Lay Assessor Recruitment - Candidate Charter - 2021

Lay Assessor Recruitment - 2021

CANDIDATE CHARTER

Deloitte is the recruitment agent to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), with responsibility for police officer (Student Officer / Constable) recruitment. As independent recruitment agent Deloitte is required to establish a pool of independent Lay Assessors to assist with the delivery of recruitment. The key purpose of the use of Lay Assessors is to improve community understanding of police recruitment. The key purpose of the use of Lay Assessors is to improve community understanding of police recruitment. Lay Assessors, representative of the community, contribute fully to all aspects of the police recruitment process and play a decision-making role.

Deloitte is seeking to expand its current panel, ensuring that we have a truly diverse panel of Lay Assessors, representative of all communities. Applicants interested in the role of Independent Lay Assessor are welcome to apply to the 2021 Independent Lay Assessor recruitment process. 

This charter outlines:

  • The standard of service you can expect during the Independent Lay Assessor recruitment process;
  • What you can do to help the Deloitte Recruitment Team to help you;
  • The process to be followed should you feel that you have not received the standard of service that you expect, i.e. the complaints process. 

1. The Recruitment Team Will Help You By 

✓Dealing with your application as quickly as possible and keeping you informed about progress and decisions; 

✓Giving you accurate information throughout the recruitment process;

✓Being polite and easy to liaise with - our staff are specially trained to meet your needs; they will treat you with respect and will do their best to understand your personal circumstances; 

✓Being fair – how we treat you during the recruitment process will not be affected by your community background, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, domestic status, age, political opinion, whether or not you have a disability, or whether or not you have dependants;

✓Treating everything you say to us as confidential; 

✓Complying with the requirements of the Data Protection Act and GDPR laws; 

✓Responding to issues within our control at testing and assessment events immediately, and if this is not possible, noting what was at issue in case of the need for further review; 

✓Responding to any formal queries or complaints by email within 5 working days. If we cannot deal with your query fully within the 5 working days of receipt we will tell you why and advise if there is anything you need to do. 

2. To Help The Recruitment Team We Need You To 

✓Take responsibility for your own application and follow all instructions (either written or verbal) fully and meet deadlines / attend appointments when they are set; 

✓Give us complete and accurate information; 

✓At application stage, provide a valid, working email address, to which you have ongoing access for the full duration of the recruitment process. If you have several different email addresses, you must consistently use the one specified at application stage; 

✓Tell us about changes in your circumstances as soon as they occur, such as a change of address or email address; 

✓Give the correct Unique Identity Number (UID) if you contact us about your application (Deloitte will issue you with a UID after your application);

 ✓Understand that, so we have a detailed documentary written record of all your transactions, and for security reasons, the primary form of communication with candidates is via email. We therefore cannot discuss your application via telephone. (Please do not telephone Deloitte reception as they will not be able to transfer your call). All correspondence will be with you only (we cannot enter into correspondence with any third party unless we have received your instructions permitting this in writing); 

✓Provide photographic identification when required – please note that only a driving licence (with photograph), passport, Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card, EU National identity card, HM Forces identity card, or Citizen Card will be accepted; 

✓In relation to any request you make for a reasonable adjustment to arrangements for testing (e.g. related to a disability or condition), please understand that Deloitte will ask to review evidence in relation to the request. Such evidence should be complete diagnostic evidence, addressing exam adjustment needs. Specific instructions and details of the format in which evidence should be supplied must be followed in full or evidence may not be accepted. Evidence will be reviewed to determine the appropriate adjustment to be applied; 

✓Raise any concerns that you have regarding the recruitment process immediately (and not later than seven calendar days) after the issue happens. Any concerns must be submitted formally by email. Please note any appeals lodged after results have been issued will not be considered; 

✓In relation to online testing, ensure that you have a stable internet connection before undertaking the test. The applicant is responsible for providing the necessary device and internet connection to allow them to participate. Also, the applicant is expected to take responsibility for familiarising themselves with and operating any user interface (e.g. Collaborative Video system) required during testing. (Deloitte will provide instructions on how to gain access to allow participation, but intensive user support will be limited. Support will not be available from Deloitte in relation to applicant device compatibility or any internet connection failure outside of Deloitte’s control). Participants will be expected to attend online testing as part of a group session; 

✓Note; it is the responsibility of the individual applicant to bear any expense associated with participation in the recruitment process themselves (e.g. cost of travel to any recruitment event); 

✓Be respectful to our staff and your fellow applicants in all dealings. Poor behaviour may lead to your automatic disqualification. 

