Disability Confident Scheme FAQs

The Disability Confident scheme replaced what was previously known as the Two Ticks scheme and which incorporated the ‘Guaranteed Interview scheme’. This was replaced in in November 2016.

The Disability Confident scheme encourages and supports employers to provide a fully inclusive workplace for individuals with disabilities or long-term conditions. This is through helping organisations think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain and develop disabled people.

Employers of all sizes demonstrate their commitment to the scheme by:

• Challenging society’s attitudes and removing barriers towards disability in the workplace
• Increasing understanding of disability and how it can impact individuals at work
• Removing barriers for those with a disability or long-term condition within the workplace
• Ensuring that disabled people have equal opportunity to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations at work

MoJ is a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, the highest level an organisation can obtain within the scheme. This means that we: agree to the Disability Confident commitments as well as identify actions that we carry out to make a difference to the working lives of disabled people, ensure that disabled individuals and those with long term conditions do not face barriers or disadvantage in the MOJ. This is championing these values and actions with our suppliers, partners and within our local and business communities.

Further details of the Disability Confident scheme, including the 3 levels of commitment, can be found on the government’s Disability Confident website.

The Disability Confident scheme’s commitments for recruitment include:

• Actively attracting and recruiting disabled people to fill vacancies
• Providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment processes
• Proactively offering and making reasonable adjustments as required
• Offering an interview to people with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria for each role

The MoJ has built the recruitment process to be inclusive and accessible so that someone’s disability or long-term condition does not reduce their ability to complete the recruitment process, or impact on whether they are considered for a role.

We remove barriers by providing reasonable adjustments to enable disabled applicants and those with long term conditions to apply for and be considered for roles on an equal basis with non-disabled applicants. This applies to both internal colleagues and external applicants.

As part of our commitment detailed above, we offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum (or essential) criteria for a role and who have requested to opt in to the Disability Confident interview scheme, during the application process.

However, both disabled and non-disabled applicants will only progress to an interview where they have met the minimum criteria required for the role, for example by meeting minimum performance scores on questions within the application form. Read our minimum criteria FAQ for further information.

There are exceptional circumstances where disabled applicants will not progress to an interview even though they have met the minimum criteria. Read our FAQ on whether you are guaranteed an interview an interview if you have a disability.

Generally speaking, ‘minimum criteria’ within a job selection process refers to the minimum qualities skills, experience and or qualifications that a candidate needs to demonstrate to be considered suitable to carry out the role and therefore progress to the first stage of selection. In the Civil Service, the ‘minimum criteria’ refers to what are often termed as the ‘essential job criteria’ and any associated ‘performance standards’. The following outlines the process of setting minimum criteria.

Applicants for all Civil Service roles are assessed against the Success Profile framework, which may cover Abilities, Behaviours, Strengths, Technical skills and Experience. More details can be found on the government’s Success Profiles guidance website. A hiring manager will consider which are considered important for the job role. These will become the essential job criteria which will be assessed during the recruitment process. Each applicant, including those with a disability, will be required to meet these criteria, to progress to the next stage – including the interview.

There may also be minimum performance standards set against these criteria. These are set prior to the hiring manager or panel conducting any sifting and relate to how important the criteria are, or what level the criteria need to be at.

For example, if the behaviour of Communicating and Influencing is important to the role (for example, when the job holder may need to regularly engage with people at different levels of seniority), the minimum performance standard for that criteria may be set at a high level. There is no requirement to set the minimum criteria at a specific level, however there should be a clear rationale for applying a specific benchmark. All applicants are assessed against the same criteria.

All applicants who score at or above the agreed minimum have met the essential criteria and disabled applicants who fulfil this criteria can opt in to be interviewed for the role via the disability confident scheme.

There are exceptional circumstances where disabled applicants will not progress to an interview even though they have met the minimum criteria. Read our FAQ on whether you are guaranteed an interview if you have a disability for further information.

At the job application stage, the hiring manager will not have access to whether you have indicated you have a disability or long-term condition, have asked for reasonable adjustments, or have requested an interview as part of the Disability Confident scheme, as part of our commitment to having a blind recruitment process. The exception to this rule would be when if you ask for specific support to help you through the application stage, which may be linked to your disability.

Following the application form being assessed, a hiring manager will then be made aware of whether an applicant has requested an interview as part of the Disability Confident scheme. This is to ensure those applicants who have met the minimum criteria can be invited to an interview, except in rare circumstance. Read our FAQ on whether you are guaranteed an interview if you have a disability for further information. At this stage, a hiring manager is still unable to see any wider details about an applicant (e.g. name, gender, age).

