Application Guidance. Applying for a job with the Council Understanding the process and the benefits of working with us

Transcription

1 Appication Guidance Appying for a job with the Counci Understanding the process and the benefits of working with us

2 Contents Introduction...3 Supporting Empoyees...4 Deveopment Opportunities Saary/Pay Pension Scheme Hoidays Maternity Leave & Pay Paternity & Pay No Smoking Wesh Language Scheme...6 Appying for a Job with the Counci...7 Fair Recruitment Competing the Appication Form...9 What happens after you ve sent in your Appication?...19 After the Interview...20 Usefu Contact Numbers Returning Your Appication Form If you require this information in arge print, Braie or on audiotape pease teephone,

3 Introduction Carmarthenshire The county of Carmarthenshire offers something for everyone, from the beautifu coastine of ciffs, estuaries and beaches, historic castes and hi-forts to the huste and buste of historic market towns, modern shopping centres and thriving centres of industry. The Miennium Coasta Park, Nationa Botanic Garden of Waes, Dyan Thomas Boathouse and Abergasney Gardens are a in the County and the sporting and eisure opportunities are pentifu. Carmarthenshire County Counci We are one of the argest empoyers in West Waes, empoying around 9000 peope in a range of occupations such as teaching, socia care, highways maintenance, etc. We provide services to a popuation of around 170,000. The Counci is managed by 74 eected counciors from a range of poitica backgrounds. They are the decision makers and agree the Counci s poicies and spending priorities. 3

4 Supporting Empoyees We offer a range of benefits and working arrangements to support empoyees in their working and persona ife, incuding: A staff discount scheme offering discounts on anything from persona oans through to CDs. A discount eisure scheme in Leisure Centres across the county An Occupationa Heath Service offering heath and ifestye screening, counseing and other support. A Chid Care Voucher Scheme A range of fexibe working arrangements incuding a fexi-time scheme, specia eave arrangements, job sharing, home working (currenty being pioted) Deveopment opportunities Whist we may ask for certain quaifications and experience for some of our jobs, we are committed to supporting empoyees to deveop their skis. Some of the ways in which we do this are: Reguar appraisas and persona deveopment pans Training courses E Learning Secondments Modern Apprenticeships Saary/Pay We offer a competitive range of saaries and have recenty introduced a new pay and grading structure to ensure that we can continue to attract and retain peope in the future. 4

5 Supporting Empoyees New Look Pension Scheme A new ook oca government pension scheme was introduced on the 1st Apri The new pension scheme remains a fina saary scheme and the norma retirement date remains at 65. The scheme aso has benefits incuding :- A new accrua rate of 1/60th scheme membership. Death in service wi increase from twice to three times pension abe pay Survivor benefits wi be extended to co-habitees providing quaifying conditions exist. Pension Banding Pension Bandings are set against saary ranges to determine your contribution rate. These bandings are subject to annua review and in addition as your pay increases you may automaticay move to a higher contribution rate. The tiered rate of contributions rates are based on the whoe time equivaent for the post, which may incude additiona payments. If you work part time, your contribution rate wi be based on the whoe time equivaent for the post. Term time empoyees wi be assessed on the fu time equivaent term time, based on the actua weeks paid for term time ony cacuations. If you work in a second post you wi be given a separate assessment of the contribution rate for the separate post. You wi be advised on the appropriate contribution rate on your empoyment contract and you shoud in the first instance contact HR department if you have any queries. Further detais can be found on the Dyfed Pension scheme website. 5

6 Supporting Empoyees Hoidays A minimum of 26 days hoidays pus 8 bank hoidays per year are provided. Hoidays for part time empoyees are cacuated on a pro-rata basis. Maternity Leave & Pay We provide an enhanced maternity scheme to empoyees who quaify. Paternity & Pay Partners (who quaify) are supported at the birth of a baby with eave and pay. No Smoking We operate a No Smoking Poicy. Wesh Language Scheme Carmarthenshire County Counci has adopted the principe that it wi treat Wesh and Engish on a basis of equaity. This scheme sets out how the Counci wi impement that principe in the provision of services to the pubic in Carmarthenshire. Further information is avaiabe on request. 6

