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Unit 520 Recruitment and selection within health and

social care or children and young people's settings (O16)
UAN: R/602/2338
Level: Level 4
Credit value: 3
GLH: 26
Aim The purpose of this unit is to assess the learner’s knowledge, understanding and skills required
to recruit and select in health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings.

Learning outcome 1. Understand the recruitment and selection processes in

health and social care or children and young people’s settings

1.1 Explain the impact on selection and recruitment processes, in own setting,
of:

• Legislative requirements

Recruitment and selection criteria need to be considered carefully to ensure fairness

and equality. The following legislation regulates the selection process to ensure
fairness, social inclusion and the protection of vulnerable children and adults:

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (now see Equality Act 2010)
Race Relations Act 1976 (now see Equality Act 2010)
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and Regulations 2005 (now see Equality Act 2010)
Data Protection Act 1998
Protection of Children Act 1999
Care Standards Act 2000
Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000
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Flexible Working Regulations 2002–2006

Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
Health and Social Care Act 2008
Equality Act 2010.

Discrimination legislation covers indirect as well as direct discrimination. Indirect

discrimination occurs when the employer introduces criteria which disproportionately
disadvantage a specific group of people. Care must be taken to avoid introducing
criteria that are not objectively justified in terms of the job role. Where an
employment agency is acting as a recruitment intermediary, it is essential that they
comply with the relevant legislation.

The Equality Act became law in October 2010. It offers protection to groups who were
protected by previous equality legislation, for example on grounds of age, disability,
gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and
civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. It replaces certain previous legislation
including the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and
consolidates other pieces of legislation. It also extends some protections to groups not
previously covered, and also strengthens particular aspects of equality law. It ensures
consistency in the work place, creates a fair environment and has to be adhered to in
order to comply with the law.

The employer has a legal responsibility to ensure that no unlawful discrimination occurs
in the recruitment and selection process on the grounds of sex, race, disability, age,
sexual orientation, and religion or belief. Equality of opportunity is an integral part of
the recruitment and selection process, and employers may offer training and
encouragement to any under-represented groups. Job advertisements may state that
the employer encourages applications from those groups that are under-represented in
their organisation. Equality may be achieved in various ways in your workplace when
recruiting. e.g. Using a score sheet which can be devised from the person specification,
then using the same score sheet to grade each applicant. The selection criteria should
not directly or indirectly favour any applicant. Successful applicants should then be
inducted and offered the same benefits as all other staff and their pay will reflect
their qualifications and experience, it will not be based on sex, race, age, disabilities
etc

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) offers core guidance for employers
regarding key changes to recruitment, for example in relation to questions about health
and disability.

Asylum and Immigration Act 1996

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Although it is unlawful to discriminate against an individual or group of individuals

because of their race in employment, it is however not always possible to employ
individuals from abroad, even though they may be the best applicant to fill the position.
Section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 imposes an onus on employers to
ensure that all employees are not in breach of the Immigration Rules. Section 8 (1) is
quite clear that it is an offence for an employer to employ an employee when that
employee is over 16 years old and that employee is subject to immigration control in the
United Kingdom, and;

(a) the employee has not been granted leave to enter or remain in the United
Kingdom,
(b) the employee’s leave is not valid and subsisting, or is subject to a condition
precluding then from taking up the employment and (in either case) the
employee does not satisfy such conditions as may be specified in an order made
by the Secretary of State. This means it is essential checks are made to ensure
the individual meets the criteria, during the recruitment process.

