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HCS35-Recruitment and Selection Policy

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Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

Recruitment and Selection Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to set out a detailed, transparent, and robust recruitment and selection process that ensures {{org_field_name}} recruits staff who are safe, competent, compassionate, and appropriately qualified to provide high-quality care and support to people we support.

This policy is informed by and must be read alongside the Health and Social Care Standards: My Support, My Life (2017); the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011; the SSSC Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers and Employers (2024); the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 as amended by the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020; the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Order 2013 as amended; the Equality Act 2010; the UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018; current Home Office right to work and sponsor guidance; and, where overseas recruitment applies, the Scottish Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel. Workforce planning and safe staffing considerations will also be considered in line with the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019 where relevant to service delivery.

We are committed to upholding our duty of care to protect vulnerable people and to ensure our workforce is recruited using the highest standards of safety, fairness, and equality. This policy supports {{org_field_name}}’s overall commitment to continuous improvement, ethical practice, and delivery of person-centred care.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all recruitment and selection activities for:

3. Related Policies

4. Legal and Regulatory Framework

This policy is designed to ensure compliance with the following legal, regulatory and professional frameworks:

This policy will also be applied with reference to relevant Care Inspectorate quality frameworks and expectations for support services, including care at home.

5. Statement of Principles

At {{org_field_name}}, we commit to:

6. Workforce Planning

Effective recruitment begins with strategic workforce planning. The management team will regularly assess:

Workforce planning ensures that our staffing arrangements are sufficient, suitable, and sustainable.

Workforce planning will be evidence-based and will take account of people’s assessed needs, continuity of care, required competencies, skill mix, supervision capacity, induction capacity and any risks arising from vacancies, service growth or changes in dependency.

7. Advertising Vacancies

Vacancies are advertised openly and fairly through multiple channels, including:

Each advertisement will include:

Efforts will be made to ensure vacancies are accessible to people with disabilities or those requiring adjustments.

8. Application and Shortlisting

Applicants must complete the organisation’s standard application form. A CV may be requested as supplementary information but will not replace the requirement for a full application form. The application process must require candidates to provide a full employment history in chronological order, explain all gaps in employment or training, declare any relevant criminal convictions or pending matters in line with disclosure law, declare any relevant disciplinary findings or safeguarding concerns, and provide details of any professional registration relevant to the role, including current or previous SSSC registration where applicable.

Candidates must confirm that the information they provide is complete and accurate. Any deliberate omission, false statement or failure to disclose information relevant to suitability for the role may result in withdrawal of an offer, dismissal, referral to the appropriate regulatory body or referral to Disclosure Scotland, where relevant.

During shortlisting, panel members will:

All unsuccessful candidates will be notified in writing.

9. Interviews and Assessment

Interviews are conducted in a structured, transparent, and consistent manner.

The interview process will include:

Interview panels will consist of at least two appropriately trained interviewers.

Scoring sheets, interview notes, and outcome decisions are recorded and retained as part of audit requirements.

10. Pre-Employment Checks

No candidate will be permitted to commence employment until all pre-employment checks have been satisfactorily completed.

10.1 PVG Scheme Membership (Disclosure Scotland)

The organisation will assess whether a post is a regulated role in accordance with current Disclosure Scotland guidance and the legal tests in force at the time of recruitment.

Where a role is a regulated role with children, protected adults or both, PVG scheme membership is a legal requirement and must be in place before the individual carries out that role. The organisation will not permit any person to undertake a regulated role unless the required PVG scheme processes have been satisfactorily completed in accordance with current law and Disclosure Scotland guidance.

Any disclosure information received will be handled confidentially, considered only by authorised personnel, and subject to a documented risk assessment that considers relevance, seriousness, pattern, recency, legal restrictions on use of disclosure information, and the nature of the post. Where necessary, advice will be sought from the Registered Manager, Safeguarding Lead and any other appropriate senior person before a final decision is made.

Where a person is already a PVG scheme member, the organisation will obtain the appropriate current PVG disclosure through the applicable Disclosure Scotland process in force at the time of recruitment.

The organisation will also comply with its ongoing duties to act on relevant disclosure information and to make referrals to Disclosure Scotland where required by law.

10.2 SSSC Registration

Where a role requires SSSC registration, the employee must apply for registration as soon as possible after starting employment and no later than three months from the start date, and must achieve registration within six months of starting in post, unless a different requirement applies to the role or is set by the SSSC.

The organisation will verify, monitor and record SSSC registration status throughout employment and will support workers to meet registration and continuous professional learning requirements. Failure to apply for, obtain or maintain required registration may result in withdrawal of offer, non-confirmation in post, redeployment where appropriate, or termination of employment.

10.3 Employment References

Two written references are required, one of which must be from the candidate’s most recent employer.

