1. Introduction
1.1. Wyre Council recognises it has a role to play in helping those leaving the Armed Forces (veterans) fulfil their potential in civilian life. Veterans can find making the transition to civilian life extremely challenging, particularly in finding and securing lasting employment. To support this, the Council have introduced a Guaranteed Interview scheme for Veterans.
2. Scope
2.1. The Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Veterans will operate for all externally advertised vacancies. The scheme will have no bearing on redeployment, redundancy selection or internal reorganisations.
3. Equal opportunities
3.1. The Council is an equal opportunities employer and recognises that a diverse workforce, coming from all sections of the community, can improve services by offering different skills, experiences, backgrounds and cultures.
Wyre Council is committed to giving fair support to members of the armed forces, veterans and their families whilst recognising and remembering the sacrifices they have made. The Council signed the Armed Forces Community Covenant on 25 June 2012. The Armed Forces Covenant is a pledge that we acknowledge and understand that those who serve or who have served in the armed forces, and their families, should be treated with fairness and respect.
The covenant supports serving personnel, service leavers, veterans, and their families and is reinforced by the different groups that have committed to making a difference.
These include:
- Central government, overseen by the Minister for Defence People and Veterans
- The Armed Forces (Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force)
- Businesses of all sizes
- Local government
- Charities
- Communities
- Cadet forces and their adult volunteers
4. Benefits of the scheme
4.1. This scheme has a number of benefits, including the following:
Veterans can bring valuable transferable skills and qualities into the organisation, such as:
- Communication skills
- Organisational skills and commitment
- Problem solving and adaptability
- Leadership and management skills
- Health and Safety/security awareness
- Team working skills
The scheme may provide the recruiting manager with a wider selection of candidates to appoint from, using the essential criteria listed on the role profile.
It will assist veterans to overcome barriers in finding civilian employment.
It will help reduce the risk of veterans developing health and welfare problems as a result of long term unemployment.
5. What is the Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Veterans
5.1. The Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Veterans is a commitment that the Council has made to support the Armed Forces Community. The commitment is a guarantee of an interview for any veterans that apply specifically and meet all of the essential criteria set out in the person specification for role that has been advertised externally only. The scheme does not guarantee a job for veterans as a selection process will follow to ensure the best candidate is appointed.
5.2. Who is eligible for the Guaranteed Interview Scheme for Veterans?
The following applicants are eligible for the Guaranteed Interview Scheme:
- Applicants that are current or former services that meet all of the essential criteria set out in the person specification.
5.3. How will the scheme work?
Human Resources will liaise with the MOD’s Career Transition Partnership (CTP) Right Job website and ensure vacancies are listed on their website which is free of charge.
Once the shortlisting process has been completed, Human Resources will check to see whether any candidates have declared themselves as veterans and whether they meet the essential criteria for the job. Any veterans that meet the criteria and are eligible under the scheme as set out above must be offered an interview. Candidates offered an interview under the scheme must be offered an interview alongside other candidates shortlisted and must not displace other candidates that have been shortlisted.
At the interview, the recruiting manager or chair of the interview panel must check the Military Service Records that the applicant should bring to their interview. There is no requirement to take a photocopy of these records. This information will confirm the veteran’s military service record and may be a useful documentation of their skills and experience.
Where a candidate has falsely claimed to be a veteran any offer of employment may be withdrawn.
Following interviews held all candidates should be informed of the outcome and offered feedback. It is the responsibility of the recruiting manager or interview chair to ensure that this is done. Veterans will often be keen to receive feedback on how they have performed at interview.
6. Equality impact assessment and monitoring
6.1. The operation of this policy will be monitored for its impact on different staff groups in line with the Equality Act 2010. This will enable the Council to assess whether any differences have an adverse impact on a particular group, such that further action would be required.
7. Data protection
7.1. In implementing this policy, the Council will ensure that any personal data relating to the application of this policy will be obtained, processed and destroyed in line with Data Protection requirements.