A specified list of acceptable documents is as follows and is detailed in the

Immigration (Restrictions on Employment) Order 1996 SI 1996/3225:

• a document issued by a previous employer, the Inland Revenue, the Benefits

Agency, the Contributions Agency or the Employment Service which states the
National Insurance Number of the person named (eg a P45, a National Insurance
card or a P60);
• a passport describing the holder as a British citizen or as having the right of
abode or an entitlement to readmission to the United Kingdom;
• a certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British citizen;
• a passport containing a certificate of entitlement issued on behalf of the UK
government certifying that the holder has the right to abode in the UK;
• a birth certificate issued in the UK or Republic of Ireland;
• a passport or national identity card issued by a state which is party to the
European Economic Area Agreement and which describes the holder as a
national of that state ( the EEA is formed by the members of the European
Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway);
• a passport which shows that the holder has indefinite leave to enter or remain in
the UK or has no time limit placed on his or her stay or remain;
• a letter issued by the Home Office confirming that a person has indefinite leave
to enter or remain in the UK
• a passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the person named
has current leave to remain in the UK and is not precluded from taking
employment;
• a UK residence permit issued to a national of an EEA state;
• a passport or other travel document endorsed to show that the holder has a
current right of residence in the UK as the family member of an EEA national;
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• a letter issued by the Home Office indicating that the person named in the
letter is a British citizen or has permission to take employment;
• a work permit or other approval to take the employment in question;
• a passport describing the holder as a British Dependent Territory Citizen which
indicates the status derives from a connection with Gibraltar.

• Regulatory requirements

The Care Standards Act (2000) has had an enormous impact on everyone working in the
social care sector. It created a new regulatory framework for all regulated social care
and independent health care services. The Act has two fundamental aims, to:

• protect vulnerable people from abuse and neglect; and

• promote the highest standards of quality in the care that people receive

The Care Standards Act brought about the National Minimum Standards - Standard 22
covers recruitment and the OUTCOME: Service users are supported and protected by
the home’s recruitment policy and practices. It stated:

22.1 The home has sound recruitment policies and operates a rigorous recruitment
procedure based on equal opportunities and ensuring the protection of service users.
22.2 Two written references are obtained before making an appointment, and any gaps
in records are explored. The request for written references is in the form of a
structured enquiry linked to the requirements of the job. A reference should always
be sought from the applicant’s present or most recent employer. References should be
followed up by phone as necessary.
22.3 New staff are confirmed in post only if the information required under regulation
19 is available in respect of him or her (including Criminal Records Bureau certificates).

The National Minimum Standards have now been replaced by new regulations called the
Essential Standards for Quality and safety.

From 1 October 2010 the National minimum standards have been replaced. Every health
and adult social care service in England is legally responsible for making sure it meets
the new essential standards of quality and safety. Providers must show they are
meeting essential standards as part of a new registration system which focusses on
people rather than policies, on outcomes rather than systems. The essential standards
relate to important aspects of care such as involvement and information for people,
personalised care and treatment, safety and safeguarding. The CQC will continuously
monitor compliance with essential standards as part of a more dynamic, responsive,
robust system of regulation accompanied by new enforcement powers. In relation to
recruitment, The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations
2010 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009.have ensures all
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providers of care services are registered and follow the regulatory requirements
regards staff recruitment

Regulation Outcome

21 12 Requirements relating to workers

People are kept safe, and their health and welfare needs
are met, by staff who are fit for the job and have the
right qualifications, skills and experience.

22 13 Staffing
People are kept safe, and their health and welfare needs
are met, because there are sufficient numbers of the
right staff.

23 14 Supporting workers
People are kept safe, and their health and welfare needs
are met, because staff are competent to carry out their
work and are properly trained, supervised and appraised.

Regulation 21 states: The registered person must—

(a) operate effective recruitment procedures in order to ensure that no person is
employed for the purposes of carrying on a regulated activity unless that person—
(i) is of good character,
(ii) has the qualifications, skills and experience which are necessary for the
work to be performed, and
(iii) is physically and mentally fi t for that work;

(b) ensure that information specified in Schedule 3 is available in respect of a person

employed for the purposes of carrying on a regulated activity, and such other
information as is appropriate;

(c) ensure that a person employed for the purposes of carrying on a regulated activity
is registered with the relevant professional body where such registration is required
by, or under, any enactment in relation to—
(i) the work that the person is to perform, or
(ii) the title that the person takes or uses; and

