Recruitment
Recruiting migrants and people from refugee backgrounds does not mean creating a completely separate recruitment process. The aim is to make your existing process fair, accessible and focused on the skills needed for the role.
In this section
For Yorkshire & Humber employers, local refugee and migrant organisations, employment programmes, colleges, community organisations and employer networks can provide routes to candidates who may not be reached through conventional recruitment channels.
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Where to look for candidates
If you want to broaden your recruitment pool, think beyond the recruitment channels you normally use.
Traditional websites and recruitment agencies may not reach people who are newer to the UK or who are not yet well connected to the local labour market. Across Yorkshire & Humber, organisations working with refugees and migrants can help employers reach potential candidates. Depending on the organisation, they may be able to:
- Refer candidates who are looking for work
- Help candidates prepare for employment
- Provide employability support
- Support English language development
- Provide training
- Help candidates understand UK recruitment processes
- Organise recruitment events
- Provide ongoing support after someone starts work
Find support organisations in your area.
You could also work with:
- Local authorities and employment teams
- Jobcentres
- Colleges and adult education providers
- Universities
- Refugee and migrant organisations
- Community organisations
- Training providers
- Specialist recruitment organisations
- Sector-based employment programmes
- Local employer networks
You don’t need to wait until you have a vacancy. Building relationships with local organisations before you need to recruit can help you develop a stronger candidate pipeline.
Your existing employees may also be able to help you reach new communities. Consider whether staff could introduce your organisation to community groups, professional networks or local organisations.
Any referral scheme should be open and fair and should not disadvantage people who do not have existing connections.
Recruit for the future
Consider offering work experience, mentoring, apprenticeships, work placements or sector insight sessions. These can help people gain UK workplace experience while allowing employers to identify potential future employees.
Don’t limit your search to the largest towns and cities. In rural and semi-rural parts of Yorkshire & Humber, local community organisations can be particularly important in reaching candidates.
Advertising Vacancies
A good job advert should help candidates understand the role, what you are looking for and what they need to do to apply.
Advertising through more than one route can also help employers reach a wider range of applicants with relevant skills and experience to apply, regardless of their backgrounds.
Where a requirement is essential, explain why. For example, if a driving licence is required because the job involves travelling between locations, say so.
ACAS Guide to avoiding discrimination in job adverts
Tell candidates what to expect
Giving candidates this information in advance can make the process less unfamiliar and help people prepare.
- Whether candidates need to complete an application form
- Whether there will be an assessment
- What type of interview will be used
- Whether references will be required
- Whether a DBS check is needed
- When right to work information will be checked
Applications, selection & recruitment
The application process should find candidates who have the skills and potential to do the job. Don’t let unfamiliarity with UK style CVs or employment histories become a barrier. People who have moved to the UK may have gained valuable experience overseas that is described differently from equivalent UK experience.
Ask yourself
Think about
Employment Gaps
An employment gap does not necessarily indicate a lack of motivation or ability. Refugees will probably have gaps in their employment history because of displacement, periods spent seeking asylum, difficulties accessing the labour market or other circumstances.
Ask candidates about gaps where relevant but avoid making assumptions about why they occurred.
Overqualified candidates
A candidate may appear overqualified for the vacancy because their qualifications or previous role were at a higher level. This can happen when people are unable to immediately transfer overseas qualifications or professional experience into the UK labour market.
Over qualified newcomers can be very motivated to prove themselves. Remember that the skills these individuals bring can lead to business innovation, new markets and different perspectives.
It is especially important to provide highly skilled migrant worker with progression routes and good working practices to ensure good retention.
References
Refugees may not be able to provide UK employment references. Think carefully about what assurance you genuinely need and whether alternative evidence could be used, while maintaining your normal safeguarding and recruitment requirements.
Possible alternatives, depending on the role, could include a reference from a community or voluntary organisation or a practical assessment
DBS and other checks
Some roles require criminal record checks.
A candidate’s immigration or refugee background does not prevent them from working in a role requiring a DBS check. However, some candidates may have difficulty providing the usual identity documents.
Check the current DBS requirements and follow the appropriate process rather than assuming that unfamiliar documentation means the check cannot be completed.
Interview
Most people find job interviews stressful, even when conducted in their own language. Try to remove barriers and make the candidate feel at ease so they can perform to the best of their abilities.
Interviews should assess whether the candidate has the skills, experience and potential to do the job, they should not test whether someone is familiar with a particular UK interview style.
Follow this step-by-step process
Prepare your interviewers
- Anyone involved in interviewing should understand:
- The requirements of the role
- The selection criteria
- How to ask consistent questions
- How to avoid discriminatory questions
- How to recognise transferable skills
- How to avoid making assumptions about someone’s background
- Use the same essential criteria for everyone and record why candidates have or have not been shortlisted.
- Where possible, use more than one interviewer. This can help reduce the impact of individual assumptions or unconscious bias.
Make sure you tell candidates essential information
- Tell candidates:
- How long the interview will last
- Who they will meet
- Whether it will be online or in person
- Whether there will be a practical exercise
- Whether they need to prepare anything
- This can be particularly helpful for people unfamiliar with UK recruitment practices. Don’t assume people will know what to expect.
