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HR Policies
A full list of HR policies and procedures is kept on the Staff section of the University's website.
Applications are now welcome for the Cycle to Work Scheme.
The content in these pages provides guidance for managers involved in recruitment and selection of staff. In all cases, please be aware of the University's obligation to check and evidence an individual's Right to Work in the UK. If you require specific advice on filling a particular vacancy please contact your HR team.
It is expected that all members of Appointment Committees, particularly Conveners, undertake the relevant online training on Recruitment and Selection. In addition, it is strongly encouraged that they also undertake the online training on Equality and Diversity.
Within each of the following sections, the most frequently accessed resources appear at the top, with increasing levels of detail below.
Points to consider:
Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
Academic Professional Job Level descriptors
Support Staff Job Level descriptors
Information and guidance:
Assessment of Recruitment Needs
Background:
Before recruiting to a post, a number of factors should be considered to assess what is required, such as:
- What are the duties of the post?
- Is it full-time or part-time, required for a fixed-term or an open-ended contract?
- Will it involve working with children or vulnerable adults?
Form:
ATA System via Pegasus (the Financial Authority to Appoint link sits within the Finance tab)
Engage ATS (for submitting job information to HR)
Information and guidance:
Engage ATS: Vacancy Initiation
Background:
The ATA process involves gaining authorisation from a number of individuals from across the University. Timescales vary, depending upon the complexity of issues involved. A post cannot be advertised prior to an ATA being fully authorised.
The ATA system is governed by the University's Finance Office and is available via Pegasus. It is possible to track the progress of any submitted ATA via this system. Guidance on the ATA system is available from the Finance website. Any queries regarding the use of this system should be directed to your Finance Office contact.
It is recommended that a Vacancy Initiation Request (providing information on advertising and selection) is raised and Further Particulars uploaded via that Engage ATS online recruitment system while the ATA is being processed. This avoids any delay later in the process, to deal with issues such as job grading or advert drafting.
Forms:
Further Particulars (FPs); please note that Academic, Knowledge Exchange, Research and Teaching-related samples are provided on the Template Job Profiles webpage.
Engage ATS (link to the e-recruitment system that allows vacancy advertisement requests to be submitted to HR; guidance is available by clicking the links in the right-hand column of this page.)
Points to consider:
Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
Academic Professional Job Level descriptors
Support staff Job Level descriptors
Information and guidance:
Interview panel composition (pdf document)
Engage ATS: Vacancy Initiation
Background:
Once requirements have been assessed and an ATA has been submitted for the new or replacement post, the following recruitment documents are required:
- A completed Vacancy Initiation Request via Engage ATS (please see the guidance on recruiting internationally and interview panel composition, which may assist in completing this)
- A Further Particulars document that includes the following parts
- draft advert (see guidance on drafting an advert)
- job description and person specification (please refer to guidance on developing a job description and template job descriptions for academic professional posts).
The advertising period and placement will depend on the nature of the post. The University advertises most posts on jobs.ac.uk and our own website as standard (for some roles, particularly in Professional Services, S1jobs.com will be the default site). Placement in other locations will depend on the type of post in question but it should be noted that the University will ordinarily advertise posts online only. The cost of any additional adverts over and above the standard provision described above will usually need to be met by the recruiting department.
Where there are individuals on the redeployment register for whom the vacancy may represent potential suitable alternative employment, it will be necessary to advertise it for a period of a week to those on the redeployment register only. If no applications are received from redeployees, the post will progress to the agreed advertising process.
Advertising timescales depend on the type of post and the advertising mechanism however typical timescales are:
- Redeployment only posts: 1 week
- APS/Technical/Operational posts: Minimum 2 weeks
- Academic/Teaching/Research/KE posts: Minimum 4 weeks
For posts where the pool of candidates may be international, the advert must be live for a minimum of 28 days to comply with Home Office regulations. Normally these posts would be of a skilled and/or specialist nature, e.g. requiring a PhD.
Further guidance is available from your HR team on advertising placement and timescales; please see the right-hand pane for contact details.
Forms:
Shortlisting information is provided via the Engage ATS online recruitment system.
Points to consider:
Positive about Disabled People (PDP) webpage
Information and guidance:
Engage ATS: Shortlisting and Interviewing
Background:
It is expected that all members of Appointment Committees, particularly Conveners, undertake the relevant online training on Recruitment and Selection. In addition, it is strongly encouraged that they also undertake the online training on Equality and Diversity.
Shortlisting allows recruiting departments to systematically assess applications to establish whether they meet the essential and desirable criteria, as identified on the person specification. This process decides who will be invited for interview. Shortlisting guidance is available.
Applications will be available via Engage ATS as and when candidates submit these. Guidance on using Engage ATS for shortlisting is available.
The expectation is that shortlisting will be completed and recommendations communicated to HR within 10 working days of the interview date. Where a tighter timetable has been agreed in advance, the shortlisting should be returned to HR at least 5 working days before the interviews are due to take place.
Regret letters will normally be issued within 2 working days following receipt of completed shortlisting.
Forms:
Interview information is normally available via the Engage ATS online recruitment system.
Information and guidance:
Engage ATS: Shortlisting and Interviewing
Background:
Preferred candidates identified through the shortlisting process will be invited for interview. The links above provide further guidance and assistance on the interview process. Wherever possible Appointment Committees will be of mixed gender composition.
For posts at Grade 8 and above, interview dates will normally be agreed in advance of advertising and these dates will be contained within the further particulars for the post. For all other posts, it is recommended that the interview dates are scheduled in advance of advertising.
Candidates should be given at least 5 working days advance notice of the interview. For academic posts, 10 working days’ advance notice is usually given.
Interview panel members will receive interview packs no later than 5 working days before the interview.
HR will advise interview panel members of any change in the interview arrangements.
Background:
Where a preferred candidate has been identified through the interview process, Human Resources will make an offer of employment, subject to formal references and checks. Where information is provided about candidates through informal channels, and where that information appears to be credible and to raise matters of concern, it must be referred to Human Resources. Decisions about what use can be made of information, which is conveyed informally, and what weight, if any, should be placed on it, will be managed by HR.
Verbal offers will be made as soon as is practicable following a final decision being reached by the interview panel.
Contracts will normally be issued to the successful candidate(s) within 2 working days of the final decision being reached.
Interview outcome letters will normally be issued within 2 working days of the verbal acceptance of the post by the successful candidate.
Feedback should also be provided to unsuccessful candidates who request this. Ordinarily, if HR have been part of the interview panel, they will be approached for feedback. However, if other panel members are approached, they should remember to provide feedback which is positive and relevant to the criteria being assessed.