(d) take appropriate steps in relation to a person who is no longer fi t to work for the
purposes of carrying on a regulated activity including—
(i) where the person is a health care professional, informing the body
responsible for regulation of the health care profession in question, or
(ii) where the person is a social care worker registered with the General Social
Care Council, informing the Council.
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Regulation 21 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities)
Regulations 2010

What should people who use services experience? People who use services:
● Are safe and their health and welfare needs are met by staff who are fit,
appropriately qualified and are physically and mentally able to do their job. This is
because providers who comply with the regulations will:
● Have effective recruitment and selection procedures in place.
● Carry out relevant checks when they employ staff.
● Ensure that staff are registered with the relevant professional regulator or
professional body where necessary and are allowed to work by that body.
● Refer staff who are thought to be no longer fi t to work in health and adult social
care, and meet the requirement for referral, to the appropriate bodies.

Outcome 13: Staffing

This is one of the core 16 quality and safety standards

What do the regulations say?

Staffing
22. In order to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of service users, the
registered person must take appropriate steps to ensure that, at all times, there are
sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced persons employed for
the purposes of carrying on the regulated activity.

Regulation 22 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities)
Regulations 2010
What should people who use services experience?
People who use services:
● Are safe and their health and welfare needs are met by sufficient numbers of
appropriate staff. This is because providers who comply with the regulations will:
● Make sure that there are sufficient staff with the right knowledge, experience,
qualifications and skills to support people.

Care providers should show evidence of their compliance with standards as part of the
Care Quality Commission's annual regulatory framework. The Employment Check
Standards are also embedded in the Government Procurement Services (GPS) National
Agency Framework Agreement and annual audit checks of agencies, to assure
compliance with the standards is met in relation to contracted and sub-contracted
staff.

To comply with the Essential Standards you must, as part of the recruitment process,
carry out the following:
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1. Verification of identity checks

2. Right to work checks

3. Professional registration and qualification checks

4. Employment history and reference checks

5. Criminal record and barring checks

6. Occupational health checks

• Professional codes

Professional codes set standards for health care professionals to work to and also how
they should meet the expectations of the individual’s they are caring for. Each
individual should expect to be treated by the health care professional
- with dignity and respect
- receive care from a person who has the appropriate skills and knowledge
- and who also shows high standards of behaviour

The professional Code of conduct for Health and social care workers used to be
regulated by the General Social Care Council who issued the GSCC code of practice. As
of 1 August 2012 the regulation of the social work profession and education has
transferred to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The decision to change
the name was made by government and brought about by the Health and Social Care
Act 2012, which will also see the HCPC taking on the regulation of social workers in
England. They are a regulator, and were set up to protect the public. To do this, they
keep a Register of health and care professionals who meet their standards for their
training, professional skills, behaviour and health. If a registrant does not meet their
standards, they can take action which might include stopping them from practising.
This means that if an individual is unhappy with the care or services received, or
worried about the behaviour or health of a registrant, they can raise their concerns
with HCPC.

The GSCC Code of Practice for Employers of Social Care Workers sets down the
responsibilities of employers in the regulation of social care workers. The code requires
that employers adhere to the standards set out in their code, support social care
workers in meeting their code and take appropriate action when workers do not meet
expected standards of conduct. It set down the responsibilities of employers in
regulating social care workers. The purpose of workforce regulation is to protect and
promote the interests of service users and carers. To meet their responsibilities in
relation to regulating the social care workforce, social care employers must, during the
recruitment process:
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As a social care employer, you must make sure people are suitable to enter the social
care workforce and understand their roles and responsibilities.

This includes:

1.1 Using rigorous and thorough recruitment and selection processes focused on making
sure that only people who have the appropriate knowledge and skills and who are
suitable to provide social care are allowed to enter your workforce;
1.2 Checking criminal records, relevant registers and indexes and assessing whether
people are capable of carrying out the duties of the job they have been selected
for before confirming appointments
1.3 Seeking and providing reliable references;
1.4 Giving staff clear information about their roles and responsibilities, relevant
legislation and the organisational policies and procedures they must follow in their
work; and
1.5 Managing the performance of staff and the organisation to ensure high quality
services and care.