Consider language carefully
English ability should be assessed in relation to what the job actually requires. Someone may be able to perform the role effectively while still developing confidence in workplace English.
Remember, even fluent English speakers may need more time during the interview to interpret both the question and their answers. Make sure people know they have time to think.
If they appear uncertain, make sure candidates have understood the question. They may need it reframed in a different way.
Avoid unnecessarily complicated questions. Ask yourself: Does this question test the person’s ability to do the job?
Where communication is important to the role, assess it through realistic job-related questions or tasks. Give candidates opportunities to demonstrate their skills using practical tasks or job-related scenarios. These can provide a fuller picture of someone’s abilities than a formal interview situation.
Reasonable Adjustments
Ask candidates whether they need reasonable adjustments for the interview.
Adjustments might include:
- Additional time for written assessments
- Clear written instructions
- Appropriate communication support
- Employers have legal responsibilities relating to reasonable adjustments for disabled applicants.
- It is becoming more common for all candidates to receive the interview questions in advance, giving them more time to prepare and relieving anxiety.
- This can be a positive move for all interviewees, but for people who speak English as a second language, it is especially beneficial.
- Don’t ask unnecessary questions about immigration unless there is a legitimate and relevant reason for asking. You need to establish whether someone has the right to work, but this should not become an informal test of their immigration history.
Give Feedback
This is good practice for all unsuccessful candidates to help them understand how they could strengthen future applications. For those not familiar with UK interviews, it is especially useful.
Right to work checks
Remember
You do not need to ask candidates to prove their immigration status at the application stage but right to work check must be completed before employment begins.
Right to work checks should be a normal part of recruitment and should be applied consistently for every successful applicant regardless of nationality.
You can explain during recruitment that the successful candidate will need to complete the appropriate check before starting work but there is no need to carry out checks prior to a candidate accepting the job.
The same recruitment process should apply to candidates regardless of background. Do not decide who needs a check based on:
- Name
- Accent
- Appearance
- Ethnicity
- Nationality
Some immigration permissions have restrictions on the type or amount of work someone can undertake. A right to work check is not simply a check that someone has a visa – you need to establish that the person has permission to do the work you are offering.
Remember
Employing people who do not have the right to work in the UK can result in unlimited fine and up to 5 years imprisonment.
Even failure to carry out checks correctly can result in fines of up to £60,000 so it is very important to follow government guidance.
Depending on the candidate’s circumstances, employers can use:
The Home Office online right to work service using a share code
Most (but not all) migrant workers have an online e-visa, which verifies what type of work the person is permitted to undertake and, where relevant, how long their permission lasts. The employer accesses an online system using the share code and the candidate’s date of birth to access the person’s current right to work information.
This is the most effective way of checking a person’s right to work and ensuring that you are not breaking the law.
Manual checks and approved Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT) service
In some cases, it is not possible to conduct an online check. In these cases, manual checks can be made using original acceptable documents. The documents must be checked for authenticity and copies taken, which must be kept for two years and then destroyed.
Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs) are not acceptable proof of right to work and employers who rely on these without conducting online checks can face civil penalties.
For British and Irish passport holders, who do not need an online digital ID, there is a list of certified providers who can carry out the checks on your behalf
The Home Office Employer Checking Service
There may be legitimate reasons why a person cannot provide a particular document or share code so don’t automatically reject them. If a potential employee is unable to show their online immigration status or their documents, you may be able to use the Employer Checking Service
Employers need to keep evidence that the appropriate check was completed.
Make sure your organisation has a consistent system for:
- Recording the date of the check
- Keeping the required evidence
- Recording any follow-ups
Need more help? Have a look at the Right to Work Guide
Remember
Right to work checks are an area where small mistakes can have significant consequences. Immigration and right to work requirements change. Always use the latest Home Office guidance rather than relying on information saved from a previous recruitment exercise. Seek professional immigration advice where necessary.
Sponsorship
Do not assume that a person needs sponsorship simply because they are not a British citizen.
Some people already have permission to work in the UK through their immigration status. Others may need an employer to sponsor them under a particular immigration route. Your business needs a sponsor licence before you can sponsor a worker. Do not promise a candidate that sponsorship will be possible until you have established that the organisation, role and candidate meet the relevant requirements.
Employers applying for a sponsor licence must appoint appropriate personnel to manage sponsorship, including an authorising officer and other key roles. So if you are considering sponsorship for the first time, make sure you involve the appropriate people in your organisation, including HR, finance and senior management.
Before sponsoring someone, employers need to check:
- Whether the job is eligible for sponsorship
- Whether the salary and other requirements are met
- If the organisation is eligible for a sponsor licence
- Whether the worker meets the relevant immigration requirements
- What costs and responsibilities apply
- Who within the organisation will manage sponsorship
Becoming a sponsor
A sponsor licence brings additional responsibilities. Employers must have appropriate systems for managing sponsored workers and must:
- Monitor immigration status
- Keep relevant records
- Monitor attendance
- Keep contact details up to date
- Report specified changes or problems to UKVI
- Check that sponsored workers have the necessary skills, qualifications or professional accreditation
For more detailed information about sponsorship read the guide in resources. Failure to meet sponsor duties can lead to a licence being suspended or revoked. Always check the latest GOV.UK sponsorship guidance.
