Two Ticks Disability Symbol Staff Recruitment Guidance

Staff Recruitment Guidance

The University is required by the Disability Discrimination Act not to treat disabled people less favourably in recruitment and employment. The University takes this requirement very seriously and has been awarded the Two Ticks disability symbol. This demonstrates that the University is a good employer for disabled people. By using this symbol, the University is obliged to adhere to the five commitments set out.
The Two Ticks Disability Symbol has particular implications for staff recruitment. This document is a step by step guide for members of staff involved in recruiting new employees to the University, to enable them to adhere to the Two Ticks criteria. Further information on good practice in recruitment can be found at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/admin/personnel/olguide.html
The Two Tick Disability Symbol will be placed on all adverts and means that any disabled candidate that meets the essential requirements for the post in which they have applied for is guaranteed an interview. This does not mean that they have to be offered the job. They are guaranteed an interview, but have to be the best candidate for the job to actually get it. If they are not, there is no requirement to appoint them, provided that the reason why they are not appointable is not due to the fact that they are disabled.

As with any recruitment exercise, care must be taken when drawing up the job description, person specification and advert. These documents must accurately reflect the job and the requirements of the person doing the job.
It is vital that these documents do not discriminate against certain groups of the community and this includes disabled people. In order to avoid discriminating, ensure that the requirements entered on the person specification can be fully justified. An example of possible discrimination might be to require candidates to have keyboard skills. With new technology, an individual who is unable to use a keyboard may be able to perform the duties of the job competently. If you are unsure about whether a requirement might be discriminatory, contact your Personnel Officer.
A standard job description and person specification template must be used when recruiting.
The person specification requires Departments to indicate at what stage each of the criteria will be assessed. For example, some criteria can be assessed simply from the application form and some can only be assessed from an interview or a selection test for example.

The Two Ticks logo will appear on all advertisements so that potential applicants are aware that the University guarantees disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria an interview.
Candidates will be required to complete an application form. The application form has been recently re-designed to incorporate among other things the requirements of this scheme.
Candidates are asked on the form to declare whether they have a disability. The application form details the legal definition of disability and makes candidates aware that if they declare themselves as disabled but are consequently found not to be, may result in any offer of employment being withdrawn.

Disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview under the Two Ticks disability scheme. This means that if a disabled candidate demonstrates on their application form that they meet the criteria on the person specification which are to be measured from the application form, they must be invited for interview.
If the field of shortlisted candidates is too large to interview, and a Department wishes to use the desirable criteria to reduce the number of interviews to be held, disabled candidates must not be considered in this process. As they have met the essential criteria, they cannot be rejected for not meeting the desirable criteria.

Care must be taken when considering disabled applicants to ensure that any additional needs that they may require are accommodated. Candidates may have indicated whether they require additional support on their application form. A draft invite for interview letter can be found in the online guide which includes a paragraph asking candidates to contact the University if any additional need is required. It is good practice to check with the candidate prior to interview, incase they omitted this information on their application form.
DANS can provide equipment for disabled candidates and your relevant HR Adviser will be able to give advice on how best to ensure that individuals’ needs are met.
The Two Ticks disability symbol does apply to overseas candidates, provided that under immigration rules, they would be eligible to work in the work and if not, provided that the post is of a suitable level that a work permit can be applied for. However, Departments are able to conduct telephone interviews with candidates to avoid excessive travel costs.
Interview expenses for Ordinance VI positions will be met by Human Resources. Although it is good practice, Departments are not required to provide interview expenses for recruitment taking place within the Department. Departments may wish to direct disabled candidates to their local job centre, if they cannot afford to pay for interview expenses as the job centre may be able to provide financial assistance to the individual.

Every candidate must be considered on the merits of their application and a disabled candidate’s disability must not be a deciding factor in whether to employ them or not.
If a decision is made not to employ a disabled candidate, as with any other candidate, there must be clear reasons for doing so. Any decisions should be related to the job description and person specification and not because the disability would cause too many problems.
Similarly, a disabled person should not be given the job simply because they are disabled. They must have demonstrated that they are the best candidate for the job
If a decision is made to employ a disabled candidate, the Department should then consider what reasonable adjustments, if any, need to be made to ensure that the individual can carry out their work adequately. The relevant HR Adviser will be able to assist in this process, and Occupational Health will also be able to provide specialist advice.
If it is identified that equipment or any other type of additional assistance is necessary, the Government scheme, Access to Work may be able to provide financial assistance.
If, after careful consideration, the adjustments that need to be made are not reasonable, e.g. because of cost or severe disruption to the organisation, an offer of employment may be withdrawn. This would be a last resort and no action should be taken without consulting the relevant HR Adviser.

By implementing the Two Ticks scheme, the University is contributing to reducing disability discrimination. Organisations who use the Two Ticks symbol are recognised by disabled people as potential good employers. The University is therefore opening up a new market of candidates who previously may not have considered working for the University.
Failure to follow the requirements laid out by the Two Ticks symbol could result in University or the individual Department losing its Two Ticks status. Furthermore, it could lead to Employment Tribunal claims on the grounds of disability discrimination.
Further advice is available from the relevant HR Adviser or the Equality and Diversity Adviser

Author: Anne Lamb, Human Resources, March 2009