Guaranteed Job Interview Scheme

[Image: PADP Logo]

Employers that enter into both the spirit and the letter of the law will benefit from a wider pool of talent and experience.

Organisations should concentrate on an individual's personal strengths and abilities in order to ensure the organisation gains from diversity.

Having a disability does not prevent an individual from being the best person for the job.

The Council shows its commitment by adopting the "Positive about Disabled People" symbol and by its Guaranteed Job Interview Scheme. Its policy and procedure is as follows:

Policy

The Council introduced a Guaranteed Job Interview Scheme (GJIS) in 1996 for the purpose of ensuring quality of opportunity in employment, to meet the requirements of the first commitment of Disability Symbol users and to ensure that the Council conforms with legislation introduced under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The GJIS, which applies to all posts, guarantees an interview to any applicant with a disability who meets the essential selection criteria for a job. It also gives any GJIS applicant who is unsuccessful access to the selection criteria for a job and to the Employment Disability Unit's services, e.g. job search skills, counselling, work experience placements, etc.

All recruitment advertisements include a brief statement about the GJIS as well as the nationally recognised "Positive About Disabled People" symbol. Also, any applicant receives more detailed information about the Scheme, while the application form itself gives any prospective applicant the opportunity to provide information about their disability which is relevant to the post for which they are applying.

Procedure

Dundee City Council has adopted the "Positive about Disabled People" symbol (also known as the Double Tick Symbol) and as such has given a commitment to good practice regarding the employment of people with disabilities, namely:

To interview all applicants with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for a job vacancy and to consider them on their abilities.
To ask disabled employees at least once a year what can be done to make sure they can develop and use their abilities at work.
To make every effort when employees become disabled to make sure they stay in employment.
To take action to ensure that key employees develop the awareness of disability needed to make the commitments work.
Each year, to review these commitments and what has been achieved, plan ways to improve on them and let all employees know about progress and future plans.

Recruitment/Selection Procedure

Job Description
This must be prepared/updated to accurately reflect the nature of the job. This will also ensure that if a person with a disability applies, you will be aware of areas where changes to existing working practices (eg. equipment adaptations, job redesign) are possible.
Person Specification
It is Council policy that a person specification be prepared and used throughout the recruitment/selection process, ie. from advertising to interview and final selection.
The person specification should clearly state the essential skills, experience and other personal attributes necessary for any individual to carry out the duties of the job. It should reflect not only the job content but also any unique terms and conditions of service, eg shift working, current full driving licence, location/access.
Recruitment Advertisements
These should give brief details of the job content as well as key essentials and desirable selection criteria stated in the person specification.
Information to Applicants
The application form must give any applicant the opportunity to state whether he/she has a disability and the extent (if at all) to which it may be relevant to the job content or his/her ability to carry out the duties of the job. It is also good practice to issue information about the Council's positive approach to equality of opportunity in employment.
Short-Listing
Using the person specification will readily highlight whether any applicant applying under the GJIS meets all of the essential selection criteria. If so, he/she must be invited to attend for interview.
References
Based on the person specification, your reference request letters should ask only for information relevant to the job, ie extent of abilities, aptitudes and experience. This applies equally to all applicants, irrespective of any application under the GJIS. No isolated reference to a disability itself should be made.
Preparation for Interview
Prior to issuing an "invitation to interview" letter, based on an applicant's own comments in the application form about his/her disability, you may have genuine reservations about his/her ability to fulfil the demands of the job. If so, you may wish to telephone the applicant for more specific information. In this case, you must clearly explain the reason for your call and outline your specific interest/concerns in relation to the job. If you would like further advice about making this type of pre-interview/telephone contact, please get in touch with a member of the Personnel Department.
The "invitation to interview" letter issued to all short-listed applicants must indicate that if they have a disability (whether or not stated in their application), and require particular arrangements to enable them to attend/present themselves to best advantage at interview, they should contact a named individual, eg interview panel member, as soon as possible. It will then be for that departmental representative to make the necessary arrangement/to provide an alternative solution, and advise the candidate accordingly.

« Back to Employment Unit page