Once applicants’ scores and interview decisions have been agreed, hiring managers will only then have access to the full application forms of any candidates being invited to interview, including any reasonable adjustment details. At this stage, the hiring manager would contact the applicant to discuss and agree any reasonable adjustment requirements.

Within the application form, there are three separate areas relating to disability where you are asked to provide information.

1. You will be asked to indicate whether you consider yourself to have a disability. This question is purely for statistical monitoring purposes of the range of people who apply to join, and successfully join the MoJ. The information is not shared with hiring managers or used in any way as part of the recruitment process.
2. You will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments, to ensure that we support you by removing potential barriers which may impact on your ability to take part throughout the recruitment process. The adjustments that you need (but not the reasons why) will be provided to hiring managers in order to accommodate them.
3. You may indicate whether you would like to be considered for an interview as part of the Disability Confident scheme. Applicants do not need to indicate that they have a disability, or request reasonable adjustments, to request this. This information is only shared with hiring managers following the application being assessed. At this stage, a hiring manager is still unable to see any wider details of an applicant (e.g., name, gender, age).

Anyone applying for any vacancy at any level may require a reasonable adjustment. A reasonable adjustment is a change that must be made to remove or reduce a disadvantage related to an applicant’s disability when applying for a job. This could be removing physical barriers (e.g. altering the lighting or environment) or providing extra support (e.g. extra time during an interview).

The MoJ will also support applicants who do not have a disability, and who need a short-term adjustment.

As a Disability Confident employer, the Ministry of Justice is committed to creating a workplace where everyone can achieve their potential, is included and has a sense of belonging. Providing adjustments to those who need them removes barriers and helps applicants to demonstrate their skills and abilities effectively throughout the recruitment process, by offering adjustments throughout the recruitment process and in the workplace.

You will be asked within the application form to indicate what, if any, reasonable adjustments you would find helpful. If you are invited to an interview, these details will be shared with the hiring manager who will contact you to discuss them further and ensure the right support is in place. It should be noted that not all adjustments may be considered reasonable, depending on the role being applied for and the nature of the request.

The MoJ offers an interview to disabled applicants who have requested an interview as part of the Disability Confident scheme within the application form, and have met the minimum criteria required for the role. It should be noted that there are exceptional circumstances where disabled applicants will not progress to an interview even though they have met the minimum criteria. Read our FAQ on whether you are guaranteed an interview if you have a disability for further information.

You will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments, to ensure that we support you by removing potential barriers which may hinder your ability to perform throughout the recruitment process. These details are only provided to hiring managers if you are successful at the application stage.

We ask for a variety of information around reasonable adjustments within the application form, to ensure that hiring managers are able to have helpful conversations with you about what you may find useful.

The questions asked in the application form are:

• Will you require a reasonable adjustment during the interview/assessment stages?
• Provide any details of adjustments that may help, to enable the hiring manager(s) to support you during the recruitment process.
• Detail any adjustments that you have previously found useful.
• Please specify your preferred method of contact to discuss possible adjustments or requirements.

Every individual is different and so is every job. The best way to consider what support you may need is to look in the job advert at the section covering the selection processes for the role. You can then use this information to consider what adjustments you might find helpful when going through those selection processes.  All adjustments will be made where they are reasonable and practicable. We look forward to having a conversation with you about these.

Some adjustments that you might consider are:

• Requesting documents in a specific format (e.g., larger font size, specific colour for background and text)
• Extra time or additional breaks
• A reader, scribe or supporter
• Interview questions in a written format during the interview

If you feel that support is required once you have submitted your application, or if you have forgotten to request reasonable adjustments within your application form, please contact the recruitment support centre.

No. Just complete the relevant sections of the application form to ensure that we are aware of the support you would like to request.

Any support provided during the recruitment process is specific to that stage. Please note that anything specified within the application form, or agreed for the recruitment process, is strictly contained within that element. In the Civil Service, adjustments in role are termed workplace adjustments. Prior to joining the MoJ, you will be able to discuss any specific workplace adjustments that you would find helpful.

If you have a Civil Service Workplace Adjustment Passport, this can be used to ensure that adjustments are carried across into any new role with you.

We also have a staff network for all staff with disabilities, which you can become a member of to get advice and support.

If you require any assistance, or would like to request support or reasonable adjustments to be put in place prior to completing the application form, please call 0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or e-mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.