• Agreed ways of working

The selection process is about finding the right person with the right skills, attitude
and commitment for the job. The selection process involves a series of activities, which
collect relevant evidence and then use criteria to identify the respective strengths and
weaknesses of the individuals concerned. It can be described as a funnel, narrowing
down the numbers until the strongest candidate is identified.

The selection process involves those on the selection panel exercising judgements;
however, these judgements must be based on objective evidence and standardised
criteria. The selection process must be developed using standardised, benchmarked and
quantifiable selection tools against which to score candidates at each stage of the
selection process. These should be applied equally to all candidates.

Candidates who consider that they have been discriminated against in recruitment and
selection on the grounds of their race, sex, disability, sexual orientation or religion or
belief, or refused employment on the grounds of membership or non-membership of a
trade union, may make a claim to an employment tribunal. If the tribunal finds in the
applicant's favour, it may award compensation or recommend some other course of
action to reduce or stop the effect of any discrimination.

Recruitment and selection criteria need to be considered carefully to ensure fairness

and equality. Equality Act 2010 –
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Here you will need to explain to your assessor how you ensure all the above criteria are
met in accordance with your workplace policies and procedures, during the recruitment
process in your workplace

1.2 Explain circumstances when it is necessary to seek specialist expertise in

relation to recruitment and selection

Advice about employment legislation can be obtained from the Employment Services,
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

There are a number of agencies who can help you through the recruitment process.
These could include your local Children’s Services Department and Jobcentre Plus, who
will give you advice and support with composing the job description, person
specification and advert, and all other formalities. They may also offer you somewhere
free of charge to hold the interviews. Before you decide on whether or not to involve
other professionals, consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of taking this
course of action.

Possible advantages of involving other professionals:

They have huge amounts of experience in recruitment.
They can provide technical support.
They may be able to offer private rooms for interviewing.
There would be less disruption to the setting.
They can guide you to ensure you don’t make any mistakes.

Possible disadvantages of involving other professionals

You may feel restricted by their systems
They may ‘take over’ the process

1.3 Analyse how serious case reviews and inquiries have contributed to the
establishment of policies and procedures within recruitment safeguard
vulnerable adults, children and young people

A Serious Case Review is held when a vulnerable adult or child dies and abuse or neglect
is suspected to be a factor in their death. The aim of a Serious Case Review is for all
agencies to learn lessons about the way they safeguard children and vulnerable adults
and prevent such tragedies happening in the future.
A serious case review is to:
• Establish whether there are lessons to be learnt from the circumstances of the
case in particular about the way in which local professionals and agencies work
together to safeguard vulnerable adults.
• Identify clearly what those lessons are and how they will be acted upon and
what is expected to change as a result.
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• Inform and improve local inter-agency practice and better safeguard vulnerable
adults.
• Review the effectiveness of procedures and any compliance issues (Both
multiagency and those of individual organisations).
• Improve practice by acting on learning (developing best practice).
• Prepare or commission an overview report, which brings together and analyses
the findings of the various reports from agencies in order to make
recommendations for future action.

One such serious case review was that of Ian Huntley. The circumstances leading to
the tragic deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman at the hands of Ian Huntley are
well known. The publicity surrounding Ian Huntley’s trial, and the report of the public
inquiry conducted by Sir Michael Bichard published on 22 June 2004, have drawn
attention to the fact that before he moved to Soham Ian Huntley had had a series of
relationships or sexual encounters with a number of young women while he was living in
North East Lincolnshire in the 1990s. Some of these young women, and Ian Huntley’s
involvement with them, were known to social services. Some of the contacts were known
to the police, and some to one of the schools in Immingham which a number of the girls
attended. In retrospect Ian Huntley’s history of serial sexual exploitation should have
rung significant warning bells. But the connections were not made.

