Assessments and on-site visits

The Commissioners, with their auditors, assess the departmental returns and supporting documentation against the risk of non-compliance with the Recruitment Principles. 

A provisional assessment for each department is made of ‘high’, ‘medium’ or ‘low’ risk.  In the light of these assessments a sample of organisations is chosen for follow-up visits. The intention of these visits is to look at the organisation’s recruitment policies and systems and examine a sample number of recruitment competitions. They are also an opportunity to discuss any issues face-to-face with members of the departmental human resources team. 

Departments and agencies that receive an on-site visit are subsequently sent a report.  The report includes recommended actions that the organisation should take to reduce their risk rating.  Departments and agencies that have not been visited receive a letter addressing any particular issues revealed by their returns.  Both the letters and the reports of visits also note areas of good practice.