Your application

The application form is the first step in the process we use to choose employees. It plays an important part in deciding whether or not we invite you to come for the selection process. Our decision on who to invite will be based on the information you give on your application form, which we will compare with the person profile.

If a lot of people meet the essential short listing requirements of the person profile, we may use other assessment methods such as tests or other desirable requirements listed on the profile.

We don’t make any assumptions about you or your abilities so if you don’t tell us we won’t know

Under our commitment to good practice, disabled applicants will be invited to the selection process if they satisfy the essential criteria. However they will have to undertake the secondary short listing assessment methods at the selection process.

Before you start

§ Read all the information first to make sure that the job and the conditions are suitable for you

§ Check the closing date to ensure your application form reaches us on time. We will not normally consider application forms we receive after the closing date.

Essential documents to read

The job profile – this outlines the main purpose, responsibilities and duties of the job.

The person profile – this details what is required from a person to ensure the job is done effectively. The requirements are split into two sections – those that are essential and those which would be an advantage to have but are not classed as essential (desirable).  The requirements are grouped into four areas: knowledge and experience, skills and abilities, *core behaviours and personal and physical requirements.

* The core behaviours link to our employee competencies.  It may help you to look at the employee competencies in more detail. If you are applying for a manager position (Band G and above) you will need to view the manager competencies.

Completing the application form

General pointers

• Read the instructions on the application form carefully before you enter anything
• Fill in all the parts of the application form. If some parts do not apply to you, enter ‘N/A’ (not applicable) in the space provided
• Remember that it is quality that counts, not quantity
• Your application form should be geared to the job you are applying for don’t submit the same one for different jobs, unless it is suitable
• Make sure the information you give us is clear, precise and easy to understand
• If you are an internal applicant, you mustn’t take it for granted that the short listing panel will know your details. You must make sure that you give full details on your application form

Please read the following instructions carefully as they will help you fill in your application form

Personal details

Your personal details will already be entered onto the form as they should be the same as those you entered when registering. If any of your details have changed make the changes on the application form and it will automatically update your registration. If you are invited to the selection process we will need to see proof of your National Insurance number.

Education and training

If we ask for a qualification in the person profile, make sure that you give us all the information we ask for, for example, grades, level and length of qualification/study. If we ask you to come to the selection process, we will need to see your original certificate(s) or proof from the examining body. You can also include any other qualifications you consider relevant to your application.

Professional and Technical organisations

Please provide details of any organisations that you are a member of which you feel are relevant to your application, again we may ask to see your membership documents.

Other training

Include any short courses, seminars or workplace training you have done that you feel are relevant to your application. Indicate the length of course/training.

Employment history

Enter the names and addresses of all your employers both past and present. Start with the your most recent or current employment. Don’t forget work experience and voluntary or unpaid work. If there are any gaps in dates,

please tell us why, for example, if you were unemployed.

Give brief details of the duties you undertook for each of your jobs. For your current or most recent job we also need your salary/wage, and if you are still employed, the period of notice required by your employer.

References

You need to give details of two people (not relatives) to act as referees.

If you have worked before or are currently working, one referee must be your present or last employer. If you are a student, your referee should be your college tutor. Your work referees should be people who know about your experience, skills and abilities, and have acted as your direct line manager.

We may also need to get references from any of your past employers and may follow up written references over the phone. We will only contact your referees if you are offered the post.

Please note that as well as asking your referee for their comments on your experience, skills, abilities and so on, we will also ask for details about your recent sickness, absence and current disciplinary record. Skills and experience

Using the person profile, explain how your experience, skills, knowledge and personal qualities meet the requirements of the job. It is not enough just to say that you are able to do the job, give examples of how you have used your skills and experience, showing successful results. But do remember quality not quantity!

Criminal convictions

Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working for us as we do not discriminate against ex-offenders. We will only take account of previous convictions if the nature of the offence is relevant to the type of work you would be doing. In your application tell us about any ‘unspent’ convictions you may have as defined in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. All Council employees who are involved in the recruitment process have been suitably trained to identify and assess relevance and circumstances of offences. However, if a risk assessment of the post has indicated that the post is exempt from the act, you will need to tell us about all ‘spent’ and ‘unspent’ convictions and cautions as part of your application. If successful at the selection stage, we will conditionally offer you the post while we contact the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure service to assess your suitability for the position.

The job and person profile (Personal/Physical requirements section) will tell you whether the job is exempt and if a disclosure will be requested. If details given in your application or from the disclosure indicate any offences that are cause for concern we will discuss this in detail with you either at the selection process or in a separate discussion. The outcome of this discussion may result in us not progressing your application any further or withdrawing a conditional offer of employment.

You need to be aware of the Criminal Records Bureau Code of Practice.

This is available on request from the Council or from www.crb.gov.uk

If you would like advice or guidance regarding a conviction please telephone the HR Service Centre on (01709) 334141. All enquiries will be dealt with in confidence.

Failure to declare a conviction, caution or pending police action which later comes to light could result in dismissal.

View our policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders.

Eligibility to work in the UK

The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 requires all employers in the UK to make basic document checks on every person they intend to employ to ensure they are eligible to work in the UK. We will need to see proof of your National Insurance number and a passport or birth certificate.

If you are not able to produce these documents there are alternative documents we can look at which prove that you are eligible to work in the UK.

Contact the HR Service Centre on (01709) 334141 for further advice.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, we may be able to help you apply for a permit (if appropriate).

Current driving licence – you only need to complete this section if there is a requirement in the person profile for you to hold a driving licence.

Disabled – we need to know if you consider yourself disabled as all disabled applicants who meet the essential short listing criteria are guaranteed an invitation to the selection process.

View information relating to our committment to people with disabilities.

Declaration

You must not try and get support from, or try to influence, any Councillor or senior employee of the Council. For school vacancies, you must not approach governors or head teachers for support. This action will disqualify your application.

We need to know if you are related to a Councillor or senior Council employee, so please fill in this section of the application form.

The public is entitled to expect the highest standards of behaviour and conduct from all employees who work for the council so pre employment checks will be carried out for all new starters. This will entail checking the information you have supplied on your application form with other agencies.

As you cannot sign the form by submitting it you:

§ Agree to us storing and using your personal information for this recruitment and selection exercise

§ Confirm all details supplied in the form are true and correct.

§ Authorise the council to check any / all details you have supplied with any other agencies including local authorities and the Benefits Agency.

Equal opportunities

We are committed to working towards equal opportunities and aim to make sure that everyone is treated fairly no matter what their:

§ sex § marital status § disability § religion

§ age § race § sexuality

It is our policy to make sure that everyone is given an equal opportunity in both access to employment and employment practices. Nobody will receive less favourable treatment, or be placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which are not necessary.

View ourEqual Opportunities in Employment policy

Monitoring

We want to make sure that our equal opportunities policy is working so we need you to fill in the equal opportunities monitoring section of the application form. We hope you don’t mind us asking for this personal information but we have a legal duty to monitor information on equal opportunities. Please note that the short listing and interview panel do not see this information.

Please tell us if you consider yourself to be disabled. We recognise and welcome our responsibility to remove any barriers in our recruitment process for disabled applicants.

Data Protection

We will only use the information on your application form for our recruitment and selection process, and also to check the effectiveness of this process. As we will be able to identify you from the personal details you have given us, we will treat this information as confidential.

If you are unsuccessful, all your application details will be deleted automatically from our system within 12 months

Thank you for applying and good luck!