Human Resources - Selection process: Police Officers protocol (L11120)

1. Summary of changes

1.1 This protocol has been reviewed in May 2025 with the following amendments made:

• minor amendments to updated terminology
• paragraphs 2.2, 3.1.2, 3.3.2, 3.4.7-3.4.10 added
• paragraphs 3.1.1 and 3.1.4 updated

2. What this protocol is about

2.1 This protocol outlines the principles and practises for internal selection processes required for police officers within Kent Police.

2.2 The Head of Resourcing may exercise discretion to consider reasonable exceptions to this protocol, on a case-by-case basis where clear rationale is provided.

This protocol is not nor is it intended to be contractual. Compliance with this protocol and any governing policy is mandatory.

3. Detail the protocol

3.1 Advertisement and application process

3.1.1 In most cases internal police officer vacancies will be advertised on Success Factors, which will be accessible to all officers via the force intranet. A vacancy will be advertised force wide only where this is authorised at the monthly Resourcing Deployment meeting and there may be cases where positions are not advertised due to organisational need.

3.1.2 When considering if a role is advertised locally or requested force wide, managers should consider the following;

• uniqueness of role (limited posts)
• skills requirements of role
• risk to organisational stability
• when last advertised locally and/or force wide
• prioritisation to resource role

3.1.3 In consultation with HR, line managers should make the request to advertise a position using the appropriate form as published within the Recruitment Toolkit on the extranet Collaborative pages.

3.1.4 When a role advertised is opened to a wider pool than the substantive rank of the position in question, applicants will usually be considered in the order as set out within the advert.

3.1.5 In most cases individuals will be required to submit applications online via Success Factors. However, where an individual does not have access to the system or if adjustments are required (for example a manual application form) the individual should contact Business Services for advice.

3.1.6 When completing applications individuals are advised to discuss applying for positions with their manager to determine the most appropriate time to do this, which with agreement, may include before and after scheduled working time or during breaks.

3.1.7 When a vacancy is identified, SAP data may be used to support the application process, providing relevant information about candidates to map their skills against the role requirement.

3.2. Selection process

3.2.1 Assessment processes for selection of candidates should be in proportion to the role, appropriate and transparent. Full details and guidance for managers developing selection processes are contained within the recruitment toolkit.

3.2.2 Selection should be on the basis of the best use of skills and abilities for the role and in compliance with relevant legislation. Individual’s should be aware that line management recommendations may be taken into consideration as part of any selection process.

3.2.3 Policy L1300 Equal Opportunities in Employment: Disability should be consulted for advice on the recruitment and selection of people with disabilities, and the implications of the Equality Act 2010 for the selection process. Where recruiting managers are unclear of their requirements under this legislation they must contact the appointed human resources advisor (HRA) for advice before progressing.

3.2.4 Managers assessing the suitability of candidates for a role must also consider other factors which might affect the candidate's suitability, such as:

• welfare considerations
• discipline and security issues
• attendance records
• skills profile of the team
• succession plans

3.2.5 Unsuccessful candidates should be notified and offered the reason/s why they have not been selected for a particular role. Feedback should be provided by the lead recruiting manager.

3.2.6 The HR Resource Planning Department, must be notified of all proposed transfers by the line manager recruiting the individual, and has the authority to overrule any transfer which does not serve the best interests of the force.

3.3. Specialist posts: sergeants and inspectors

3.3.1 Sergeants are not eligible to apply for specialist roles during their probationary year unless exceptional circumstances exist or their individual skills are considered essential for a role.

3.3.2 Sergeants and inspectors on promotion are required to remain in their promotional post for 24 months unless in exceptional circumstances.  Further details are contained within protocol L1820 Police officer promotions.

3.4 Secondments and attachments within Kent Police 

3.4.1 Secondment and attachment opportunities are provided in the force for reasons including:

• career or professional development
• organisational need, e.g. when an individual has unique, rare, or specialist skills or expertise which are required for a project or investigation

3.4.2 Secondments: are often used to give a person the opportunity of working in a different position to develop skills and expertise through work experience. A secondment is for a specified period of time and fills an established post.

