Recruitment documents - CCEA

What does this article on recruitment documents cover?

Reasons for recruitment: Businesses recruit to replace departing staff, support growth, or fill skills gaps. Departures may be due to promotions, retirement, or dismissal.

Recruitment documents: Key documents include the person specification (qualifications and qualities needed) and the job description (duties and responsibilities).

Contracts of employment: Employees should receive a contract within two months, detailing terms like hours, pay, holidays, duties, and notice period. Types include full-time, part-time, job share, and zero hours.

Types of employment: Full-time offers stability and higher wages, part-time provides flexibility, job sharing splits one role between employees, and zero hours contracts offer business flexibility but lack job security.

Why businesses recruit?

The recruitment process enables a business to obtain the staff that they require to fulfil specific job roles. These staff may need to be recruited to replace employees who have left, because the business is growing or because the business needs staff with specific skills.

Replacing employees who leave

Staff may leave a job for a number of reasons. They may have gained a promotion, either within the business or in another business, they may have retired or they may be leaving to do something completely different. In addition, some staff will leave because they have been dismissed.

Whatever the reason for leaving, if the job is still required then the business will need to recruit a new member of staff.

Business growth

As a business grows it will need more staff to cope with the increase in sales and production or to run any new branches that have been opened.

Skills gaps

Skills gaps occur when a business is lacking staff with the skills that they require. Skilled staff are often short in supply and can be difficult to recruit. Examples in the UK include skilled engineers and healthcare staff, who are often recruited from overseas.

Businesses that have a skills gap will also often look to train existing staff in order to upskill them so that they have the skills the business is looking for.

When businesses wish to recruit they usually prepare two key documents: a person specification to define the type of person the business wishes to recruit and a job description to describe all the duties involved in the role.

What is person specification?

A person specification is a document created by a business that wants to fill a vacancy. This document provides information about the type of person the business wants to hire. A person specification includes details about the educational background, skills, experience and personal qualities the business wants applicants to have.

Often, a person specification is split into two sections: ‘essential’ and ‘desirable’. If something is classed as essential it means a person must have it in order to apply for the role. An example could be experience in a similar role or a certain qualification. In contrast, if something is classed as desirable it means it is not a necessity to apply for the role, although it may give applicants a better chance of getting the job. An example could be having a master’s degree.

What is job description?

A job description is another document produced by a business that wants to fill a vacancy. Its main purpose is to list all of the duties that are required in the role. A job description may include the job title, rate of pay or salary, bonus information, hours of work, location of work, all duties included in the role and who the new employee would report to in the business.

A contract of employment should be given to every employee within two months of starting work. It is a legal agreement between the employer and employee which sets out the terms and conditions of employment including:

• working hours
• pay
• holidays
• duties
• place of work
• notice period

There are a number of different types of contract that an employee could be given. The main ones include full time, part time, job share and zero hours contracts. Often, a business will have a mixture of employees with a range of different employment contracts.

What is full time employment?

Full-time employment typically involves working more than 35 hours per week, usually spread across five days. Employees in full-time roles can be found in a wide range of professions, such as teachers, office workers, pilots, police officers, doctors, and nurses. One key advantage of having full-time staff is the stability it brings, as the workforce remains consistent. However, if business needs change, this could lead to overstaffing

Full-time contracts are beneficial to employees as they will receive a higher wage than part-time employees.

What is part time employment?

Part-time employment refers to working fewer hours than a full-time schedule, usually with employees working two to four days a week. Part-time roles are found across many industries but are especially common in sectors like retail, where shifts may be required only on specific days or times. While part-time employees work fewer hours, they are still entitled to many of the same benefits as full-time workers, such as paid holidays. The main benefit of part-time staff is the flexibility it offers to the staff member and the business, though managing varying shift patterns may be a challenge for some employers.

Part-time contracts are beneficial to employees as it allows them to work around other commitments, such as childcare. Some older employees may not want to retire but may no longer want to work full-time.

What is a job share?

A job share is when two or more employees combine to fill one job role. This is good for employees who want to work part time hours and can bring more skills into the business.

What are zero hours contracts?

Zero hours contracts mean that an employee has no set or guaranteed hours of work. For example, one week they may work for five hours and the next they may work for 30 hours. This gives the business flexibility to meet increases in demand without having to pay staff when they are not needed. However, employees will not have job security or a regular level of income which could make them less loyal to the business.

Final checks