The Birchard enquiry highlighted the importance of an in-depth recruitment process in

order to keep both children and vulnerable adults safe. Effective recruitment and
vetting must pay attention to all of the pre-employment checks including written
references, identity and qualifications checks and full employment history as well as
checks undertaken by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) As a result the government
developed a new scheme in response to the results of the Birchard report. This is now
set out in the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. This will enable the employer
to be directly informed of any change in an employee’s barred status.

The recommendations from the Birchard report can be accessed below:

http://www.napta.org.uk/resources/bichard_inquiry.pdf

The most high profile case was the death of Victoria Climbie in February 2000. She
died with 128 separate injuries on her body after months of abuse at the hands of her
grant aunt Marie Therese Kouao and her boyfriend Carl Manning. Despite coming into
contact with health, police and social services on several occasions and twice taken to
hospital the abuse was not discovered until her death. In the aftermath of her death
and the court case convicting Kouao and Manning of murder, Lord Laming was instructed
to undertake an inquiry into the circumstances leading up to Climbie's death and make
recommendations on how the system should change. As a result of this report the
government published a green paper entitled "Every Child Matters" and consequently
passed the Children Act 2004. The changes it put in place included scrapping child
protection registers in favour of child protection plans and creating an integrated
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children's computer system (ICS) to ensure information was more routinely and
robustly collected.

His review of the case made 58 new recommendations on how to protect children from
harm. They included:
• The introduction of targets for child protection, similar to school targets
• Ensuring directors of children's services with no background in child protection have a
senior manager with child protection experience in their team
• School inspections to assess how well they carry out child protection duties
• A national strategy to address recruitment and retention problems in children's
social work
• National guidelines setting out maximum case loads for social workers
• Increased quality of degrees in social work and the introduction of a children's social
worker post-graduate qualification.

Learning outcome 2. Be able to contribute to the recruitment process in

health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings
FOR THIS OUTCOME YOUR ASSESSOR WILL WANT TO OBSERVE HOW YOU DO EACH OF THE
FOLLOWING IN YOUR WORKPLACE. YOU CAN PROVIDE WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF HOW EACH IS
CARRIED OUT, WHERE APPROPRIATE

2.1 Review job descriptions and person specifications to meet work setting
objectives

To assess the requirements of the post you will need to compose a list of tasks and
responsibilities that the post holder will need to carry out. This will probably consist of
20 to 30 tasks but any job description containing more than 20 tasks becomes more
like an operational manual. It would be best to whittle it down to 8 to 12 tasks. Rather
than include a long description of the actual tasks the job descriptions should refer to
your policies and procedures. By doing so, should the tasks involved in the job change,
you will not have to change the job description. For example, lengthy details of
monitoring and reporting procedures should not be included in the job description;
instead it should simply refer to your monitoring and reporting policy. Job descriptions
should focus on the responsibilities of the job rather than individual tasks. Try
grouping the individual tasks into main responsibility areas, as in the list below (though
not all items in this list will be applicable to any single role). Bold type indicates that
these responsibility areas would normally feature in most job descriptions:

• managing information or general administration support (of what, how)

• communicating (in relation to whom, what, how)
• monitoring and reporting (of what, how, to whom)
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• planning and organising (of what, how)

• health and safety (normally the same point for all job descriptions of a
given staff grade) using equipment and systems (what, how)
• self-development (normally the same point for all job descriptions of a given
staff grade).
• evaluating and decision making (of what, how)
• financial budgeting and control (of what, how)
• producing things (what, how) maintaining/repairing things (what, how)
• quality control – for production roles this is normally a separate responsibility;
otherwise this is generally incorporated within other relevant responsibilities
(of what, how)
• creating and developing things (what, how)

You will also need to add any responsibilities for other staff if applicable, typically:
• recruiting (of line managed staff)
• assessing (line managed staff)
• training (line managed staff)
• managing (direct line management of staff).

