£60,000 the cost of Trust recruitment day, claim

Editorial Department • Published 9 Feb 2012 13:30 0 Comments

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The Western Health Trust's controversial job recruitment exercise in Enniskillen last week could have cost them up to £60,000, it has been claimed.

And one recruitment expert says the way it was handled has raised question marks over its legality.

Queues formed outside the Clinton Centre from early morning on both days as applications were invited for a range of jobs at the new South West Acute Hospital which is due to open in June.

But many people were left frustrated when they got to the front of the queue to discover that the job specifications had been changed and tightened due to the high numbers of applicants.

The recruitment expert told us: "In any recruitment process, the employer has the right to enhance the criteria. However, all applicants must be made aware at the outset, even if it is just made clear that they reserve the right to do so.

"We are talking about 100 jobs here which over their lifetime are worth millions being paid for from the public purse. So the way the Trust handled this in such a slipshod way is incredible," he said. "Why didn't they even just send somebody out to inform people in the queue instead of letting them stand in the cold and wait to be told when they got inside?"

He also described the cost of the exercise as "phenomenal". It is understood more than 50 staff were used, some of them there several days including setting up in advance of the process. Travel costs and the cost of local hotel accommodation because of the huge response could have pushed the bill towards £60,000.

"They could have contracted this process out to a private sector company, whose expertise would have provided greater value for money and conducted the process properly," our source told us.

When asked to confirm if the costs were up to £60,000, the Trust refused to be drawn on figures and instead responded with the following statement: "The recruitment exercise was a major success and the cost associated with it was the most cost efficient way to ensure we have the 100 new support services staff in place for the hospital opening in June 2012."

A spokesperson for the Trust added: "The Recruitment Days were streamlined to allow applicants to move through a process that would normally take several weeks in one day. Linking closely with local services in Fermanagh, the Trust chose a location that would maximise the convenience for the majority of potential applicants. Since the Recruitment Days we have had some constructive feedback from candidates and we will take this into account for future recruitment events. However, we do believe overall this was a very successful initiative".

The Trust believes all the posts will be filled. "We are confident that we have interviewed a sufficient number of candidates to fill the 100 new support services jobs. The new jobs are a major investment boost for the area and the Trust is delighted to be in a position to further enhance the local Fermanagh economy.

"The Trust was delighted with the level of interest and response to the recent Recruitment Days held in the Clinton Centre, Enniskillen. We would like to thank applicants for their interest in the jobs. We also commend the Trust staff who worked tirelessly in this recruitment exercise," the spokesperson added.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 09 Feb 12

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