Policy Number: 056 Staff Recruitment and Selection · 2016. 3. 8. · Mental Health Commission of New South Wales Policy Number: 056 – Staff Recruitment and Selection Policy Details

Policy Number: 056 Staff Recruitment and Selection

August 2015

Trim Ref: TD15/1150

Mental Health Commission of New South Wales Policy Number: 056 – Staff Recruitment and Selection

Policy Details

1. Owner Manager, Business Operations

2. Compliance is required by Staff and contractors

3. Approved by The Commissioner

4. Date created August 2015

5. Date of this review N/A

6. Next review due August 2016

7. Driver Government Sector Employment Act 2013

8. References

• Government Sector Employment Act 2013 • Public Service Commission Recruitment and Selection Guide

(December 2014) • Government Sector Employment Rules 2014

9. Maintained by Business Services Coordinator who monitors changes to legislation, policies and procedures and recommends any amendment to the Staff Recruitment and Selection Policy

10. Search terms Staff recruitment, selection, panel, references, referees, position description, hiring manager

11. Compliance assurance method By incident monitoring

12. Policy Document location Trim Ref: TD15/1150

Policy

The Mental Health Commission of NSW is an independent statutory body and therefore sets its own policies in compliance with relevant legislation and requirements of the NSW Government for public sector agencies. An exception to this general rule is in the area of employment. Under the Mental Health Commission Act 2012, the Commission cannot employ staff, and utilises the delegation provided by the Secretary of the Ministry of Health to the Commissioner for its human resources functions including the recruitment of staff and management of industrial issues. The Commission’s staff is formally employed through the Mental Health Commission Staff Agency of the Government Service in the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. As a result of this delegation, the Commission adopts the employment policies of the NSW Ministry of Health. In the case of staff recruitment and selection, the Ministry has not at this time developed its own policy guidance on staff recruitment and selection under the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. The Ministry follows the general guidance provided by the Public Service Commission (PSC), and the Commission accordingly does likewise. The Government Sector Employment Act 2013 and the PSC Government Sector Employment Rules 2014 provide an ethical framework for a merit-based, apolitical and professional government sector and for the recruitment and promotion of employees on merit. To help to ensure Commission recruitment and selection processes are fair, rigorous and consistent, the Commission adopts the PSC principles-based approach to recruitment, including: workforce planning and market analysis to inform recruitment strategy; simplified application processes; capability-based assessment methods; and the development and use of internal and external talent pools. These principles have been incorporated into the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide (2014, attached at Appendix A), which have been adopted by the Commission.

Trim Ref: TD15/1150 2


The Commission also applies the guidance contained in the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide to the recruitment and selection of contractors, where appropriate. The Commission aims to adopt an understanding approach to personal recovery needs of potential staff and contractors when they are experiencing periods of mental health distress through recruitment and selection practices that aim to encourage candidates with a lived experience to apply for professional opportunities at the Commission and support them as appropriate to participate in the recruitment and selection process. In recognition of the valuable and unique experiences of mental illness, distress and recovery and understanding of services and their responsiveness to consumer, carer and family member need, the Commission will ensure that: • advertising for all Commission positions includes the following statement:

“All roles with the NSW Mental Health Commission offer an opportunity to contribute to mental health reform in NSW and people with lived experience of mental illness are encouraged to apply.”

• the job application process includes the option for all candidates short listed for interview to request a reasonable adjustment to allow them an equal employment opportunity e.g. scheduling time of interview to suit the effects of medication

• for ongoing appointments at the Commission, the Assessment Panel includes a mental health consumer.

Probation periods

Consistent with the Government Sector Employment Rules 2014 Reg 5, the period of probation at the Commission for ongoing senior executive employees is three months and for ongoing non-executive employees is six months. The period of probation for ongoing non-executive employees may be extended before the period expires up to a total period of 12 months. The Business Services Coordinator will alert the Hiring Manager or the employee’s manager in advance of the expiration of the probation period. The Hiring Manager is to discuss any concerns relating to performance of the employee with the Executive Director and then advise the Business Services Coordinator of a decision regarding the confirmation or termination of the employee’s employment.

Procedure The Commission’s staff and contractors will: • Comply with the principles-based approach to recruitment and selection outlined in the PSC

Recruitment and Selection Guide.

Business Services Coordinator will: • Coordinate the recruitment and selection activities on behalf of the Hiring Manager

• Provide advice, support and guidance to Commission staff and contractors involved in recruitment and selection activities including alerts for probation periods

• Provide advice to Commission staff and contractors on probation periods

• Assist the Hiring Manager with developing appropriate assessment tasks.

Business Support Officer will: • Assist Hiring Manager with the logistics of interviews and assessments



• Subject to workload, provide administrative assistance to Hiring Managers.

Manager, Business Operations will: • Promote and support the requirements of the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide in Commission

recruitment and selection activity

• Ensure provision of instruction, information and training as necessary to support effective implementation of the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide at the Commission

• Ensure recruitment and selection processes for all Commission positions meet the requirements of this policy.

Executive Director will: • Monitor compliance with requirements outlined in the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide.

Commissioner will: • Ensure that the principles-based approach to recruitment and selection is communicated to all staff

involved in recruitment and selection activity

• Approve any variations to the period of probation for ongoing non-executive employees based on a recommendation from the employee’s manager

• Lead by example by only approving staff appointments which comply with the requirements outlined in the PSC Recruitment and Selection Guide.

Further Guidance and Resources

Templates and guidelines for recruitment and selection processes, such as role description templates, can be found at Trim Reference: TF14/194.



Appendix A: Public Service Commission

Recruitment and Selection Guide



















































End document



Documents

Policy Number: 056 Staff Recruitment and Selection · 2016. 3. 8. · Mental Health Commission of New South Wales Policy Number: 056 – Staff Recruitment and Selection Policy Details