Application process

Now you know about what we do, how we work and what opportunities we have for people to come and join us. We want to hear from you if you want to experience personal satisfaction in an environment where no two days are the same.

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Completing our online application form

You should:

Always consider the essential and desirable criteria listed in the Job description / person specification for each role when completing your application.
Include a daytime telephone number where possible, as we may need to contact you – for example to advise you of interview arrangements in advance of confirming them in writing.
Give details of your employment history for at least the last 3 years (if applicable), including a short description of your main duties.
Give details of two referees. One should be your present or most recent employer, the other a further employer relevant to the role(s) you are applying for. [If you don’t have one or more employment referees you can provide details of an academic (school, college, university) one, or a character one if your academic qualifications were not gained within the last 5 years].
Note that although the Diversity Monitoring (section 8 of the application) contains mainly mandatory fields, you have the option to select “prefer not to say”.

Important points to note when completing your application:

The General Information for Applicants sheet will give you all the information you need about our selection process and our basic terms and conditions, including further information on working patterns and pre-employment checks.
We also have a Competency guidance sheet relevant to the grade you are applying for, which you may find helpful.
Occasionally a vacancy will have an attachment marked “Additional information specific to this role” which you should read before applying.

Applicants are expressly forbidden from canvassing the support of SLAB staff, to avoid some candidates receiving an unfair advantage. (SLAB staff are also forbidden from canvassing on behalf of an applicant.)

Recruitment process

In all cases we will match your application against the selection criteria for our vacant posts.

Where your application is successful it will progress to the next stage:

We may invite you to attend a first interview – this will usually be with a manager or supervisor in the relevant department and a member of our Human Resources Department.
We may invite you to attend a second interview for some posts.
We may use tests (or a combination of tests) as part of our assessment process prior to and/or after interviews.
We will always inform you as soon as possible of the outcome of this process. We hope that you will find our interviewers are welcoming and interested in what you have to say.

Whatever the result of your application, you will hear from us (normally by email). Please check your emails regularly after the closing date for applications.

If you’re successful, we will check your identity, nationality/immigration status, employment history and qualifications before appointing you. We will also ask you to complete an application for a criminal record check. Further details of this process will be provided nearer the time.

Equal opportunities

Our equal opportunities policy states:

The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) is committed to equality of opportunity in employment both in principle and in practice. We will ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on grounds of their own or an associate’s actual or perceived: age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation. Nor will there be less favourable treatment on grounds of marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity.
All those representing or carrying out work on behalf of SLAB must commit themselves to the principles and practice of equality of opportunity in the application of our policies and delivery of our service to clients. This commitment may include taking positive action, where required.
We recognise that our service will be best delivered by a workforce that reflects the diversity of our communities. It is necessary therefore that we strive to ensure that this diversity be reflected throughout our workforce.
We recognise that individuals from minority groups may experience discrimination in society. Equal opportunity principles will be reflected in all Board policies and we will develop procedures and guidelines so that employees adhere to these policies.
Applying equality of opportunity is the responsibility of all those within SLAB, including managers, staff, committees and any other individual contracted to represent SLAB. It is recognised, however, that those working at management level and above have a specific duty to set the required standards and ensure those standards are met. Employees and contractors have a specific duty under the terms of their contracts to comply with the standards set.
Our employment policies and practices will be impact assessed and monitored to ensure effectiveness.

Disability information

We are aware that many prospective employees may be reluctant to declare disability because of possible discrimination against them by employers.

We have a positive policy on the employment of people with disabilities. An individual must decide for themselves and declare whether or not they are disabled using the definition provided by the Equality Act (2010). This defines disability as:

“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities“.

Further information on the Equality Act can be found on the gov.uk website.