Senior roles will include more strategic aspects:

• developing policy
• duty of care and corporate responsibility
• formulation of direction and strategy.

You will find that you can cluster most of the tasks on your (initially very long) list into
a list of far fewer, broad (but still specific) responsibilities according to the examples
of typical responsibility areas
EXAMPLE

Job description: Play worker

Responsible to: Play leader
Responsible for: As part of a team, supervising children aged from 5 to 15, enabling
them to play in a safe and stimulating environment.
Main purpose of the job: To work as part of the team to ensure that children enjoy a
wide range of play activities and experiences.
Main tasks
• Assist in arranging and implementing a programme of varied play activities,
taking into account the needs of the children.
• Supervise play activities, ensuring they are safe, fun, creative and stimulating,
making sure that they are relevant for children with disabilities, children from
ethnic minority communities, girls and boys and children from low-income
families.
• Implement the equal opportunities policy.
Detailed responsibilities
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• Plan and evaluate each day’s activities and set up and pack away any equipment.
• Follow safety procedures and instructions and report any unsafe conditions to
the playleader.
• Ensure that the activities reflect the diversity of the communities served by
the setting.

Creating a person specification

Once you have completed the job description to your satisfaction you should create a
person specification which indicates the knowledge, skills, qualifications and experience
you are looking for in the preferred candidate. By creating this in a chart format you
can indicate how you will expect to measure these requirements, as shown below.

FACTORS DEFINITIONS MEASUREMENT

P A T I D
Working with children and Experience of working with
young people and their young people within the age ✓
families range

Ability to communicate with ✓

parents and carers ✓ ✓
effectively
face to face and by
telephone

Working in a team Ability to work as a ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

member
of a team
✓ ✓
Ability to work in a flexible
manner
P – pre-application A – application T – test I – interview D – documentary evidence

One of the real benefits of using a chart like this is that it helps you to think in
advance about how you are going to get evidence of these attributes. It also helps you
to be consistent and ask for the same sorts of evidence from all applicants. Sending
this to applicants will help them to know what you are looking for and should aid them in
making an effective application.

2.2 Work with others to establish the criteria that will be used in the
recruitment and selection process

Once you have made the decision to recruit someone, you can begin the process of
designing or updating a job description and person specification for the post. A well-
planned recruitment process which is fair, open and effective will increase the chances
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of appointing the best candidate for the job. It is important to work with others when
establishing and carrying out the recruitment process to help give a balance of ideas
and opinions. You could consult your line manager, the management team/committee,
human resources department and other carers who will work with the new appointee.
You will need to consult your line manager or committee about any overall recruitment
strategies that they have. For example, they may be hoping to find someone who has a
first aid qualification or health and safety experience. How much are they prepared to
pay for the job role? What hours of work will be required? To whom will the new post
holder be reporting? When filling an established post, it will be important to check
whether any amendments are needed to the existing job role.

You will need to find out about your setting’s needs including any policies about internal
promotion and recruitment.

Advantages of internal recruitment include:

• Increases morale, retains employees, attendance and work records are known,
less training necessary
Disadvantages of internal recruitment include:
• Lack of new ideas, you may settle for a less qualified to avoid hurt feelings,
ripple effect creating another vacancy

Advantages to external recruiting include:

• the ability to attract the most qualified individuals, a reduction in resentment,
the ability to bring in new ideas, and recruitment from minority groups.
Disadvantages to external recruiting include:
• the need for more training, the chance of losing current employees to new
opportunities elsewhere, and the risk of the unknown regarding the new
employee.