7 Appying for a Job with the Counci Now that you ve decided to appy for a job with us, this section aims to provide as much information as possibe about what you can expect from our recruitment process. However, due to the wide range of posts we offer, you may find that this varies occasionay. If you can t find the answers you re ooking for, pease contact us at the contact number given at the end of this booket. Fair Recruitment We want to ensure that every stage in our recruitment process is fair and that you are treated propery. We have a duty to ensure that no-one is discriminated against and we hope that even if you are not appointed, you wi fee that you have been treated fairy. When assessing your appication, we wi not consider any previous appications or persona knowedge of you. As we base this assessment ony on your appication form it is very important that you compete it as fuy as possibe and the sections which foow aim to hep you with this. If you are unabe to compete an appication form in the standard format due to disabiity or some other reason, pease contact us for advice. The Appication Pack Within the pack, you shoud find the foowing: An appication form A Job Description: This sets out the main duties and requirements of the job. 7

8 Appying for a Job with the Counci A Person Specification: This detais the skis, experience, quaifications and aptitudes we are seeking for the job for which you are appying. If you think that you meet a of the essentia requirements it wi be essentia that you are abe to expain and demonstrate how you do so when you are competing the appication form. Equaity Monitoring Form: We ask a our appicants to hep us to monitor the fairness of our recruitment process by competing this form. You may compete some or a of it and return it with your appication form. Once received, we wi separate it from your appication so that it does not form part of the assessment process. This information is treated in confidence. If you have any questions or concerns about this, pease contact our Recruitment Team at the teephone number given at the end of this booket. 8

9 Competing the Appication Form Genera This section provides detaied advice on how to compete each part of the form. The numbers reate to the numbered sections on the form. Pease read this carefuy before competing the appication form. Pease do not send in your CV instead of an appication form, as it wi not be put forward for assessment. Aso, pease do not attach your CV to the appication form as our assessment is based on the information provided in our appication form ony. This means we can assess your skis, etc, against another appicant s in a fair and consistent way. Don t be put off by the amount of information we ask for. This means that we can compete the assessment of your appication quicky and without having to ask you for further information. If some of the boxes don t appy to you, pease put a ine through them and move to the next box. You can compete your appication form by hand or type and in Engish or Wesh. You can aso appy onine at When competed you shoud return the form to the address given by the cosing date. You may wish to keep a copy for your reference. Empoyee Number/Appicant Reference No: At the top of the Appication Form, existing empoyees shoud enter their empoyee number. If you are not a current empoyee, this wi aready be competed for you or wi be automaticay competed if appying onine. 9

10 Competing the Appication Form 1. Vacancy Detais This may aready be competed (or automaticay competed if appying onine). Pease check that a the detais are correct and if not or if any information is missing, pease refer to the job advertisement and compete the box. Take note of the cosing date as we must receive your appication form by this date or it cannot be considered. 2. Persona Detais The detais you provide here enabe us to contact you about your appication. We wi usuay write to you but we may contact you by teephone or e-mai. As we ony ask for your initias and surname at this stage, pease do not think we are being disrespectfu if we refer to you as A Smith for exampe. 3. Positive about Disabed Peope The Counci is committed to the Disabiity Symbo. Interviews for peope with disabiities, as defined by the Disabiity Discrimination Act (DDA) are guaranteed if the essentia criteria for the post is satisfied. If you wish to be considered for an interview under this scheme, pease make us aware of this by indicating so under this section of the appication form. Pease note that individua schoos wi indicate if they are signed up to the scheme. 4. References The two referees you name shoud be your current and most recent previous empoyer. However, we recognise that this is not aways possibe. If you are sef-empoyed, you may provide the name of someone who has known you in a professiona capacity e.g. an accountant or soicitor. If you have just eft fu time education you shoud provide the names of your course teacher or head teacher. If returning to work after a career break, you might consider providing the name of someone unreated to you who knows you we, for exampe, your GP or the eader of a community group with which you have been invoved. Faiure to suppy a referee may resut in your appication not being considered. 10

