The Ayrshire Hospice recognises that it is vital that its Recruitment and Selection Policy embodies the principles of the Equal Opportunity Policy and promotes the objective of ensuring fairness and consistency in the selection and promotion of employees within the organisation. It also assists Managers who have responsibility for making appointment decisions to ensure that equal opportunity is afforded to all applicants and appointments are made on merit.

The recruitment process will be undertaken in line with the following hospice Policies and Procedures:

• Bank Staff Policy
• Equal Opportunities Policy
• Employment of People With Disabilities
• Disclosure Scotland Criminal Records Information Policy
• Recruitment and Selection Procedures

On top of tremendous job satisfaction, you'll find many tangible benefits working for the Ayrshire Hospice. As a package, these rewards are highly valued by our employees.

Alongside competitive salaries and annual leave entitlement, the hospice operates a range of family-friendly and flexible working arrangements to cater for employees who need to accommodate family and other commitments.

Staff governance

The Staff Governance Standard sets out what the Ayrshire Hospice will achieve in order to continuously improve in relation to the fair and effective management of staff.  The standard sets out what staff can expect from the Ayrshire Hospice.  However, with rights come responsibilities and so the standards also set out corresponding responsibilities for staff in relation to their colleagues, managers, patients and families, the public and ultimately the organisation.

The standard requires that Ayrshire Hospice to demonstrate that staff are:

• Well informed
• Appropriately trained and developed
• Involved in decisions
• Treated fairly and consistently with dignity and respect in an environment where diversity is valued
• Provided with a continuously improving and safe working environment, promoting health and wellbeing of staff, patients and the wider community
• Aware of the Communications Forum and how they can become involved.

The standard also requires all staff to:

• Keep themselves up to date with developments relevant to their role within the organisation
• Commit to continuous personal and professional development
• Adhere to the standards set by their regulatory bodies
• Actively participate in discussions or issues that affect them either directly or via their trade union/professional organisation
• Treat all staff and patients with dignity and respect while valuing diversity

Ensure that their actions maintain and promote the health, safety and well being of all staff, patients and carers.

Learning and development

The Ayrshire Hospice is responsible for providing induction and mandatory training for all staff. Mandatory training is an ongoing requirement of all staff to ensure the safe and efficient functioning of the service. 

The hospice is also committed to professional development including the following activities:

• Statutory and mandatory training
• Short and long term education programmes
• Vocational courses
• Conferences and Seminars
• Professional Development programmes
• Management development programmes
• Mentoring, shadowing and coaching
• Performance Development Review

Each Operational Manager ensures that performance review takes place 6 monthly for new staff in the first instance and annually thereafter for all staff members within their area of responsibility. This includes completion of all relevant documentation and objective setting for the subsequent year. A culture of continual learning is adopted recognising experiential learning through personal development plans.

The responsibility for demonstrating knowledge and skills through achieving documented goals lies with the individual staff member. Evidence of personal development should be retained and the staff members should be able to reflect on how learning can be applied to working practice.  Each staff member is responsible for performance review preparation and for attending the pre-arranged meeting.