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August 05, 2008
RECRUITMENT: DISABILITIES
The Codes of Employment, mentioned in the note posted earlier today and also in the posting of 11th July, also refer to the Guaranteed Interview Scheme – this guarantees an interview to disabled applicants for a post if they meet the essential criteria set out in the job specification. Napo has been contacted by members who worry if they have a chance of an internal opportunity because they may have taken disability-related sickness absence. Our view is that if external candidates with disabilities are guaranteed an interview it would be unreasonable to deny internal candidates the same opportunities. Therefore, we advise any candidate who has a disability to make this clear should they apply for an’ internal opportunity’ In fact the application form should be showing some sensitivity in respect of disabled staff. We have heard of members being denied opportunities for a whole host of reasons and we therefore ask you to contact Napo if you feel you have been unfairly treated. An important paragraph in the codes of employment is the very first one, which says:
‘All job vacancies, whether as new appointments to the Hampshire Area of the National Probation Service, transfers or promotions, are likely to offer some opportunity to a candidate which is not present in their current position. This may be financial, developmental or of special interest. Therefore on that basis, opportunity to apply for any position should not be denied to any applicant who meets the mandatory criteria (e.g. CQSW/Dip Social Work for Probation Officer posts), regardless of personal factors, e.g. race, gender, age, sexual orientation or degree of physical ability’
‘Opportunity to apply for any position should not be denied to any applicant who meets the mandatory criteria…’ It could not be clearer.
We have asked for an equalities impact assessment of the application form that is currently being used for internal jobs. We do not accept that medical information should be used to sift out applicants at the short-listing stage.
The Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
Posted by Hampshire at August 5, 2008 08:53 PM