Recruitment Services and the
Recruitment Process
Liz Timperley-Preece – Head of Recruitment
liz.timperley-preece@admin.cam.ac.uk; (01223 7)65019
Agenda
• Recruitment Services teams and their roles
• Recruitment Guidance
• Recruitment system developments
• DBS checks
• Right to work and immigration
• Appointment administration
• Induction and probation
• Future developments
• Questions
Recruitment Services
Liz Timperley-Preece
Head of Recruitment
Recruitment
Administration
Team
Temporary
Employment
Service
Compliance Team
Recruitment Administration (RA) Team
• Provides centralised processing of:
 New appointments, including contract production hrnewappointmentteam@admin.cam.ac.uk, (01223 7)61200
 Amendments to terms and conditions, including extension of fixedterm contracts - hramendmentteam@admin.cam.ac.uk; (01223
7)61201
• Team leader: Susan Wilson - susan.wilson@admin.cam.ac.uk, (01223
3)32349
Compliance Team
• Processes Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) applications.
• Processes applications under Tiers 2 and 5 of the points-based
immigration system.
• Will be working to enhance the support provided to international staff
relocating to the UK and those extending their visas.
• Team members
 Immigration and Compliance Manager graeme.ross@admin.cam.ac.uk; (01223 7)65554
 Compliance Administrators - Emma Chambers and Karen Parker
 Compliance Administrative Assistants - Louise Rabbett and Alison
McKeegan
 Team contact details: ComplianceTeam@admin.cam.ac.uk; (01223
7)68808
Temporary Employment Service (TES)
• Provides clerical, technical, IT, finance, catering, estate management
(gardeners) and academic-related temporary workers.
• CHRIS and CAMSIS trained temps available.
• Supplies 80% of temps used in University.
• Makes referrals to preferred suppliers for other temporary workers.
• Outside scope of Agency Workers Directive (for University roles)
• Affected by Agency Workers Directive (for College and 3rd party
roles)
• Team leader: Kelly Andrews, kelly.andrews@admin.cam.ac.uk
• Contact details: 01223 332348, temps@admin.cam.ac.uk
• Web page: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/tes/
Recruitment Process
• The Recruitment Guidance (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/) sets out the University’s recruitment process.
• Founded on good practice and employment law to support institutions in:
 Making the most effective appointments
 Making a good first impression applicants and new employees
 Legal compliance
 Maintaining and strengthening the University’s reputation
• It contains links to standard letters, templates and checklists.
• The HR5 Recruitment Checklist (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/forms/hr5/) summarises the process and provides links to
key areas of the Recruitment Guidance.
Stages in the Recruitment Process
1. Vacancy definition
- Including writing the role description, grading, pre-employment checks needed.
2. Recruitment planning and preparation
- Including selection criteria & methods, Further Information document, permission
to fill and advertising.
3. Recruiting and selecting candidates
- Including long-listing, short-listing, selection activities, reference requests.
4. Appointment administration
- Including offer, pre-employment checks and new starter process.
5. Supporting new employees
- Including welcome letter, induction and probation.
Recruitment Systems Developments
New Recruitment Administration System (RAS):
• Now live in all departments/institutions
• Used for requesting/recording permission to fill and sending adverts to chosen
media
Web Recruitment System:
•
Release 1 in November: online applications and admin desktop
•
Release 2 in March: electronic rejection correspondence, reference requests
and reference collection
•
Content for Release 3 in July is being worked on currently
•
Since November:
 92 departments have used the system for 609 vacancies
 11,377 online applications have been received
 88% of applicants rate it as professional or very professional
 93% of applicants rate it as extremely easy, very easy or easy to use
Pre-employment checks
• Types: right to work, DBS checks, security checks, health screening; will
expand shortly with the introduction of Screening Policy.
• The pre-employment checks required for a post should be identified at the
start of the recruitment process.
• Required pre-employment checks must be included in the role description,
HR7 Further Information, job advert(s) and HR18 Conditional Offer Letter.
• Department CHRIS users need to review/update pre-employment checks
for existing posts which are being refilled. Instructions are found at:
http://www.chris.cam.ac.uk/camonly/training/manuals/introduction/checks.pdf.
• See http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/vacancy/checks.html and
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/cam-only/offices/hr/recruitment/checks/.
Types of DBS Check
• Types of check:
 Standard - contains details of all convictions, cautions, reprimands and
warnings.
 Enhanced – as above but also reveals whether a person is barred from
working with children or vulnerable adults (where requested) and any
relevant and proportionate information held by the local police forces.
• The University can only process DBS applications where the post is
eligible in law for a DBS check and where the correct type of check is
being requested.
