As the independent regulator, our job is to provide assurance that appointments into the civil service are made fairly, openly, and on merit – to help the civil service recruit the people and talent it needs.
As well as personally chairing senior level recruitment, the Civil Service Commission audits a sample of recruitment campaigns across departments each year to check recruitment is meeting the legal standard and to highlight positive practice – and we want to help you succeed.
Whether you’re new to recruitment or an HR professional, here’s ten top tips on what our team looks for during a recruitment audit.
1. Know the law: fair, open and on merit
All recruitment into the civil service must be made on merit, following a fair and open competition - it’s not just best practice, it’s the law. Make sure your team understands the Commission’s Recruitment Principles, and if in doubt, ask us for guidance – especially when you are structuring job adverts.
2. Get job adverts right
Adverts should be accessible in MS Word format for our audits and in their final, published form. To avoid breaches due to ‘human error’, check and proof-read the details carefully before going live. Candidates rely on having the full information in your advert – and we’ll be reviewing them closely during an audit.
3. Be clear about candidate assessment
Job adverts should clearly outline how candidates will be assessed at each stage – from sift to interview. Be clear about how CVs and personal statements will be matched against essential criteria, and if there’s a presentation, say how it will be assessed against the criteria set out in the advert.
4. Track the candidate journey
During an audit, we need to follow candidates through from application to the outcome. That means clear records showing who was successful, unsuccessful, placed on a merit list, withdrew, or didn’t attend. Good record-keeping helps demonstrate a fair process and makes audits smoother for everyone.
5. Avoiding breaches
Most breaches stem from simple human error, lack of awareness of the Recruitment Principles or failing to seek Commission approval where needed. If you’re unsure, ask us. Learn from audit feedback, act on our recommendations, and use them to improve your future campaigns – and your audit rating.
6. Using exceptions?
When appointments are made by one of the Commission’s permitted exceptions (without open competition), you must be able to provide evidence to show why they meet the exception criteria. In particular, Exception 1 (Temporary appointments) usage must be clearly justified. Departments should have a clear and reliable system for tracking all exceptions – they’re a key audit focus.
7. SCS recruitment matters
Departments need to evidence how Senior Civil Service recruitment is run, including the percentage of external competitions. We expect to see a higher proportion of fair and open external competitions than internal or exceptional appointments. Show us your data, and explain your approach.
8. Champion diversity and innovation
Departments should be actively working to recruit a diverse workforce. Use outreach, inclusive job design, and make use of life chance schemes. You should continually explore innovative approaches in recruitment wherever possible to broaden your talent pool – and tell us what you did. We’re looking for progress and innovation in recruitment.
9. Keep talking to us
Our compliance team is here to help – whether you need advice on job adverts, audit prep, or training. Reach out early and often. It’s much easier to avoid issues when we work together from the start.
10. Use our audit insights
We don’t just audit to find breaches – we also want to highlight what’s working well. Each audit is an opportunity to learn, improve, and align your recruitment with best practice. Our audit insights are intended to help departments strengthen their processes and get better outcomes.
We run regular training sessions on the Recruitment Principles so keep an eye on our website for future dates.
Follow these tips and get in touch with our team if you need support. Like you, our goal is to help departments recruit the best people into the civil service – fairly and openly.
Chris Pilgrim is a civil service commissioner. He is formerly chief HR officer of the energy supplier Npower and has also been a member of the Police and National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body. He is currently chair of the Doctors and Dentist Pay Review Body, a board member of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, and governor of Cardiff Metropolitan University.