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TOWN OF AMHERST POLICY
NUMBER 04000-07
PAGE 1 of 5
DEPARTMENT:
ALL DEPARTMENTS
TITLE:
HIRING POLICY
Minutes reference date: December 15, 1997
June 27, 2016
February 27, 2017
POLICY STATEMENT
All vacant positions in the Town of Amherst that are required to be filled shall be staffed by
qualified candidates selected and appointed on the basis of education, experience, knowledge,
abilities, personal suitability, and, when appropriate, seniority and residency, to be considered
within the framework of legislation, applicable agreements, equal opportunity, fairness of
employment, budgetary limitation and corporate needs.
Where a conflict exists between this policy and a Collective Agreement, the Collective
Agreement shall prevail.
1.
PURPOSE
The provisions of this policy are intended to:
a)
promote equal employment opportunities for all prospective applicants irrespective of
race, colour, religion, national origin, ancestry, place of origin, age, physical and mental
disability, marital status, sexual orientation and sex, including pregnancy;
b)
promote fairness and impartiality;
c)
establish a procedure whereby the Town shall recruit, screen, hire and retain
employees who are the most capable and qualified to do the job.
2.
DEFINITIONS
"Permanent Employee" means an employee who is employed on a regular and full time basis.
"Temporary Employee" means an employee performing duties for an undetermined period of time.
"Part-time Employee" means an employee performing duties on a part-time basis.
"Seasonal Employee" means an employee performing duties of a seasonal nature.
"Open Competition" means a competition that is open to persons who are currently employed with
the Town of Amherst as well as members of the general public.
"Physical Disability" means any degree of disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement of a
physical nature caused by bodily injury, illness or birth defect and, without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, includes any disability resulting from any degree of paralysis, or from diabetes,
mellitus, epilepsy, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impediment,
deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide
dog or on a wheelchair, cane, crutch or other remedial device or appliance.
"Union" means Local 1233, Canadian Union of Public Employees, or Atlantic Police Association
(APA) Local 104.
HIRING POLICY
NUMBER 04000-07
PAGE 2 of 5
"Work Creation Project" means a project which is funded in whole or in part by a federal, provincial
or municipal authority.
3.
APPLICATION
This policy shall apply to all persons recruited by the Town of Amherst for all permanent,
temporary, part-time, seasonal or student positions, as well as to positions related to publicly
funded work creation programs. Additional screening, information, testing and security checks
may be required by the Amherst Police Department as outlined in their policy manual "Personnel
II, Chapter 7, on Recruiting".
4.
DISCRIMINATION
No employee of the Town of Amherst or other person acting on behalf of the Town of Amherst
shall refuse to employ or continue to employ any person, or discriminate against any person in
respect of employment or any term or condition of employment based on race, colour, religion,
national origin, ancestry, place of origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual
orientation, and sex, including pregnancy.
The foregoing provision as to age does not apply to termination of employment or refusal to
employ because of the terms or conditions of a bona fide retirement or pension plan or employee
insurance plan.
The same prohibitions with respect to physical handicaps do not apply if the termination of
employment or refusal to employ is because of a bona fide qualification or job description based
on the nature of the work or the work environment in relation to the physical disability or the
operation of a bona fide group or employee insurance plan.
5.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
In order to be considered for permanent employment, an applicant must:
a)
be a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant;
b)
possess an employment visa or other authorization to work in Canada, in the case
where an applicant is not a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant;
c)
have a Social Insurance Number card issued by the Canadian Employment and
Immigration Commission;
d)
must meet education requirements of the position;
e)
be sixteen (16) years of age or older; and
f)
must meet minimum standards set for the position by the Town.
g)
All sworn police officer applicants or employees must meet the minimum standards
outlined by the Nova Scotia Police Act and Policy and Standards as defined from time
to time by the Department of Justice.
HIRING POLICY
NUMBER 04000-07
PAGE 3 of 5
6.
