Recruiting staff

Recruiting the right staff can make all the difference to your parish or benefice. This page contains a range of guidance to help you through the recruitment process and hopefully help you appoint the right person with the right skills that you need.

This guidance is of a general nature and if you have any particular issues, you should seek professional advice.

Getting started

Download our Recruitment Checklist to help guide you through the recruitment process.

Once you've made the decision you would like to recruit a member of staff, you need to decide what type of worker you need. Do you need someone permanent, short-term, a volunteer or an employee. Our Guide to Employment Status to find out what options are available to you and clarify who is entitled to receive the National Minimum Wage.

Job descriptions, applications and interviews

The purpose of the job description is to outline the main responsibilities and duties of a role. It helps set clear expectations with your employees at the outset of their employment about what is expected of them. Our helpful guide below will help ensure you include all the necessary information. You can also download an application form template to save you creating your own.

Interviews are an important stage in any recruitment process. Having identified a shortlist of suitable candidates, the interview gives an employer a valuable opportunity to ask specific questions to candidates in order to assess their suitability for the job. Download our guide to conducting interviews to find some useful tips.

You can also access free information, advice, templates and training through the ACAS website, which specialises in employment issues, and you can find great resources for supporting volunteers on the NCVO website.