Before completing the application form, have a close look at the job description and carefully consider why you are suitable for the post. Relate your skills, knowledge and experience to the duties of the post and explain as fully as possible.

When shortlisting for interview, the selection panel will only consider the information contained in your application form. Please ensure you give sufficient detail within your response to allow the panel to assess your suitability for the post. It is not the responsibility of the selection panel to make assumptions about the nature of the work you have done from a list of job titles.

You must fill in all sections of the form, making sure the information you provide is clear and easy to read. Information supplied must be true and accurate, failure to disclosure information fully and honestly may result in an application being disqualified (or dismissed if already employed).

Part completed applications may be disqualified and late applications will not be considered. By submitting an application form to us, you consent to us handling and using the personal information provided for recruitment and selection purposes.

A curriculum vitae or any other additional information attached will not be considered as part of your application and will be removed prior to the short-listing process. Canvassing directly or indirectly will disqualify your application.

Do you consider yourself to have a disability? Under the Equality Act 2010 a disability is described as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. We encourage applications from disabled people and will offer an interview to those who meet the minimum criteria as identified in the job description & person specification.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) allows most convictions (and cautions) to be considered spent after a specified period of time. Once a caution or conviction is spent the person is considered rehabilitated and the ROA treats the person as if they had never committed an offence. In addition to this, the fact that a person has an unspent conviction will not be grounds for the Association automatically refusing to recruitment that person. This means that if you have spent convictions (and cautions) you have the right not to disclose them as part of the recruitment process (apart from those given prison sentences of more than 4 years).

Some jobs are considered exempt from this under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exclusions and Exceptions) (Scotland) Order 2013. This means you must declare spent convictions when completing the application form. This exemption relates specifically to our Registered Services who work with vulnerable people and will require membership to the Protection Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme.

We are required to ensure that every employee has the right to work in the UK and we will carry out checks on all potential employees. We will ask all new employees to evidence their right to work in the UK, this may include a copy of your passport, national identify card, EU Settlement Scheme status, or visa arrangements. Visit the government website to understand your right to work in the UK (for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens (Understanding your right to work in the UK: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens) and how to prove your right to work to an employer.

In order to protect our reputation and demonstrate that we conduct our affairs with openness, honesty and integrity, we require all candidates to complete a declaration of interest. We must ensure any conflicts of interest are managed in line with our policy from the beginning of the recruitment process. All candidates will be asked about any relationship they may have with a current employee or a current/previous Management Committee member.

The information provided within your application form will be processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. The Data Protection Act 2018 is the UK’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The information provided will be used by the Association to assess your suitability for employment, which may involve contacting referees, previous employers, or educational establishments, to confirm the information provided. Your information will not be provided to any other organisations. Your application will be stored confidentially while being processed, and electronic and paper records will be destroyed within 6 months if unsuccessful. For successful candidates, the application will form the basis of an employee file. The personal information provided within your application form will be handled and used by us in accordance with our Privacy Statement. Please read that statement carefully before completing your application form.

We recognise the benefits of having a diverse community of employees and are committed to being an inclusive organisation where everyone is treated with respect, dignity and where there is equal opportunity for all. We ask all applicants to complete an equal opportunities monitoring form. This information will be held confidentially and will only be used for the purposes of equal opportunities monitoring. All data will be treated as strictly confidential. The data you provide is subject to the provisions of the Data Protection legislation. By completing the form you are giving your explicit permission for us to process the data for equal opportunities monitoring purposes.

By submitting your application, you accept the responsibilities outlined in this Recruitment Guidance Note, accept the content of the Privacy Statement and confirm that the information supplied is true and accurate (if it is subsequently discovered that any statement is false or misleading, or that relevant information has been withheld, your application may be disqualified or if appointment has already been made, you may be dismissed without notice).

If you are shortlisted for interview, you will be asked to:

a) Provide evidence of qualifications detailed within the application form (this should be the original documentation not copies).

b) Complete a Criminal Conviction Declaration Form.

c) Provide relevant paperwork to satisfy our legal requirement to check all employee’s right to work in the UK.