3.4.3 Attachments: are usually shorter in duration than secondments (less than 3 months continuous or for adhoc time). They are often arranged as a result of a specific need identified in an individual’s career or development plan. Attachments are not advertised on Success Factors for this reason. When a person is placed on attachment they are usually ‘supernumerary’ and not placed in an established post.

3.4.4 A selection process will not take place for a secondment which has been identified to meet the professional development needs of a particular member of staff or where the secondment post requires a particular skill(s) and expertise profile which can be uniquely matched to an individual.

3.4.5 If a secondment arises for which there may be several officers with the appropriate skills and expertise to do the job then it will be advertised, advertisements will be placed on Success Factors. Provision of cover for a period of maternity leave is an example of a type of secondment opportunity.

3.4.6 The selection process for a secondment will be similar to that for other job appointments.

3.4.7 For external secondment details, outside of Kent Police, refer to protocol L11080 Secondment out of force.

3.4.8 Officers applying for a temporary role in a different command (such as a secondment) must seek support from their line manager before submitting their application. Support and approval for application must also be gained from individual’s Ch Supt rank, or police staff equivalent, before progression to the recruiting command. For rank of chief inspector and above, individuals must also advise their assistant chief officer (ACC)/assistant chief officer (ACO) to gain support and approval for application.  

3.4.9 Consideration as to whether support is provided for the officer to apply for the opportunity, will account for whether the officer’s current command can sustain the vacancy for the period, or temporarily covered themselves. From time to time, it may be determined that there are organisational reasons why individuals, who otherwise meet all the criteria for the opportunity, cannot be released for the secondment. This may be either through operational reasons or because the force cannot sustain a loss of specialist skills in the short term. This decision, which is to be taken by a chief officer, for rank of chief inspector or above, or chief superintendent or PSE equivalent for other ranks and police staff grades, cannot be appealed. The decision may be made in conjunction with Head of Resourcing.

3.4.10 There may be exceptional occasions where officers are proposed to relinquish their post to undertake a temporary opportunity, however this decision is to be made through agreement with officer’s current Command Team and the Head of Resourcing, due to exceptional circumstances to enable future resourcing to be addressed. Each case where an officer relinquishes their post, is then overseen through Resource Planning to ensure the officer is posted to an established post at the required point.

3.5. Organisational selection

3.5.1 The Director of Human Resources or nominated representative has the authority to select and post a police officer for a permanent posting, attachment or secondment anywhere in the county. Such decisions will be based on organisational need and there may be occasions where a competitive selection process is not deemed necessary. In such cases it will be the responsibility of the director of human resources or their nominated representative to ensure that the decision making and audit trail clearly documented.

4. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA)

4.1. An EIA has been carried out and shows the proposals in this procedure would have no potential or actual differential impact on grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, transgender, disability, age, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

5. Risk assessment

5.1 Non-compliance with this policy could result in reduced capacity and capability of force resourcing which would present a potential risk to force performance and public trust and confidence.

5.2 Failing to follow correct resourcing processes could present a risk to the force in terms of employee relations, fairness/discrimination issues, and potential employment tribunal.

5.3 Managers not following the correct resourcing process could be subject to potential disciplinary, performance or capability processes.

5.4 The force aims to be an inclusive employer of choice, and non-compliance with this policy could cause potential impact on force reputation.

6. Consultation

6.1 This is an update to protocol to reflect current process and a formatting of the protocol, hence no consultation is necessary.

7. Monitoring and review

7.1 Monitoring will be undertaken by the head of resourcing, with a review being undertaken two years after this protocol is in place.

8. Governing force policy

8.1 This HR protocol supports the overarching HR policy L1.

9. Data security

9.1 Essex Police and Kent Police have measures in place to protect the security of your data in accordance with our Information Management policy - W1000 Policy - Information Management.

10. Retention and disposal of records

10.1 Essex Police and Kent Police will hold data in accordance with our Records Review, Retention and Disposal policy -  W 1012 Procedure/SOP - Records Review, Retention and Disposal.

10.2 We will only hold data for as long as necessary for the purposes for which we collected.