11 Competing the Appication Form As we do not appoint without taking up references and to speed up the process, we prefer to contact referees prior to interviews. Pease tick the box ony if you do not want us to do this. For some posts, which have access to vunerabe groups for exampe, we may approach other empoyers named in your appication, depending on the reevant statutory requirements. If you wish to discuss this pease contact the Recruitment Team. 5a. Current empoyment Pease provide the detais of your current empoyer. If you are not currenty in empoyment, pease eave this bank. 5b. Previous empoyment Starting with the most recent (before your current empoyer), pease provide as much information on your empoyment history, back to the date of eaving schoo. Pease expain any gaps in the empoyment history and attach an additiona sheet if necessary. If you have not been empoyed before or are returning after a ong career break, try to think of exampes of projects or community groups, etc you have been invoved with that may have required some of the skis we are ooking for. 6. Education/Quaifications Pease give detais of any reevant quaifications you hod and where you obtained them. This shoud incude the grade and eve of quaification. If you do not have any quaifications pease draw a ine through the box. If you are shortisted for interview you wi need to bring your origina quaification certificates with you. These wi be checked and if necessary, we wi contact the awarding body to verify the quaification. 11

12 Competing the Appication Form 7. Professiona membership and other training You shoud incude detais of membership of professiona bodies and if shortisted for interview, you shoud bring your origina registration documents with you. Pease aso incude detais of any job reated or other training which you think is reevant. 8. Language Skis Pease indicate what anguage skis you have. Some of our positions require Wesh speakers/writers so it is important that you indicate what eve of fuency you have. Aso, the abiity to speak any other anguages can be very usefu in some jobs so pease compete as fuy as possibe. Pease refer to the person specification to find out what eve of fuency is required. Speaking Leve 1 - No speaking skis Leve 2 For exampe: Abiity to meet and greet peope in anguage seected Abiity to introduce /meetings in anguage seected Abiity to pronounce oca pace names in Wesh (appies to Wesh anguage skis ony) Abiity to pronounce key Loca Authority vocabuary in anguage seected (appies to Wesh and Engish anguage skis ony) Abiity to understand and participate in simpe conversations in anguage seected Abiity to answer the teephone with biingua greeting and transfer ca to a Wesh speaker (appies to Wesh ony) 12

13 Competing the Appication Form Leve 3 For exampe: Participate in meetings where a that is demanded is simpe answers to simpe, factua questions. Provide simpe, routine information about business activities, e.g. 'Yes, we provide' Begin to estabish a business reationship, but not beyond the exchange of simpe information. Leve 4 For exampe: Provide short reports on activities that are famiiar and within own fied, but may not stand up to questioning. Take part in routine meetings where the discussion is imited to an exchange of information within own fied through question and answer or receiving instructions, making arrangements, etc. Obtain routine straightforward information within a known fied. Ask questions about that information and understand straightforward answers, but may not understand unpredictabe answers. Leve 5 For exampe: Hande routine information within own fied, and can hande unpredictabe questions within it. Begin to hande compex questions within own fied, but with the risk of misunderstanding. 13

14 Competing the Appication Form Carify most information within own fied, except where this is compex. Present information specifying daiy work requirements, and expain the requirements of others, within own fied. Provide short reports on activities etc. within own fied and withstand questioning, provided this is predictabe. Leve 6 For exampe Hande a aspects of everyday work, except where these are unpredictabe and outside own fied. Maintain reationships with business networks within own fied, but may have difficuty in estabishing and maintaining these where the demands made fa outside own fied. Speak and answer questions at ength when required. Writing Skis Leve 1 - No written skis Leve 2 For exampe: Provide very simpe information on compaints, fauts, provided this is within own fied, is famiiar and the output required is to a standard format. Prepare and present standard reports where the output required is factua and can be expressed in simpe anguage. 14

15 Competing the Appication Form Leve 3 For exampe: Describe the key characteristics of services and organisations within own fied, but may not be abe to describe these fuy and in detai. Report on straightforward compaints, or enquiries etc. within own fied, provided that these are famiiar and are presented in a standardised format. Leve 4 For exampe: Report on enquiries, compaints, probems, etc. within own fied, but there remains the risk of being misunderstood where these are compex and/or engthy. Begin to compose technica assessments of enquiries, compaints, etc. where these are within own fied and the output required is straightforward. Produce information to monitor pans. Leve 5 For exampe Report on enquiries, compaints, probems, etc. within own fied. Compose technica assessments of enquiries, compaints, probems and fauts within own fied. 15

