Welsh Government jobs: external candidate recruitment guidance - Equality, diversity and the Welsh language

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity, and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues, and partners.

We are committed to increasing diversity in the Welsh Government, removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage (including equal and same sex marriage) and civil partnership, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, impairment or health condition, race, religion or belief or pregnancy and maternity.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and in their top 100 list of employers with a Gold award in 2023. We are a Disability Confident (Leader) organisation. We have signed Victim Support’s Hate Crime Charter, Business in the Community’s Race at Work Charter and Changing Faces’ Pledge to be Seen which supports people with visible difference.  Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Mind Matters; Minority Ethic Support Network (MESN); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

The Welsh Government operates name-free recruitment. The recruiting panel will not see personal information such as a candidate’s name and address during the sifting process. This policy is in line with our commitment to end bias and promote equality and diversity.

Welsh Government accepts the social definition of disability, in which it is recognised that barriers in society act to disable people who have impairments or health conditions or who use British Sign Language. We are committed to removing barriers so that all (or potential new staff) can perform at their best. The Equality Act 2010 uses the medical definition of disability (“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term impact on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities”).

The Welsh Government is a Disability Confident Leader. We guarantee to interview any candidate with an impairment, health condition, who is neurodivergent or who uses British Sign Language if they meet the minimum criteria for the post. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must pass the online tests and provide us with evidence in your application which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence for the role and any qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential. We are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people.

If you have an impairment or health condition, or use British Sign Language and need to discuss reasonable adjustments for any part of this recruitment process, or wish to discuss how we will support you if you were to be successful, please email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales as soon as possible and a member of the team will contact you to discuss your requirements and any questions you may have.

We offer veterans who meet the minimum standard on each of the job’s essential criteria the opportunity to go directly to the next stage of selection. If you have completed at least one year in her Majesty’s Armed Forces (as a regular or Reserve) and are in transition from the Armed Forces, or no longer a member, you can apply for roles in the Civil Service  under the Great Place to Work Veterans initiative.

Civil Service employers can offer an interview to a fair and proportionate number of civil servants who are at risk of redundancy and who meet the minimum job requirements.

For example, you may be at risk if your work area has launched a voluntary or compulsory redundancy scheme that you’re eligible for, or you are aware that your employer has begun consultation on how to reduce staff in your immediate team or work area.

To be considered for an interview, you must:

• have good reason to believe that you are likely to be made redundant in the near future
• have demonstrated in your application and testing stages that you meet the minimum job criteria detailed in the person specification
• be applying for a job at the same grade as, or lower than, your current job

The application form will ask if you want to apply under the Redeployment Interview Scheme, or guidance will be in the job advert.

At the interview, you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your abilities and you will be marked solely on merit.

Wales is a bilingual country, with both Welsh and English used routinely in our daily lives and workplaces. The Welsh language has official status in Wales. There are measures in place to ensure it is not treated less favourably than English.

The First Minister has set out his vision for the future of the language in our Welsh language strategy Cymraeg 2050: a million Welsh speakers. This Government’s vision is to see the number of people able to enjoy speaking and using Welsh reach one million by 2050. It also wants to double the percentage of people using the language daily.

As an organisation we have a legal obligation to provide services and information to the public in Welsh, for example providing bilingual correspondence and newsletters and answering the phone bilingually. The details of this are set out in the Welsh Language Standards. The standards also ensure that Welsh speaking employees have access to internal services in Welsh such as:

• a bilingual Intranet
• Human Resources (HR) documents
• IT tools to help us work bilingually

We want to support our employees to improve their language skills at all levels. We have many opportunities for our staff to start learning or brush up on skills they already have. Our bilingual working strategy Cymraeg. It belongs to us all sets out our ambition to become a truly bilingual organisation by 2050. Our initial goal is to become exemplar in our use of the language over the next five years.

The Welsh Government therefore acknowledges the importance of developing and growing its bilingual workforce. Applications for any post can be submitted in either Welsh or English.  Applications submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than applications submitted in English.  You can also request an interview through the medium of Welsh and deal with us through the medium of Welsh throughout the recruitment process.