These guidance notes are to help you to complete your application for a position at Warwick District Council. Please read these notes before completing your application.

General guidance

• It is important that you fully complete all sections of the application
• Only information contained in the application itself will be used for shortlisting
• Please follow the guidance given in the job information regarding use of CVs
• If, for any reason, someone else has completed the application on your behalf, this should be clearly stated in your application
• If you are applying for more than one post, please submit a separate application for each post
• Please enter the name of the post you are applying for and the service area or department where the post is located. This information can be found on the job description.

Section one - personal details

This information is required to ensure that accurate records are maintained. Please ensure that your personal details are correct and that you have included your current address and telephone number(s) or e-mail address.

Your e-mail address will only be used for correspondence relating to your application form. It will not be used for marketing purposes or shared with, or sold to, any other organisation.

The application does not ask for your age, gender or ethnic group as these details would be irrelevant to the recruitment process. However, we do ask for your name and title and recognise that your gender can be identified from this information. This is solely to ensure that when we contact you about your application, we use your correct and preferred mode of address.

The job you are applying for will indicate that you can either upload a CV and covering letter, or complete the Sections 2-4 as outlined below. If completing these sections, please follow these guidelines.

Section two - employment history

Please complete this section in full, detailing your current employment first. If you are not currently employed, please provide details of your most recent employment. If you have recently completed full-time education, please note this here.

All previous employment positions should then be provided, with your most recent post held detailed first.

Section three - qualifications and training

When completing the 'Qualifications' and 'Other Training and Useful Experience' sections, please refer to the job advertisement and job description and provide details of qualifications, apprenticeships, training and/or courses that are relevant to the post. Please note that you will be required to produce evidence of your qualifications if you are offered employment. However, please do not attach copies of qualifications to your application at this stage.

When completing the 'Membership of Professional Bodies' section, please refer to the job advertisement and job description. If the advertisement or job description stipulate a requirement for you to be a current member of a professional body (for example: accountant, environmental health, building surveyor), please indicate your current membership status.

Section four - relevant skills, experience and abilities

Please review the job description and person specification carefully and provide specific information and examples of your work and/or other activities which demonstrate your ability and aptitude to undertake the duties of this post. This is your opportunity to “sell” yourself to the short listing panel who will be looking for evidence that you have the skills, qualifications and experience that the post requires. Include relevant information relating to any previous posts you have held, whether paid or voluntary, and any leisure, home or life experiences which you feel demonstrate your abilities and illustrate your suitability for the job.

Remember, whereas the general information you provide on the rest of the Application Form may be similar to other applications you have made in the past, this section of the form needs to be written specifically with this particular vacancy in mind and should relate to the Job Description and Person Specification.

Section five - other information

Entitlement to work in the UK

If you are successful in obtaining employment with Warwick District Council, you will be required to provide evidence of your entitlement to work in the United Kingdom.

Disability

We are committed to a positive approach with regard to the recruitment of individuals who have a disability. Further information, including a definition of disability, can be found at recruitment guidance for people with disability.

If you consider yourself to have a disability, please reply 'yes' to the relevant question in the application form and state any special requirements you may have if called for interview.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 Warwick District Council can only ask applicants to provide details of “unspent” convictions. Please declare any unspent offences, sentences or cautions, reprimands and final warnings, with dates. You are also advised to disclose any charges which are or may be pending.

A criminal record will only be taken into account when the conviction is relevant. An “unspent” conviction will not necessarily bar you from employment, as this will depend on the circumstances and background of your offence(s).

Please refer to recruitment guidance for ex-offenders for further information on DBS checks.

Driving

There is only a requirement to provide information about your ability to drive if you are applying for a post which states that driving is a requirement of the role.

Relationship to Councillors or Council employees

We are required to ask you if you are related to, or have an association with a Member of the Council (Councillors/Elected Members) or anyone working for the Council.

The relationships or associations you need to declare include spouse, partner, close family members (mother, father, sister, brother, for example) and other people with whom you have a close personal relationship.

In cases where a relationship is declared, the appointment must be approved by the relevant Head of Service.

Advertisement

Please provide information about where you saw the post advertised, to help us in monitoring our recruitment campaigns.

References

Every applicant must provide two referees who can be contacted to provide a written reference. One of these must be your present or most recent employer (or for students, a tutor, professor or head-teacher) and the other should, if possible, be another business or study related contact. Each referee must be from a separate employer. If you are unable to supply two work-related referees, you should nominate someone who has known you for a minimum of two years and who can testify to how you meet the criteria listed in the person specification.

We will only take up references once a conditional offer of appointment has been made. However, all appointments are subject to satisfactory references and no offer will be confirmed until two satisfactory references have been received.

Equal opportunities monitoring form

As an employer, we want to be confident that we understand how our workforce is made up. It is voluntary to disclose this information, but doing so will help us to:

• Ensure that we can identify, tackle and prevent issues that would otherwise prevent engagement with different groups of people
• Ensure our processes are suitable for and reach as wide an audience as possible
• Be able to work together to take advantage of the benefits that a diverse workforce offers and tackle any barriers to equality and inclusion
• Meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010

All information submitted is protected under the Data Protection Act 2018 and will be separated from your application prior to the selection process and not collated with any information or in a way that makes you identifiable.

It will only be seen by the HR administrator dealing with the recruitment. The shortlisting and interview panel will not see it, and none of the information will be used in the selection process.

Further notes on applications

All applications for employment are treated in the strictest confidence.

In order for your application to be considered, please submit it by the closing date specified in the advertisement and on the website.

We will contact you as soon as possible after shortlisting has taken place to let you know whether you have been selected for interview. If you are successful, you will be invited to select a date and time for an interview – this may be online (in which case you will subsequently be sent an invitation to an MS Teams meeting) or in person.

Canvassing for any appointment will disqualify the candidate. This means that candidates must not approach anyone who works within the Council (whether Councillor or employee) to promote themselves for the post or with the intention of influencing the outcome of the recruitment process in their favour.

Further help

If you have any further questions regarding your application form or require any help, please contact the HR Support team.