References must, where possible, be obtained directly from the referee through a verifiable organisational contact route and must be scrutinised for consistency with the application and interview information. References should comment on the candidate’s suitability for work in care, reliability, conduct, competence, attendance where relevant, disciplinary history where lawful and relevant, safeguarding concerns or investigations where lawful and relevant, and the reason for leaving previous employment. Any discrepancy, vague response or concern must be followed up and recorded before an appointment decision is confirmed.

All gaps in employment must be satisfactorily explained and documented.

10.4 Right to Work Checks

All offers of employment are conditional upon the candidate demonstrating a lawful right to work in the UK for the work on offer. The organisation will complete right to work checks before employment starts and in accordance with current Home Office guidance so as to establish and retain a statutory excuse where applicable.

Where a candidate has time-limited permission to work, the organisation will carry out repeat checks as required and maintain accurate records of the evidence checked, the date of the check and any follow-up action required.

10.5 International Recruitment and Sponsorship Compliance

Where international recruitment applies, the organisation will comply with the current Scottish Code of Practice for International Recruitment of Health and Social Care Personnel and all current Home Office sponsor and immigration requirements.

The organisation will ensure that international recruitment is fair, transparent, ethical and non-discriminatory. We will not actively recruit from countries from which active recruitment is restricted under the current code, unless a permitted government-to-government agreement applies.

International recruits will be subject to the same safer recruitment, suitability, induction, probation, supervision and safeguarding requirements as all other workers.

Where sponsorship applies, the organisation will maintain all required sponsor records, monitoring, reporting and compliance processes and will provide recruits with clear written information about the terms of employment, visa-related conditions, support arrangements and relevant costs before employment begins.

10.6 Occupational Health Clearance

Occupational health enquiries or assessments will only be undertaken after a conditional offer of employment has been made, unless a lawful exception applies. Any occupational health assessment will be limited to matters relevant to the role and will be used to consider fitness for the inherent requirements of the post, workplace risks and any reasonable adjustments that may be required.

The organisation will not unlawfully discriminate on grounds of disability or health condition and will consider reasonable adjustments throughout recruitment, induction and employment.

10.7 Agency, Bank, Contractor, Volunteer and Student Assurance

Where staff are supplied by an agency or other external organisation, or where volunteers, students, placement staff or contractors are engaged in roles involving access to people using the service, the organisation will obtain written assurance, and where appropriate evidence, that all required safer recruitment checks have been completed to an equivalent standard.

This will include, as relevant to the role, identity verification, references, right to work, PVG scheme membership, professional registration, qualifications, training, safeguarding suitability and induction arrangements. No person supplied by a third party will be deployed until the organisation is satisfied that the required checks and role-specific controls are in place.

11. Induction and Probation

All newly appointed staff will:

12. Ongoing Monitoring and Quality Assurance

The organisation will carry out regular audits of recruitment files and recruitment practice to ensure compliance with this policy, current law and regulatory expectations.

Audits will include, as appropriate: completion and quality of application forms; interview records; reference checks; PVG and disclosure compliance; right to work checks; SSSC registration status and timescales; international recruitment and sponsorship compliance; equality monitoring arrangements; and evidence that induction and probation decisions are supported by documented competence.

Audit findings, trends, exceptions and learning points will be reviewed by senior management and used to improve recruitment practice, workforce planning and risk management.

13. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

{{org_field_name}} is committed to fostering a culture where:

The organisation will not ask unlawful pre-employment questions about health or disability before a conditional offer is made, except where a lawful exception applies.

Any equality monitoring information collected during recruitment will be kept separate from shortlisting and selection records and will not be available to decision-makers involved in appointment decisions.

14. Data Protection and Confidentiality

Personal data obtained through recruitment will be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently in accordance with UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the organisation’s privacy and records management arrangements.

Recruitment information, including criminal offence data and special category data, will only be accessed by authorised personnel who need that information for legitimate recruitment, safeguarding, regulatory or employment purposes.

Recruitment records will be retained only for as long as necessary, in line with the organisation’s retention schedule, lawful basis for processing, and any applicable legal, regulatory, contractual or insurance requirements. Records will then be securely destroyed or anonymised.

Candidates will be provided with appropriate privacy information explaining how their data will be used, stored, shared and retained.

15. Links to Health and Social Care Standards (My Support, My Life)

This policy particularly supports the following Health and Social Care Standards:

The organisation recognises that robust recruitment and selection arrangements are a key part of achieving these standards in practice.

16. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where there is any relevant change in legislation, Disclosure Scotland processes, SSSC registration requirements, Home Office right to work or sponsor guidance, Care Inspectorate expectations, or organisational practice. Managers involved in recruitment must be made aware of updates promptly and receive any training necessary to implement changes consistently.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}}{{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.

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