taken.

Interview Assessment Form

Interview Assessment Forms mirroring the criteria from the job descriptions will be prepared by the central Recruitment Team and supplied to all Committee Members, and the LRC, by e-mail prior to interviews.
After each interview, all members of the Appointment Committee should record their comments and rate each candidate against the pre-determined essential and desirable criteria from the job description in the Interview Assessment Form.
One Interview Assessment Form representing the collective view of the Appointing Committee should be completed for each candidate after the interviews have concluded, signed by the Convener and returned to the central Recruitment Team and copied to the LRC. This will be uploaded against the vacancy record in the e-recruitment system.
It is practice within the University to use a candidate rating system (A – Highly appointable, B – Suitable for appointment or C – Not suitable for appointment) which is clearly indicated on the Interview Assessment Form. Where a candidate does not meet one or more of the essential criteria they should not be deemed a suitable fit to the post.
Where consensus is reached by the interview panel, there is no need for further discussion. Further discussion is however necessary where there is not complete agreement on the interview assessment of each candidate
The interview outcome and justification for a recruitment decision should be recorded on each form to ensure the process is suitably robust and transparent. This will enable the University to demonstrate that the most suitably qualified candidate is appointed along with the requisite documentary record of the decision for the purposes of legislative compliance (including demonstration of the Resident Labour Market Test) and will enable constructive feedback to be provided to candidates on their request.

Recommendation

Once a preferred candidate has been identified by the Committee, the Convener should complete the Interview Recommendation Form provided by the central Recruitment Team. This should be returned to the central Recruitment Team along with the Interview Assessment Forms noted above.
The Hiring Manager should work with the LRC to ensure that relevant information is gathered to enable processing of the contract i.e. start date, recommended salary (confirmed by HR), etc.
Offers of employment will normally be conveyed by the central Recruitment Team and not by members of the Appointing Committee recognising that a verbal offer may be deemed as a formal agreement. School/RI/Service Managers responsible for a particular recruitment exercise may inform successful candidates that a preferred recommendation has been made to HR and that further contact/correspondence will be forthcoming from this service.
All post-interview correspondence, including reserve and regret communications are issued by the central Recruitment Team. The formal written offer of employment and written particulars of terms and conditions of employment will be issued by the Onboarding Team, typically following verbal or email acceptance by the preferred candidate.

5.5 Onboarding

As part of the onboarding process, the following pre-employment checks and referrals are carried out as required:

Verification of qualifications	Original qualifications will be checked and verified by the central Recruitment Team.
References	All outstanding references will be collected by the central Recruitment Team and an offer subject to satisfactory references, if still awaited, will be issued.
PVG/ Disclosure	Where a post requires a PVG check (as identified in the job description) an offer will be made on a conditional basis, subject to the receipt of a satisfactory Disclosure excluding clinical posts where an offer of employment will not be made until a satisfactory Disclosure report has been received. It should be noted that work cannot be undertaken until PVG clearance has been obtained. Full guidance is available on the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme Manager Guidance Note webpage
UKVI Sponsorship	Where a candidate is to be sponsored by the University the central Recruitment Team are responsible for completing the necessary processes and offers will be made subject to successful completion of these. See section 6 below.
Occupational Health	An Occupational Health referral may be required for certain posts within the University, or where any potential health issues have been identified during the recruitment process.
NHS Honorary Contracts	Clinical posts will require an honorary contract to be issued by the NHS Recruitment Team. Written particulars of terms and conditions of employment pertaining to the University contract will be issued at the earliest opportunity on receipt of the NHS honorary contract. The NHS will require full PVG and appropriate Occupational Health Clearance prior to issue.

6. Employing Staff Overseas

6.1 In pursuance of the University's Internationalisation strategy, increasing instances are arising that propose the employment of staff (UK based or overseas based) to work outside the UK. The guidance found at the following link provides an overview of the process, and main areas for consideration, when contemplating employing staff based overseas or posting existing members of staff on an overseas assignment:
Guidance for managers on employing staff based overseas.

6.2 The relevant local Head of HR will be able to provide further advice and guidance, and to discuss the requirements related to this prior to the commencement of the recruitment process.

Document Control

DOCUMENT CONTROL

Policy name	Recruitment and Selection Policy
Approved by	University Court - June 2007
Implementation date	August 2007
Last reviewed	August 2018
Next review	August 2019
Owner	Central HR – Recruitment
Drafted by	Martina Cooper

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