FAQs
Find the answers to questions about recruitment, including how to recruit, how to write a job description, filling in the Request to Appoint form and evaluating a job. We also explain how to approach writing references for staff and deal with questions on agency workers and whether they can apply for "internal only" vacancies.
How do I recruit someone into a vacant job?
I have to write a job description. What help is available?
Why do I have to fill in a 'Request to Appoint' form if I've already filled in an 'Authorisation to Release Vacancy' form?
I want to recruit either to fill a vacancy or a new post. Does the job need to be evaluated first?
How do I write an employment reference for a current or former employee?
Can an agency worker apply for an internal only vacancy?
What if there is a “finder’s fee” payable to the agency that supplies the agency worker?
How do I recruit someone into a vacant job?
We have a simple flow chart to take you step by step through the entire process. You will find it on page 4 of the Good Practice Guide to Recruitment and Selection [PDF 1.31 MB] which is in the Policies and Procedures section of the site. Your Head of Department should have a hard copy of this information, in the handbook "Implementing the HR Codes of Practice".
I have to write a job description. What help is available?
We have a job description template [DOC 53 KB] ready for use with the job evaluation system at the College. You will also find some guidelines on what to include in a job description and how to write it on pages 12-15 of the Good Practice Guide to Recruitment and Selection [PDF 1.31 MB]. Your Head of Department should have a hard copy of this information which is in the handbook 'Implementing the HR Codes of Practice'.
Why do I have to fill in a 'Request to Appoint' form if I've already filled in an 'Authorisation to Release Vacancy' form?
Although you might think that the forms duplicate one another, in fact they serve quite different purposes. The 'Authorisation to Recruit' form is completed at the start of the recruitment process to confirm that you have authorisation to fill the post and that there is funding for it. The 'Request to Appoint' form is completed at the end of the process and tells the HR department whom you have decided to appoint and gives the details HR need to draw up the contract and to administer other preparations for the new starter.
I want to recruit either to fill a vacancy or a new post. Does the job need to be evaluated first?
Yes. An evaluation is needed either for a brand new post or where a job has substantially changed. This is because the post needs to fit into the College's pay and grading system. Queen Mary may be vulnerable to legal challenge if it cannot show that its pay arrangements are systematic and equitable. Just send the job description to the Senior HR Administrator for your department and we will ensure that the job is evaluated at the earliest possible panel. Evaluations will need to take place before the posts are advertised so you can include pay details in your advert.
How do I write an employment reference for a current or former employee?
Advice on writing references, including difficult references, can be found in the following document:
Can an agency worker apply for an internal only vacancy?
Normally, yes. Managers should consider applications from agency staff at the same time as internal applicants already on Queen Mary contracts. However, in redundancy situations, internal applicants whose jobs are at risk will take priority over agency workers as well as other internal applicants.
What if there is a “finder’s fee” payable to the agency that supplies the agency worker?
In such cases there is no legal obligation to appoint the agency worker, even if they are the best candidate. Managers may decide on a case by case basis whether it represents good value to appoint the individual and pay the finder’s fee. For agency workers supplied by an agency in the College’s framework agreement, none of them charge a finder’s fee after the worker has done 13 weeks with the College, and some of them drop their finder’s fee even earlier.