To do this you may need to consult your line manager or committee about any overall
recruitment strategies that they have. For example, they may be hoping to find
someone with certain qualifications e.g. First Aid qualifications or Train the trainer
skills. You will need to discuss pay scales, hours to be worked etc. If you are creating a
new post, it will need to be agreed who the new recruit will be reporting to. When filling
an established post, it will be important to check whether any amendments are needed
to the existing job role. Seek advice too about the legal limits of what you can and
cannot write when recruiting. It is illegal, for example, to advertise for ‘men only’ or
‘women only’ unless you have gained exemption, which usually happens only when an
employer can prove that the job requires a person of a particular sex. Your workplace
will have policies and procedures which should be adhered to when recruiting staff.
There will be policies regards equal opportunities, staff development or ‘Investors in
People’ documents management plan of the setting and policies re employment
legislations
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2.3 Work with others to establish the methods that will be used in the
recruitment and selection process

Ensuring the effectiveness of the recruitment and selection process is a joint

responsibility shared by your organisational development section, Human resource
personnel, workers/practitioners, and managers/owners of the organisation etc. It is
important to collect information from your colleagues and all involved in the
recruitment and selection process, in order to establish the methods to be used. It is a
good idea to break down the methods to be used into a series of tasks and consider
each, separately. Think about the questions you want to ask the applicant. For example
which qualifications or experience are essential and which are desirable

The selection methods you use should be chosen to suit the post being filled. As an
example if IT skills are necessary for the post, it would be useful to ask the applicant
to complete an on line application, If a post requires good writing skills, it might be
useful to ask for a letter of application; If the post requires a ‘hands on approach it
may be best to carry out an informal interview in the work setting. You must ensure
that whatever method is used each applicant is treated equally and fairly

2.4 Involve individuals in the recruitment process

There are many individuals who may be involved in the recruitment process and the
selection of personnel. This will vary from workplace to workplace depending on the size
of your organisation. Typically there will always be someone at the management level,
who will be assisted in the process by some or all of the following:

• Member of the management committee

• personnel officer (larger organisations)
• manager or deputy of your workplace
• The line manager of the member of staff you are recruiting
• Representative from another organisation which contributes funds to the
setting
• Recruitment specialists.

If one person was to make decisions regarding recruitment the process could be seen
to be biased. By involving several people in the selection process, you can ensure a fair
and balanced view of candidates and also your organisations needs are met.

There are many stages in the selection. To ensure a smooth process it is important that
each stage is carried out effectively. In order to do this you may need the assistance
of several other members of the team. This will need good organisation and also good
communication between all those involved. One applications have been received they will
need to be checked through by the team, applicant discussed and a shortlist drawn up
from those who seem to have the required skills, qualifications and experience.
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Shortlisting candidates
The candidate’s applications should be matched to the job description and person
specification. The strongest candidates should be discussed with other members of the
selection team and notes compared. The team will often find they have a similar
selection of strong candidates. Once agreement is reached over the strongest
candidates a date and location should be set for interviews. All candidates should then
be informed whether their application was successful or not and all applications kept
for future reference. This can be useful if another position becomes available in the
future, although you should inform applicants that you intend to do this.

References
Your organisation may do this prior to shortlisting candidates or after an appointment
has been made. References should always be obtained in writing as this is often needed
for registration and an organizational requirement. You should make it clear to the
referee, the position the candidate has applied for and if the referee feels the
applicant could be recommended for the position. You may also ask how they know the
applicant and for how long.

Interviews
These should be set at a realistic time and place. You should make other staff aware
that interviews are to take place as it is usual to show the applicant around. The
selection team will need to decide the questions to be asked at the interview. The
questions will need to be fair and clear and related to the position the applicant has
applied for. It is important to make applicant to feel comfortable and relaxed during
their interview. All applicants should be asked the same questions and notes kept of
their answers as this will help you to discuss each applicant with the selection team
after the interview.

Making the decision

You and members of your selection team will then discuss each applicant and reach a
decision on the best person for the job, after the interview has taken place and by
keeping in mind the job description and person specification. The applicant who is
successful should be made aware as soon as possible and other applicants informed that
they were unsuccessful. You should of course the applicant still wants to accept the
post. The offer of a position should be made in writing. If the applicants were internal,
it is best to inform them face to face and offer feedback. You may also carry out an
appraisal with the internal applicant who was unsuccessful to ensure they do not feel
rejected by not being accepted for the post.