3. Your Application 

✓The Recruitment Team aim to deal with your application as quickly as possible. Indicative timelines for each stage in the recruitment process are included in the Guidance for Applicants. We will keep you updated at each stage in the process regarding when you will hear about outcomes. We will communicate with you via email. 

✓We shall not discuss your performance in the recruitment process with you or give out results over the telephone. 

✓All correspondence will be with you only and will be dealt with in a confidential and secure manner. 

4. Equality Monitoring 

✓We do not discriminate against any applicant and aim to select the best person for roles available. We monitor the composition of applicants to demonstrate our commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and to comply with our duties. Our Equality Monitoring process is conducted in accordance with the Fair Employment & Treatment (NI) Order 1998 and the Fair Employment (Monitoring) Regulations 1999. 

✓Your Equality Monitoring information will be held securely separate from your application. Neither administration staff nor assessors will have access to this detail. This information will not be used in deciding your progress through the recruitment process or in determining your suitability to be appointed as a Lay Assessor. 

5. If Things Go Wrong: The Complaints Process

✓The Deloitte Recruitment Team strive to get things right first time, but if you think we have made a mistake please contact us. We will look into matters straight away and correct anything that we find to be wrong. We shall investigate any complaints arising from your application and respond accordingly. N.B. Complaints must be sent by email to layassessors@deloitte.co.uk and received by Deloitte within seven calendar days of any incident arising. Your complaint will initially be reviewed by an experienced Recruitment Administrator and as necessary by the Recruitment Manager. 

✓Please remember you should raise any concerns that you have regarding the recruitment process immediately (and not later than seven calendar days) after the issue happens. Any concerns must be submitted formally by email. Please note any appeals lodged after results have been issued will not be considered. 

✓If you are not happy with the response provided by our Recruitment Manager, an escalation process is in place whereby complaints will be reviewed by our Recruitment Director and ultimately by our Recruitment Partner. 

✓You can help by giving us the information we ask for as quickly as you can. 

✓Our complaints process is managed in line with Deloitte’s Ethics Code, and Deloitte’s Ethics and Independence Partner will be referred to if necessary. 

6. Contacting The Deloitte Recruitment Team 

✓The primary form of communication with candidates is via email. For security purposes, Deloitte staff will not disclose their names within email. Please be assured that communication from Deloitte is traceable and that although Deloitte staff do not provide their names overtly, the identity of the individual members of staff involved is known. Communications are monitored by management for quality assurance purposes. 

✓You must provide a valid, working email address, to which you have ongoing access. Failure to provide an accurate, working email address may lead to your application being rejected. 

✓When you contact us please include as many personal details as possible, this will expedite our reply to you. 

✓Please forward confirmation of any changes in your personal details to us by email immediately. We cannot make any amendments to your personal details until written notification has been received. 

✓If we receive an email we will reply to you fully within 5 working days. If we cannot deal fully with your email within 5 working days of receiving it, we will tell you why, and tell you if there is anything you need to do. 

✓When you deal with us by email or in person you can expect to receive information that is accurate, clear and helpful. Please address all correspondence to the Recruitment Manager. 

✓All candidates are reminded that it is their personal responsibility to check their email folders for communication from us. This includes ‘junk’ folders, as some email providers filter emails from us. Once an email has left our system, it is your responsibility to ensure that you read it, and take appropriate action. Please check your email folders frequently. 

7. Contact Us