16 Competing the Appication Form 9. Additiona Information a) Some of our jobs invove driving and/or the abiity to trave. Pease tick the appropriate box. See the Person Specification to estabish the requirements for the post for which you are appying. 10. Supporting Statement This is a very important section as this aows you to state exacty how you think your skis, experience and training wi enabe you to meet the requirements of the job. You shoud reate your supporting statement to the Person Specification and set out ceary what experience, skis or training you have for each requirement. Try to use exampes of work you have carried out or training you have undertaken. This does not have to be work reated if you think it is reevant. For exampe: Appicant A is appying for an Accounts Assistant post after a career break. She has no recent paid work experience so she expains how the skis she has deveoped in her vountary work as Secretary/ Treasurer of an after-schoo cub reate to the person specification. Pease te us about any experience, skis or training which you think is reevant to the job. When shortisting, we cannot make assumptions so if you do not make it cear that you meet the criteria set out in the Person Specification, we wi not be abe to take your appication any further. 16

17 Competing the Appication Form 11. Rehabiitation of Offenders You ony have to compete this section if the job for which you are appying requires a Crimina Record (CRB) check. If shortisted for interview, you wi be asked to provide detais of a/any spent and unspent convictions, bindovers or cautions, together with any judgements or investigations pending. This does not mean that you wi not be appointed, as this wi depend on the nature of the offence and the type of job for which you are appying. If appointed, you wi be asked to compete a CRB check form which is sent to the Crimina Records Bureau. As part of this process a check may be made with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) if the nature or pace of work invoves contact with chidren or vunerabe aduts. Additiona checks may aso be made with other Reguatory Bodies. Pease see the encosed Poicy for further information. 17

18 Competing the Appication Form 12. Reationships to Counciors, Schoo Governors or Senior Empoyees Pease te us if you are reated to a Councior, Schoo Governor or Senior empoyee of the Counci, as we must ensure that shortisting and interview decisions are not made by anyone reated to a candidate as far a possibe. You coud disquaify your appication if you do not discose or try to infuence the process via a reationship you have with one of the above. 13. Decaration/Confirmation By the time you sign your appication form, the hard work wi be competed. Pease read the decaration carefuy and sign and date where shown. If you are appying on ine, you wi be unabe to do this. In these circumstances, we wi ask you to sign and date a copy if you are seected for interview. 18

19 What happens after you ve sent in your appication? Once we ve received your appication, we wi separate the equa opportunities monitoring form and send the appication form ony to the shortisting department. We wi not send an acknowedgement of receipt uness you specificay request it and send a stamped addressed enveope. Your appication wi then be assessed against the criteria (in the person specification) and the shortising pane wi decide whether it can be shortisted. If you are not caed for interview within six weeks of the cosing date, pease assume you have been unsuccessfu in your appication on this occasion. If you are shortisted for interview, you wi receive a etter from us usuay within 2 weeks of the cosing date, advising the date, time and ocation of the interview. The etter wi aso incude detais of assessment testing which is to be carried out and wi outine the documentation which you are required to bring with you. A those who attend for interview wi be asked to bring the foowing origina documentation: Passport/European Identity Card or Birth Certificate, and proof of Nationa Insurance, P45, P60 or Government etter. If you are not a British nationa or the hoder of an EU or EEA Passport, you must provide evidence of your eigibiity to work within the UK. Acceptabe forms of identity wi be detaied in your interview etter. Certificates of reevant quaifications or proof of registration with a professiona body if required. Other documents may be requested depending upon the requirements of the job e.g. driving icence These documents wi be photocopied and retained aong with your appication form, for a period of 12 months from the date of interview. However, if you are successfu, these documents wi be hed confidentiay on your persona fie. 19

20 After the Interview We advise a appicants who attend for interview of the outcome either by teephone or by etter. If you are successfu, we may need to compete a pre-empoyment checks prior to offering you the post so there may be some deay. Once these are competed, we wi agree a start date with you and provide you with further information reating to your empoyment, incuding a contract, empoyee guide, etc. We hope that this guide heps you during the recruitment process and that you are successfu in your search for a job with the Counci. Good Luck! Usefu Contact Numbers Requesting an appication form & other recruitment enquiries: Emai: direct@carmarthenshire.gov.uk Returning Your Appication Form Pease return your competed appication form and equa opportunities monitoring form to: The Recruitment Team Human Resources Peope Management & Performance St. David s Park Jobswe Road Carmarthen SA31 3HB 20