The selection process can take a long time due to all the processes involved. This is why
it is important to have a team, working together, to speed up the process and enable it
to run as smoothly as possible. Where settings have no administrative back-up, this can
be difficult to manage and the process may be slower than expected
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Learning outcome 3. Be able to participate in the selection process in health

and social care or children’s and young people’s settings

FOR THIS OUTCOME YOUR ASSESSOR WILL WANT TO OBSERVE HOW YOU DO EACH OF THE
FOLLOWING IN YOUR WORKPLACE. YOU CAN PROVIDE WRITTEN EVIDENCE OF HOW EACH IS
CARRIED OUT, WHERE APPROPRIATE

REFER TO LEARNING OUTCOME 2 FOR GUIDANCE OF HOW YOU MIGHT COMPLETE THE
FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES IN YOUR WORKPLACE. YOU MAY NEED TO REFER TO YOUR OWN
WORKPLACE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR FURTHER GUIDANCE.

3.1 Use agreed methods to assess learners

3.2 Use agreed criteria to select learners
3.3 Communicate the outcome of the selection process according to the policies and
procedures of own setting

Learning outcome 4. Be able to evaluate the recruitment and selection

processes in health and social care or children’s and young people’s settings

4.1 Evaluate the recruitment and selection methods and criteria used in own setting

Routine evaluation of the methods, procedures and strategies used in selecting

employees can improve employee retention and the quality of interview candidates. The
best evaluation methods identify successful processes that can be enhanced and
ineffective processes that need modifications.

It is important to evaluate and review the recruitment and selection process once it
has been successfully completed. You need to consider what went well, what did not go
so well and what lessons learned, you can take forward with you. You will need to
consider various aspects of the process. Examples of areas to take into consideration
could include:

• Was the position advertised in the right places?

• Did it attract sufficient and appropriate applicants?
• Was the wording in the advertisement correct? You can safely assume the
wording was incorrect if you had several unsuitable people apply.

Next, think about the actual selection process. Did it all proceed as planned? If it
didn’t what went wrong? Why did it go wrong? What would you change next time?

Finally, remember that appointing a new member of staff is only the beginning of the
evaluation process; a probationary period, induction process and appraisal of the new
appointee after a couple of months in the role are crucial to retaining the new member
of staff and also in evaluating if your workplace recruitment and selection process were
a success.
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4.2 Recommend changes for improvement to recruitment and selection processes in own
setting

It will be necessary to periodically review and evaluate the content and operation of
the recruitment and selection process and put forward recommendations for changes
and improvements in light of developments in recruitment and selection practice and
legal requirements to ensure that best practice is maintained.

It is also important to have an appropriate, well thought out, recruitment and selection
process in your workplace. To ensure the best outcomes and well-being of people using
the services it is important to attract and retain the right staff for the job.
Developing an efficient, effective and fair recruitment practice is critical to attracting
candidates with the appropriate skills and attitude for the work. Social care needs
staff with a genuinely commitment to supporting empowerment and the values of self-
directed support. It also benefits people who use services if there is a workforce that
reflects the diversity of the area, so it is good to recruit locally.

In having good retention strategies this also leads to better recruitment. Staff are
more likely to stay in your organisation if there are prospects for career development,
good terms and conditions of employment. It can prove costly to your organisation if
you spend time, effort and money training staff who then leave. Recruiting people who
are wrong for the job can lead to increased labour turnover, higher costs for the
organisation, lowering of morale among good workers and provision of less effective
services.

Think about your own recruitment and selection process.

• Are there areas which you have highlighted which need improvement?
• Perhaps you have spoken to colleagues who are leaving who have identified why
they are leaving. Does the job live up to their expectations as expressed during
their recruitment?
• Did they feel the job description fair clear and accurate?
• Were applicants promised training and professional development opportunities
which never materialised?