Shortlisting process
Those responsible for shortlisting should objectively and consistently establish whether, on paper, the person has the necessary skills and abilities that are necessary for the job as per the essential and desirable criteria in the Person Specification. This approach minimises the risk of bias on grounds of gender, race or any other irrelevant factor.
The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against job applicants (and existing workers) because of a "protected characteristic". The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Therefore, these factors should be disregarded and candidates whose work-related skills and abilities match the person specification should be selected for an interview. The Equality Act 2010 permits employers to encourage people from under-represented or disadvantaged groups to apply for employment and allows employers to take positive action in connection with recruitment and promotion in limited circumstances.
What to do
Shortlisting should be undertaken as soon as possible after the closing date, bearing in mind the timetable agreed at the beginning of the process. Those involved in managing the recruitment process should ensure sufficient time is allowed to carry out the shortlisting so as to give due consideration to each application.
In order to ensure the best candidates are chosen for the role, and to promote an objective and non-discriminatory process, shortlisting should ideally be carried out by the selection panel.
It is recommended that at least two members of the panel (normally the recruiting manager, plus one other) assess the applications in isolation to produce their own short-list of applications.
Those panel members should meet to discuss their views on the applications and decide the final shortlist.
If it is possible to gather the panel together, this makes an ideal opportunity to also plan for the interview itself. If it is not possible for everyone to be present then panel members should send their recommendations to the chair of the panel who will be responsible for collating the information and drawing up the shortlist.
If the number of applicants is very small and all meet the essential criteria of the person specification, it may be worth interviewing all of them, otherwise applications will need to be reduced to a more manageable number using the essential, and if necessary desirable elements of the criteria. The shortlist will comprise those candidates whom the Church/Circuit/District wishes to interview.
The decision on how many people to shortlist for interview depends on how many people have applied for the job, the quality of the applications, the type of job and the resources (including time) available. However, it is advisable to restrict the number of interviews that you carry out to five or six in any one day.
Should interviewing take place over more than one day, the same interview panel must be convened.
An example of Shortlisting Scoring sheet is available from the Downloadable Templates section.
Shortlisting Checklist
- Adopt an objective and consistent approach towards shortlisting in order to establish whether, on paper, the applicant has the necessary skills and abilities for the job thus minimising the risk of unlawful discrimination.
- Check all the applications and eliminate any that do not meet the essential criteria in the person specification.
- Look for evidence that the applicant meets the essential (and desirable if necessary) criteria in the person specification.
- Take care not to draw adverse inferences from the presentation of an application form or CV if the ability to produce fluent written communication does not form part of the job. It may be that the job applicant has a disability, for example dyslexia or learning difficulties, hence judging them on ability to present the written information could be discriminatory and unlawful.
- Score each applicant against the criteria in the person specification. Rank candidates for interview by scores (from highest to lowest). Template of the shortlisting form is available in the Downloadable Documents Section.
- Keep a record of your decisions and rationale.
- Treat information about candidates confidentially, in line with Data Protection Act (2018) and any subsequent amendments and do not share it with anyone not directly involved in the appointment and selection process. (See Section 14 for further information on the Data Protection Act).
DO NOT
- Vary from the criteria in the person specification.
- Introduce new criteria at this stage.
- Be influenced by personal knowledge of an applicant, or take into account any personal information such as the applicant's name, sex, marital or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, nationality, country of birth, religion or age when shortlisting.
- Stereotype and avoid assumptions as to whether or not someone will ‘fit in’ because of their age, gender or disability, for example.
- Make assumptions from information given or not given in the application.
- Exclude an applicant who declares a conviction unless the conviction is relevant and a satisfactory disclosure has been specified in the person specification.
Applicants with a Criminal Record
An applicant who declares a criminal record during the application process should be given due consideration and not rejected out of hand. Please refer to the Policy and Guidelines for Appointments that require Satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure in the Safeguarding Section.
Unless the post is covered by the Church’s Policy on Safeguarding the applicant need not declare any convictions or cautions that are ‘spent’. For further information please visit the Safeguarding website: Safer Recruitment Policy and Practice Guidance.