• Information on roles that are eligible, and for which type of check, is found
at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/checks/disclosure.html#types.
•
Right to Work (RTW)
• The University has a legal responsibility to ensure that all its employees
have the legal right to live and work in the UK before they start work.
• Candidates invited to interview should be asked to bring evidence of their
right to work with them (original documents) for checking/copying.
• Passports: front cover, photo page and visa page – each one must be
copied, verified and dated individually.
• Where right to work is being checked on the first day of employment,
there must be documentary evidence that RTW was taken before work
was begun - HR23 Welcome Letter and time printed on RTW copies.
• Appointments are not processed until RTW is received by the RA team.
• See http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/checks/right/#documents for further details,
including which documents demonstrate RTW.
The Points-based Immigration System
• Nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are subject to
immigration control and the points-based system (PBS).
• Under the PBS, migrants have to accumulate a minimum number of points
which are awarded against such factors as qualifications, prospective
earnings and English language competence.
• The University is licensed to sponsor individuals under:
 Tier 2 – skilled workers
 Tier 5 (GAE) – sponsored researchers (supernumerary)
• Tier 2 Certificates of Sponsorship can be:
 Restricted – UKBA makes decision on application; 20,700 national limit.
 Unrestricted – University assigns without referring to UKBA; 250 annually.
• See http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/immigration/ for details.
Tier 2 Timetable
Advert
12 months
max if PhD
level job;
otherwise 6
months
CoS no.
assigned by
Compliance
Team
Individual
applies for
visa
3 months
max
• Restricted CoS applications must be submitted to the Compliance Team on the
last Friday of each month for submission to the Home Office by the 5th of the
month for consideration on the 11th of that month.
• The University is notified of the outcome within 5 days.
• The Compliance Team assigns a CoS number when notified of the decision.
Tier 2 Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT)
Where a preferred applicant is subject to immigration control and requires a
Tier 2 CoS, a RLMT will normally need to be met. This ensures that the
vacancy has been advertised to settled workers and confirms that the
vacancy could not be filled by a suitably qualified settled worker.
Advertising
• Advert must contain job title, skills/knowledge/experience/qualifications,
main duties, salary package, terms of offer, location, closing date.
• Advert needs to be placed for 28 days in at least two approved media (one
must be Universal Jobmatch if non-PhD level and salary <£71,600).
• University Job Opportunities and jobs.ac.uk are approved media.
• Screenshots / screen prints must be taken of adverts which meet particular
criteria.
Tier 2 Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT)
Selection
• Posts which are below PhD level
If a suitably qualified settled worker is available (i.e. if a candidate with the
right to work meets all of the essential criteria) you are required to appoint
them to the vacancy.
• Posts which are PhD level
You may select the best candidate for the vacancy.
• Selection process documents must be submitted with each CoS
application (or in Web Recruitment System) for retention by the HR
Division, including applications of all those who reach final interview (in
the medium received), notes of interviews and reasons for the decisions
taken.
Appointment Administration
• Once your offer of employment has been accepted and a start date
agreed, the department CHRIS user needs to record details of the
individual and the offer made to them in the system.
• The CHRIS/10A must be completed and returned with the supporting
documents listed in Section I of the form to Recruitment Administration.
• If all required supporting documents are not provided to Recruitment
Administration with the CHRIS/10A, this will delay your new employee’s
contract of employment and payment.
• 80% of contracts are now produced using an automated process.
• The average processing time in January 2014 was 10.8 working days.
• Error rates are consistently around 2%.
Induction
• Induction is the process for welcoming newly recruited employees and
supporting them to adjust to their new roles and working environments.
• It is essential for ensuring that new employees become effective and
motivated members of their institutions as quickly as possible.
• Use the Induction Planning Checklist (HR22) as a general guide to the
arrangements that must be made for a new employee.
• Send new employees a Welcome Letter using the template provided.
• Ensure that new employees complete the Employee Induction Checklist
(HR24) within their first month.
• Further details available at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/supporting/induction.html#overview.
Probation
• Probation is a formal arrangement where new members of staff are
supported to demonstrate their suitability for a particular job within a set
timescale.
• A successful probation is a successful conclusion to the recruitment
process.
• This involves:
 Monitoring and reviewing progress
 Providing guidance
 Identifying and providing solutions for development needs.
• The University’s probationary arrangements are currently under review.
• The current guidance is found at http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/camonly/offices/hr/recruitment/supporting/probation.html.
Future recruitment developments
• Programme of work completed following internal immigration
audit; Premium Customer Service coming soon.
• Probation, Screening and Children and Vulnerable Adult
Safeguarding Policies.
• Enhanced relocation and partner support.
• Grading and Visas and Immigration Systems developments.
Questions