Jobs at Cumberland Council - guidance for completion of application form

Guidance for completing the Cumberland Council job application form.

Personal information and equalities statement

Cumberland Council is an equal opportunities employer and actively welcomes job applications from all sections of the community. No job applicant will be treated less favourably because of his or her gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, age, marital status, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation or by any other condition or requirement that cannot be shown to be justified.

Personnel data will be used for personnel/employee administration purposes within the authority in accordance with Data Protection Legislation. The information you disclose on this part of your application form will be used for monitoring purposes only. Through monitoring Cumberland Council is aware of the make-up of employees and can then focus support and guidance where best needed.

Guidance on how to complete the application form

The application form consists of eight Sections or pages. You will not be able to submit your application until you have completed all the mandatory fields. You can track your progress in by referring to the icons on the Summary page which indicate when a page is complete. To prevent corrupting your application, please do not use your browser 'Back' button during the application process.

Some sections of the form have a limit on the number of characters you can enter. These are clearly indicated in the 'Help' text for the relevant section.

We strongly advise that you 'Save' your application regularly by clicking the 'Summary' button. This is particularly important in the 'My Supporting Information' section as the form will time out after 30 minutes and you may lose the information you have entered if you fail to 'Save'.

Once all sections of the form are complete the 'Apply' button will be activated. You must press 'Apply' when you wish to submit your form AND you will be asked to 'Confirm' or 'Cancel' your submission. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is successfully submitted.

If you do not receive the email or have any other technical problems while completing the form please check your own computer or internet connection before contacting us on 01228 223333.

 

Steps to completing the job application form

Section one - your personal details

Please complete all sections.

Please provide your email and telephone number as we may need these to contact you regarding your application.

If you are already employed by us then you must provide your employee number (as shown on your payslip). You must select the relevant response if you are working in the council but are paid through an agency.

Please state whether you consider yourself to be disabled under the Equality Act 2010. We are positive about employing disabled people and applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for the post will automatically be invited for interview.

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA) applicants who have a criminal convictions do not need to declare these if they are 'spent' or not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). The amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are protected and are not subject to disclosure to employers and cannot be taken into account.  However, protection under the ROA does not extend to those posts which require a Disclosure and Barring Service check of criminal records or barred lists. For example, a disclosure would be required for posts where there is contact with service users for example, Social Worker, Care Worker, Teacher.  

Further information about Disclosure and Barring Service (GOV.uk)

Document attachments

You can attach up to two additional documents containing details of your qualifications, employment history and supporting information only here. If you choose to do this your documents must provide the information as detailed in Sections two, three and four. 

The size of each document must be less than 2MB. 

Please ensure the filename of each document is not more than 75 characters long and includes your name and the Job Reference. 

You must select the 'paperclip' icon to save each attachment one at a time. When the attachments are saved they will be shown on the Summary page.

Section two - your qualifications and professional membership

Please refer to the Person Specification to tell us about the qualifications and professional memberships you hold or are working towards, which are relevant to the post you are applying for. You will need to provide original certificates of all qualifications if you are invited to interview and before any offer of work is confirmed. We do not accept photocopies of qualification certificates.

You can enter more than one subject together if they have the same grade or were obtained at the same place of learning. There is a limit of 80 characters for this list. You will not be able to submit your application if this limit is exceeded.

You only need to enter qualifications when you make your first application to Cumberland Council. For subsequent applications the previously entered data appears below the blank form and can be edited if required.

Teaching applications

You must provide your Teacher Agency (QTS) number if you are applying for a Teaching position.

Section three - your employment history

All applicants must complete this section, giving details of your employment history leaving no periods of time unaccounted for. If you have taken time off work for a career break, caring responsibilities, study, travel or absences from work owing to a disability these will not prejudice your application.

Section four - your supporting information

The information you provide in this section will be used when shortlisting applications. It is very important that you provide as much information as possible to show how you meet the essential and desirable requirements detailed in the person specification for the post you are applying for.

Section five - essential information

The Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 makes it a criminal offence for Cumberland Council to employ any persons who do not have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom. All British citizens must complete their national insurance (Social Security) details. If you are a non-British citizen but have the right to live and work in the UK please ensure you complete the sections on work permits and/or visas and national insurance number as applicable. If you are invited for interview you will be required to provide original documents as evidence of your right to live and work in the United Kingdom. If successful in your application, you will not be able to begin employment with the council unless this is confirmed.

If you have changed your name at any time you must provide details of your previous name(s).

You must declare if you have a relationship to any employee of Cumberland Council or a current Councillor and what the nature of that relationship is.

Section six - your references

Referees may be contacted prior to interview or offer of employment unless you advise us otherwise.

External Applicants must provide details of two referees; one of which must be your current or most recent employer. All referees should have known you for at least one year and cannot be partners or family members. If you are leaving full time education you can give the name of your Head Teacher or Personal Tutor instead of an employer.

Internal Applicants who have more than one year's council service only need provide one referee unless the post is in Children's Services where two references will be required for all appointments to comply with statutory and inspection requirements.

References from friends, relatives and Members of the Authority are not acceptable. For each referee state your relationship to them and how long you have known them. Internal referees should not be your line manager if they are a member of the interview panel.

Section seven - applicant declaration

All applicants must ensure they read and acknowledge the declaration by ticking the box at the end of the following statements. You will be asked to sign a copy of your application form at interview.

Section eight - equality and diversity information

This section of the application form will not be seen by the recruiting manager and the personal information you provide will only be used for personnel/employee administration purposes within the Authority in accordance with Data Protection Legislation. 

If you consider yourself to be disabled under the Equality Act 2010 please provide details of any adjustments you require to enable you to attend an interview. These details will not be seen by the recruiting manager when they are shortlisting applicants for interview.

Summary page

When you have completed all sections of your application form the icons on the Summary page will show as Green Ticks. If any mandatory fields are not complete then the icon will not have changed. To review your application before you submit your form you can select the Print Preview option. The filenames of any attached documents will show on the Summary page. 

Once you are ready to submit your application you must select the 'Apply' icon. This will open another screen which will ask you to 'Confirm' or 'Cancel' your submission. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is successfully submitted. If you do not receive the email or have any other technical problems while completing the form please check your own computer or internet connection before contacting us on 01228 223333.

My applications

The 'My Applications' link allows you to view your 'In Progress Applications' which you have not submitted. You can also view your 'Submitted Applications' and request a copy of your application. This will be emailed to you as a PDF file.