We attach great importance to the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and our commitments form a central part of our working culture - embedded in our values about treating everyone with respect and dignity. We know that having a shared values base provides commonality, direction and ownership. That is why we use a values based recruitment approach to attract and select talented, high calibre people who share our values.
We want every contact candidates have with us to be a positive one – from the moment they read a well written and engaging job advert, to visiting Holyrood for a welcoming and robust interview; from timely assessment feedback to an effective induction. Above all, we want our new colleagues to feel excited about joining us!
This policy covers all activities that form part of the recruitment and selection process and applies to all internal and external candidates who are applying for jobs with us. It is supported by a Manager's Toolkit and Guidance for Candidates containing procedural and best practice guidelines.
We aim to provide Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) with high quality support to allow them to excel in their roles as parliamentarians and representatives. We want to constantly improve our performance, invest in our staff and plan for the future and deliver excellent resource management in line with our organisational values. Recruitment decisions, if made properly, can have a significant impact upon organisational capability and capacity. Having a strategic, professional approach to recruitment is essential in order to achieve this.
We will source candidates from a wide selection pool in a way which is fair, cost-effective and supports the aims of our Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. All appointments will be based on merit using fair and robust selection criteria. Our values of Stewardship, Inclusiveness, Excellence and Respect will be used throughout. This will ensure that we recruit people not only with the right skills, knowledge and experience but also with the right values to support effective team working in meeting our strategic priorities. To do this, we will provide training and support to colleagues involved in the recruitment process to ensure all decisions are based on objective criteria and to remove any bias.
We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to building a workforce which reflects the diversity of the people of Scotland. We are a Disability Confident Leader employer, supporting disabled people by removing barriers and shortlisting disabled candidates who meet the minimum job criteria. We welcome applications from candidates who may wish to work flexibly, and will provide details of flexible working options for each advertised vacancy. Where certain groups of staff are underrepresented consideration will also be given to incorporating other ‘positive action’ initiatives into the recruitment and selection process, in accordance with the Equality Act 2010.
Each recruitment campaign will be designed to identify the best person for the job, in the most time and cost efficient way, without compromising on fairness or our commitment to having a diverse workforce.
Internal applicants are responsible for:
Office heads/team leaders are responsible for:
Managers are responsible for:
People and Culture colleagues are responsible for:
We will always ensure our selection criteria are fair, consistent and rigorous. Our Job Specifications detail the essential requirements of the role and includes things that are important to us, like our values and behaviours. This will be used to assess candidates throughout the recruitment process. Formal qualifications are only essential where the requirements of the position include a legal/award obligation for such qualifications or where it can be demonstrated that the qualification is required for competent job performance.
We are committed to maintaining a balance between external recruitment and offering development opportunities for staff. We are also committed to ensuring transparency in our decision making and will consult the Parliamentary Trades Union Side (TUS) on all posts advertised.
Group Heads can approve a sideways move within their Group without the need for advertising the vacancy.
Normally, all vacancies for permanent posts will be advertised both internally within the Scottish Parliament and externally. There may be occasions when we will restrict advertising to internal staff only, for example, redeploying an existing member of staff as a result of internal restructuring, or as part of our wider talent management strategy and Workforce Plans. Under redeployment, priority will be given to staff where there are extenuating circumstances. Individual circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with support from managers, People and Culture, and the TUS. Such cases will be assessed against fair criteria and evidence to ensure consistency and fairness across the organisation.
All of our external adverts will be published, as a minimum, on our website and through a variety of other media depending on the role. Our adverts will:
Temporary vacancies can provide an opportunity for our existing staff to develop and expand their skills. With that in mind, recruitment to temporary roles may be restricted to internal applicants in the first instance, by advertising or through the admin resourcing pool. Posts are advertised through the Corporate Bulletin. If the role requires particular specialist skills, knowledge or experience only to be found within the office or team it sits in, the manager may consider restricting the recruitment to within that team or office. Eligibility criteria will be published in any internal advert.
Alternatively, managers may advertise externally as a fixed term appointment, use the Talent Bank, seek a secondment or bring in an agency worker if the role is short term. This will depend on the circumstances, for instance how urgent the requirement is, how long it is for or whether there is an internal field.
There is no right to permanency through a temporary internal advert.
We welcome applications from candidates who may wish to work flexibly, and will provide details of flexible working options for each advertised vacancy.
The selection process is twofold – it allows us to select the right candidate and also enables the applicant to determine if the role and the Parliament is the right fit for them.
To ensure the best selection decision, a broad range of assessment methods will be used including a panel interview and values and skills-based tests or presentations. All recruitment panels will be gender balanced and we aim to ensure that panel membership is diverse in its views, opinions and experiences.
A lighter touch or more proportionate process may be used temporary vacancies, as appropriate, but at all times in a fair and transparent way.
When the selection processes have been finalised all offers to candidates not already employed here will be conditional on completing all our pre-employment checks. This will include security vetting and seeking employment references before confirming offer of employment. We will also explore any adjustments your require before you start with us.
Other candidates who are considered suitable for appointment will be advised of this in writing and, with their agreement, we will retain their details on our Talent Bank for a period not exceeding 12 months.
We value the time and effort candidates invest in applying for our jobs. In return for this investment we will provide interviewees feedback on their strengths and suggestions for areas of improvement/development.
All candidates will be asked to provide information on a voluntary basis for equality monitoring purposes. We will also monitor requests for flexible working, the diversity of our selection panels, and decisions to advertise internally or externally. This information will be reported in line with equalities legislative requirements and will be used to monitor and develop our diversity and inclusion action plan.
For further details on how we will process your personal data please refer to the HR Employee Privacy Notice and Recruitment Privacy Notices on the Parliament’s website.
Induction is the final stage of the recruitment process and all new and existing colleagues will be fully supported in their new role.
It doesn’t stop there. Through our inclusive talent management programmes, colleagues will be supported to develop new skills and encouraged to seek out new opportunities.
We want all our candidates to be treated with respect and feel good about the Parliament regardless of the outcome of their application. If you have a concern about the application of this policy you are encouraged to bring this to the attention of the Head of People Services and Diversity and Inclusion.
You may find the following policies helpful: