Churches, circuits and districts can all be employing
bodies in their own right. The representatives of each employing body are
responsible for their actions and for any financial repercussions that arise
out of employment relationships.
The employment framework is complex. New legislation
and Employment Tribunal decisions are continually re-shaping employment
practices.
Within the Connexion, it is understood that
representatives of churches, circuits and districts need a source of advice and
guidance to ensure we promote good employment practice and reduce the risk of
error. In the Northampton District this advice and guidance is available from
our Lay Employment Secretary - Graham Wood
The role of the Lay Employment Secretary is to:
·
provide
advice to circuit and church representatives
·
oversee
employment arrangements within the district
·
check
contractual documents prior to issue
·
receive
information from the Personnel Office as issues arise
·
maintain
a record of all lay persons employed within the District at any time
At any time the District Lay Employment Secretary is
required by Standing Orders to be aware of the employment arrangements for all
employees within the district.
When you begin to think about employing a lay person
in your church or your circuit please make contact with the Lay Employment
Secretary as early in the process
as possible. It could be that you are thinking of employing a full-time Lay
Worker and are providing them with accommodation or a cleaner for one hour a
week or anything in between - whatever the role you are considering, please
make contact.
On making contact you will be offered advice that
relates to the specific role you are considering and directed to the relevant
resources that the
As you make your plans you also need to consider who
will be the employer. It could be the church or the circuit but it is essential
that the employing body has adopted relevant employment policies. The
·
Disciplinary
Procedures [sample
policy]
·
Equal
Opportunities [sample
policy]
·
Health
& Safety [sample
policy]
·
Grievance
Procedures [sample
policy]
In order to be clear about the specific role you want
someone to undertake and the sort of person you want, it is essential to
prepare a job description and person specification. Detailed advice can be
found in Sections 3 to 5 of the Lay
Employment Advisory Information Pack
In
general you will need the following:
Job Description:
It is good practice to prepare your job description
prior to recruitment and provide a copy to prospective employees. This will assist
your thinking about the post and satisfy legal requirements. It is a legal
requirement (Employment Rights Act), to provide the title of the job and a
brief description of the work (before or) within two months of the start of
employment.
The amount of detail that is provided to prospective
candidates will depend to some extent on the type of appointment being
proposed. A detailed description of the
job including background information may be appropriate if the appointment
requires someone who
· will have undertaken some years of training,
·
will be expected to have gained some
years of working experience,
· might be appointed from outside the area.
eg. for Lay Workers, Youth Workers and Community Workers.
A less
detailed job description may be appropriate if there is not the same
requirement for prior training and experience, or the post is likely to be
filled from the local labour market.
The following
information should appear in all job descriptions:
· title of job
· normal place of work
· purpose of job (the reason why the job exists)
· accountability to (that is, to whom the post holder is responsible)
· accountability for (any staff who will report directly to the post holder)
· physical working conditions (for example, office or other accommodation, the need to travel between different locations)
·
some
information on the terms and conditions (salary or wage, expenses and
allowances, if applicable, hours of work, holiday entitlement, pension scheme,
sick pay).
Sample Job
Descriptions:
You are advised to take care over the content of the
person specification as claims of discrimination often relate to the wording of
this document. You should consider the attributes that an applicant will need
to have at the point of appointment in order to carry out the job description.
Sample Person
Specifications:
You should
fill in the boxes giving careful consideration to whether requirements are
‘essential’ or ‘desirable’. For example,
if the post is one for a qualified Youth Worker then ‘Youth Worker
qualification’ would appear under ‘Education and Training’ in the ‘Essential’
column. If the post is for a caretaker
and previous experience as a caretaker is desirable an entry would be made
under ‘Relevant Experience’ in the ‘Desirable’ column.
Posts should
be advertised in some way to meet the commitments made in your Equal
Opportunities Policy. Adverts may be placed in many choices of
media, for example, the Job Centre, the local, regional or national press, and
specialist journals or newspapers or local notice boards. The choice of medium should be appropriate
for the type of post. The cost of
advertising should be considered and provision made.
The purpose of adverts are:
·
attract candidates
·
provide
sufficient information to allow interested parties to self select at this
stage.
Adverts should
include:
·
information about the post that covers
the essential criteria in the person specification
·
the closing date for applications
·
it may be helpful to candidates to see
the interview date if one has been planned
Note: A
requirement for a Christian must be a Genuine Occupational Qualification. Advertisements with this requirement should
include a reference to the mission or belief of the church or the work being
advertised.
Application
Form:
Sample Application
Form
Letter
of Appointment
As soon as the candidate has been successfully selected,
Letter of Appointment is usually sent out. This sets out details of the
appointment, and is essential in cases where the offer of appointment is
conditional upon for example, a medical report, suitable references,
safeguarding clearance or, a probationary period.
The Letter of
Appointment can be detailed and be preliminary to the employment contract
(called a “written statement”) or a shorter version incorporating within it the
contract of employment itself.
Sample Letters of Appointment:
·
with
written statement to follow
·
incorporating
written statement
Employment
Contracts (or “Written Statements”)
Employers
are required by law to give, within two months, a written statement to all
employees who have been in their employment for at least one month. It is good practice to provide the written
statement before or on the first day of employment, where not incorporated into
the Letter of Appointment. It helps to
avoid misunderstanding and disputes about the employment arrangements.
Sample Contracts:
Example 1: Minimum
details
This example is a format that, with the exception of
the reference to retirement and absence from work, includes the minimum
particulars that must, by law, be provided in writing. You are advised to
include the statement about normal retirement age and information about the
procedure to follow when unable to attend work.
Statutory provisions such as
·
maternity,
paternity and adoption pay and leave
·
the
right to reasonable time off for family needs
·
the
right to time off for certain public duties
·
the
right of parents to request flexible working
are not covered but are implicit because an employer
cannot contract to provide less than the statutory minimum.
Example 2: Full
details
This example provides further information on the same
and additional particulars.
Notes:
·
it is
acceptable to use paragraphs from both examples and create a document that is
tailored to the needs of the appointment
·
arrangements for part time staff should always be pro rata to the full
time equivalent
·
fixed term contracts can only be offered in exceptional circumstances
(contact Lay Employment
Secretary for advice)
·
do not forget to give copies of the Disciplinary procedures, Equal
Opportunities policy, Health & Safety policy and Grievance procedure to the
candidate, as they are part of the terms of employment
Please
ensure that a copy of the Letter of Appointment and Contract is sent to the District Lay
Employment Secretary as soon as it has been signed.
You
must also send a sample contract for comment before it is issued together with
such of the documents as are appropriate to your case and listed in the Appointment
Checklist
If you make any changes to the conditions of
employment of any lay employee you may well need to make changes to their
contract. Any changes will need to be agreed by both parties.
Please
ensure that a copy of Contract changes is sent to the District Lay
Employment Secretary as soon as agreed.
Should it be necessary to initiate the grievance or
disciplinary procedures, it is crucial that the terms of the procedures are
strictly followed. Any queries can be raised with the Lay Employment
Secretary. In particular, he should be notified, in advance,
of an intention to dismiss an employee.
In all other cases, when an employee resigns or the employment comes to an end by mutual agreement, please inform the Lay Employment Secretary.
The work of the Lay Employment Secretary is supported
by the Lay Employment Committee:
September 2007