Recruitment policy - Key skills recruitment and retention scheme

We are committed to the recruitment and retention of high quality experienced staff. This is particularly important in posts with key skills that provide critical services to the people of Dorset.

At times, it can be difficult to attract such staff. Where difficulty in recruiting the right people leads to risks for the service, the Executive Directors (including the Chief Executive) are able to consider offering a one-off recruitment and retention payment to an identified post(s) to alleviate pressures.

This scheme is available to employees of the council. This scheme does not apply to schools based staff; Centrally Employed Teachers; those on Chief Officers terms and conditions; contractors employed by a third party or agency workers.

Principles

The scheme will be applied only where a clear skills shortage and difficulty in recruiting key staff can be demonstrated. Payments are funded by the recruiting service.

The scheme may be applied to any post at any grade where the criteria are successfully demonstrated. The amount payable will be between £1,500 and £2,000 (pro rata for part time positions) depending on the business case approved.

The scheme is only available to permanent vacancies. The scheme applies to eligible council employees only and not to agency workers or those employed by a contractor to cover an eligible role.

Once agreed, the scheme can be applied to a post for no more than 12 months. Each time the recruiting manager advertises the post they will need to specify that the scheme applies.

Individuals already working for the council:

• as an agency worker
• as a contractor
• on a fixed term contract or
• as a permanent employee in a different role

may apply for permanent posts advertised under the scheme.

Staff already in the applicable post will not be eligible.

The payment is only payable when the new recruit has successfully completed 24 months service in the role.

The Executive Director, Chief Executive or Corporate Director will review the business case every 12 months, with support from Human Resources and Organisational Development (HR&OD). Should the review find that evidence no longer supports the payment for a particular post, the payment will no longer apply to that post for future job advertisements.

Applying the scheme to a post

Approval of a payment for recruitment to a particular post(s) is at the discretion of the relevant Director after consultation with the cabinet member.

The recruiting/service manager(s), with support from HR&OD must put together a business case for the Director’s consideration. The business case must evidence the difficulty in recruiting and show that inability to offer the payment would lead to real risks for the service.

The Executive Director, Chief Executive or Corporate Director will take account of the following criteria:

• whether the post is in a critical service area, for example, whether it provides a statutory service
• evidence of a skills shortage, supported by national and/or regional research and data, such as the government’s skills shortage occupation list
• the vacancy rate over the past six months and evidence of the ongoing risks to service provision as a direct result
• the effectiveness of any other measures to address the issue, such as the use of labour market increments and/or the friends and family referral scheme.
• costs to the service of payments
• outcomes of an equality impact assessment (or screening record as appropriate) to ensure that there is no unfair or unintended discrimination, in accordance with the council’s guidance for EqIAs

Applications made under this scheme can only be used to consider the need for a key skills recruitment and retention payment. Applications under any other recruitment or retention scheme (such as the labour market increment scheme or friends and family referral scheme) must be made under the terms of that scheme.

If it is agreed that the scheme applies to a post, HR&OD will communicate the outcome as appropriate. The post(s) can then be advertised with reference to the scheme. The recruiting manager will indicate that the scheme applies to a vacant post on the request to advertise eform via DES in the notes/specific requests field.

The offer letter will confirm that the scheme applies, so that the employee is aware of the terms of the scheme before signing their contract of employment.

Arrangements for Payment

The recruiting manager is responsible for payments.

Payments are only made when the employee has successfully completed 24 calendar months service in the same role, providing that they have not given, or have been given notice to end their employment (with the exception of compulsory redundancy). Where compulsory redundancy applies, full payment will be made unless the total amount of compensation would then be outside of any exit payment cap determined by the government.

Payments can only be withheld if the employee is subject to formal capability or disciplinary procedures or if a competency increment has been withheld. The manager must inform the employee of the potential impact on the payment during any formal procedure.

The recruiting manager is responsible for emailing the HR&OD Payroll Support team to inform them of the payment. The recruiting manager needs to check the relevant HR & payroll deadlines when requesting the payment. The manager is required to confirm:

• that the individual has successfully completed the qualifying 24 calendar months service
• the amount payable
• the cost code for the payment
• the employee’s name and payroll number

24 calendar months service begins from the employees first day of employment in the eligible post.

Payments are subject to tax and national insurance but are non-pensionable. The payslip will show the payment which is paid through payroll in the month following the recruiting manager’s confirmation.

If the employee has a query regarding the payment, this should be raised with the recruiting manager.