Refer a friend scheme

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Date: December 2022

Document summary

Through this scheme employees who introduce a friend to a Support Worker or Lead Support Worker vacancy in Directly Provided Services can in return receive a £250 payment. Successful applicants referred via this scheme are also entitled to a £250 payment after successful completion of their first year in service.

 

Enquiries

Recruitment Support Team, 01273 335733

 

Contents

Key points. 2

1.       Eligibility criteria. 2

2.       Application process. 2

3.       Additional terms. 3


Key points

§  The refer a friend scheme is being run on a pilot basis, to support recruitment of Support Workers and Lead Support Workers in Adult Social Care Directly Provided Services.

§   If an existing ESCC employee introduces a friend to one of the above roles, they will be entitled to receive a £250 payment, subject to the terms explained in this scheme.

§   Successful applicants referred via this scheme are also entitled to a £250 payment after successful completion of their first year in service.

1.            Eligibility criteria

1.1.       Individuals will be eligible to receive the refer a friend incentive payment subject to the following criteria:

§     They must be directly employed by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and on ESCC conditions of service, or work for the Council via a casual worker agreement

§     They refer someone to apply for a Support Worker or Lead Support Worker vacancy in Adult Social Care Directly Provided Services, and that person is successfully appointed to a contracted role, and confirms who referred them.

1.2.       The following groups are not eligible for the scheme:

§     Agency workers, external contractors, Elected Members, or anyone else who is not an employee of the County Council.

§     Members of staff who are directly involved in the recruitment process, such as the shortlisting/interview panel.

1.3.       Any employees involved or impacted by the operation of the scheme will be expected to follow and observe the Council’s Code of Conduct and arrangements for declaring any conflicts of interest.

1.4.       The referring employee receives their £250 payment after the applicant they referred completes three months service in an eligible role. Payments are made as part of the referring employee’s monthly salary payment, so the referring employee must still be employed by ESCC in order to receive the payment.

1.5.       Successful applicants referred via this scheme will receive a £250 payment after completing one years’ service in an eligible role.

1.6.       Payments are subject to Income Tax, National Insurance Contributions and pension deductions as normal.

2.            Application process

2.1.       As part of the job application form, applicants are asked to confirm if they were referred to the job by a friend. Please note that it will not normally be possible to make a referral payment if the candidate has not confirmed that they were referred by a friend on their application form.

2.2.       If the applicant is successfully appointed, the employee who referred them should then email the recruitment team to apply for their incentive payment, giving the full name and job title of the applicant. This needs to be done within the applicant’s first 3 months of service.

2.3.       Once received, the Recruitment Team will then check that the applicant confirmed on their application form that they were being referred by a friend and the name of that individual and confirm this to the newly recruited employee’s line manager.

2.4.       The line manager will then request that the Emplyee Services Team make the £250 referral payment via the refer a friend form found on the Refer a Friend and Employee Services notification form pages of Intranet.

2.5.       Once an applicant referred via the scheme has completed their first year in post, their line manager will request payment for their £250 payment, again via the refer a friend form.

2.6.       The cost of both payments is paid from the budget of the team/service the successful job applicant is employed by. The applicable cost centre will need to be provided to Employee Services Team, with the payment request. Provided the referral is genuine, there is no need for the referring employee to be part of the same team or service as the applicant.

3.            Additional terms

3.1.       Previous members of council staff can be referred providing there has been a minimum of three months’ break in their employment with the council. Employee services will check the employee’s previous service at the point the first referral payment is made.

3.2.       The Council reserves the right to recover payments if it is later determined that they were made in error or in circumstances contravening the key conditions.

3.3.       In the event of any disputes relating to the scheme, the Council’s decision is final and there is no right of appeal.