Jane Hallas, a solicitor at WorkNest, runs through some of the most crucial criteria when hiring staff for your pharmacy

Commenting on Patricia Hewitt’s review of Integrated Care Systems in April this year, Community Pharmacy England warned that “the recruitment of pharmacists in Primary Care Networks (PCNs) has exacerbated a general shortage of pharmacists”. Alongside pharmacy, many sectors are facing challenges in recruiting staff. As such, employers must understand the key components of a legally compliant recruitment process to ensure that when new talent is interested in a vacancy, the process is smooth and there are no legal hiccups along the way.

Initial considerations

The first consideration relates to an obvious question – does the position really need to be filled, or can the pharmacy’s need be met through other means? Employers should be mindful here of any employees who may be ‘at risk’ of redundancy and who may need to be redeployed, and/or any other situations, such as maternity returners who might be seeking a job share or flexible working.

Then it’s a matter of deciding on the type of contract that will be offered (full-time, part-time or zero hours contract, permanent or fixed term) and whether professional or other qualifications are necessary.

Prepare the paperwork

This stage involves drafting a job description and a person specification or similar documentation setting out the role requirements.

The job description covers the main purpose and objectives of the job; the reporting structure; the main tasks and responsibilities of the job holder, and any associated tasks.

As for the person specification, this should detail the attributes the employer is looking for in a candidate, including their experience, know-how, skills, abilities and any qualifications.

Identifying which requirements are essential for the role and which are merely ‘desirable’ is important.

Ideally, ‘desirables’ should be kept to a minimum. All other requirements regarding the job in question must be objectively justifiable to avoid discrimination. 

Advertise the role 

With specifications prepared, the next step is to determine whether there is a need to advertise the role internally only, or whether it should be advertised externally.

If it’s the latter, consideration should be given to the appropriate medium to give the widest possible exposure so that your business can reach a wide range of candidates, and making the advertisement stand out. Also, there should be nothing discriminatory in it.

A check should be made to ensure that the business is complying with data protection laws regarding recruitment and issuing privacy notices.

Shortlist candidates and seek references 

The fourth step is the whittling down of applicants to a shortlist. Management will need to determine who will undertake the shortlisting; best practice recommends that at least two people carry this out. 

When more than one person prepares the shortlist, they should do so separately and only against the job description and person specification. A matrix scoring system is most likely the best way to be consistent. This helps guard against claims of discrimination. 

At the same time, consideration should be given to inconsistencies whilst looking for gaps in employment and reasons for them – potential concerns should be explored. Keeping a record of the shortlisting methodology and scores makes sense – in case an applicant feels they have been discriminated against.

When it comes to the interviews, successful candidates need to be told of the process that will be followed, including any assessments that will be undertaken. In addition, candidates should be asked if they require reasonable adjustments to participate in the process. The shortlisting panel should agree on the list of questions to ask the candidates.

It’s important to remember the effect of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Only certain convictions need to be declared. 

The interview and selection process

Next, those running the recruitment process will need to give thought to the interviews. For example, who will conduct them and will there be competency-based tests or a practical test dependent on the role? If reasonable adjustments need to be made for a candidate with a disability, these must be implemented.

All candidates should be marked against the selection criteria. They should be asked the same questions for consistency, and notes of the answers should be kept along with scores; supplementary questions depending on the answers given are fine to pose.

To avoid discrimination, interviewers should avoid questions relating to the candidate’s personal life.

The successful candidate and necessary checks

Once the interviews are complete, the successful candidate can be notified that they have been selected and are being made a conditional offer subject to satisfactory references, including an identity check, their right to work in the UK, and proof of relevant qualifications if required.

Finally, candidates who were unsuccessful should be told. It is reasonable to offer to provide feedback to candidates if requested, but this feedback must be objective and based on the assessment only.

Prepare contractual documentation

The last step is for new employees to be provided with, ideally, a written contract, but at the very minimum, a ‘written statement of employment particulars’.

This will summarise the main terms of employment, such as pay and hours. In this regard, any specific requirements that the employee has requested and agreed to – such as working hours, start date, location or anything else – must be reflected in the contract.