HR/880
Lancaster University aims to recruit and develop its staff on the basis of selecting the best candidate available and therefore does not prohibit the appointment of spouses/partners or near relatives of present employees to posts within the University, nor supervisory arrangements including spouses/partners or near relatives. In the interests of equity, the following procedures have been developed.
Members of staff must notify their Head of Department/Line Manager as soon as possible where recruitment or managerial matters involve a spouse/partner or near relative.
For the purposes of these procedures a near relative will include spouse/partner, parent, sibling, child or any other person closely connected by blood or marriage. Where there is doubt as to whether the relationship comes into this category, the member of staff should notify their Head of Department.
Recruitment
The following principles apply in respect of all appointments. All posts should be advertised and appointments made in line with the Code of Practice on Recruitment and Selection.
Near relatives must be excluded from:
- the short-listing process,
- the appointing committee,
- providing references on other candidates or the candidate in question without disclosing their interest,
- other stages of the recruitment process involving contact with applicants.
The Chair of the appointing committee will record details of any disclosed interests.
If the Head of Department is involved then he/she should notify the Faculty Dean. Appropriate alternative selection arrangements should be put into place in consultation with HR.
Managerial and other Employment Matters.
Where near relatives have a supervisory relationship one with the other or jointly in respect of others, the potential exists for managerial problems. All such arrangements must therefore be made known to the Head of Department, or in the case of the Head of Department, the Faculty Dean as soon as possible.
Under circumstances where a conflict of interest might arise, i.e. where near relatives occupy key posts in an approval process, consideration should be given to restructuring roles or adjusting the process.
David Owen
August 2008