PROCEDURES: CLOSED COMPETITIONS
a)
Where applicable, COMPETITIONS shall be held in accordance with the terms and
conditions of the respective collective agreement in effect between the Town of
Amherst and the union which is the bargaining agent for the position in question.
b)
The Town of Amherst will post, at its discretion, position vacancies within the
organization.
c)
Employees who have completed their probationary period are eligible to apply for
posted positions.
d)
Employees who change positions through the Job Posting procedure will normally be
prohibited from applying again until they have completed a minimum of six (6) months
in the new position. The waiting period can be waived due to extenuating
circumstances that are acceptable to the responsible managers/supervisors.
e)
Position vacancies will be posted in each Department on bulletin boards for a period of
ten (10) days.
f)
Each posting will state the title, department, description of duties, and will list the
qualifications and experience necessary to be considered for the position.
g)
Employees who are interested in a posted position must follow the Job Posting
procedure.
h)
All applications will be reviewed by the Director and/or the interviewing committee for
the posted position. Consideration will be given to the applicant's previous job
performance, work history and qualifications.
i)
All full time, part time, casual and seasonal employees who apply and meet the
minimum qualifications will be considered for the job.
j)
The most qualified candidates will be selected for interviews.
k)
If a current employee is selected, the employee's start date in the new position will be
agreed upon by the Directors concerned. In most instances, the transfer should take
place within two weeks. If a current employee is not selected, the position will then be
filled by a qualified individual seeking employment with the Town of Amherst.
7.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
The Selection Committee shall be as follows:
a)
For the position of Chief Administrative Officer, a Committee of Council and external
resource person as determined. Hiring authority - Town Council.
b)
For the position of Director, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), one member of
Council, Human Resources, and external resource persons as determined. Hiring
authority - Town Council on CAO's recommendation.
HIRING POLICY
NUMBER 04000-07
PAGE 4 of 5
c)
For other permanent, temporary, seasonal, part-time and student positions, the Director
or designate, Human Resources and/or a Committee appointed by the Director with the
approval of the CAO. Hiring authority - CAO on recommendation of Director.
Exception - Part-time, casual and student employees to be hired by the Director.
8.
CALL-BACK LIST
For temporary, part-time, and seasonal positions, the departments shall maintain a call-back list
for employees who have performed their duties satisfactorily.
9.
EMERGENCY APPOINTMENTS
In cases of emergency which requires additional human resources, a Director may employ a
person(s) for the duration of the emergency.
The Chief Administrative Officer shall be advised of all emergency appointments as soon as is
practicable thereafter.
10.
STUDENT APPOINTMENTS
Candidates must have been full-time students within the last school year and must be returning to
school on a full-time basis in the fall of the year. Proof of this may be requested from potential
employees prior to, during, or after the hiring process.
Preference shall be given to students beginning post-secondary studies or returning to post-
secondary studies in the upcoming fall.
Definition of a Student
Must be registered for at least 60% of a full course load. A full course load is normally five courses
per term. Trade school students must receive at least 20 hours of instruction per week to be
classified as a student.
11.
FUNDED WORK CREATION PROJECTS
Preference shall be given to persons who are able to satisfy the terms and conditions of the
appropriate work creation agreement with respect to the conditions of selections and hiring, and
on the basis of merits and needs of each individual. Where a department has obtained approval
and funding for a work creation project, the Director will follow the terms of funding for recruitment
and selection as outlined by the funding agency.
12.
APPOINTMENT AND SELECTION STANDARDS
a)
Candidates shall be assessed in accordance with the following criteria: education,
experience, knowledge, abilities and personal suitability.
b)
If candidates are equal based on the selection standards, preference will be given to
candidates who are residents of the Town of Amherst or Cumberland County.
HIRING POLICY
NUMBER 04000-07
PAGE 5 of 5
13.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND NOTIFICATION
All departments who may have contacts with job applicants shall make every effort to generate
good will through these contacts, ensure that courteous treatment is provided to all applicants, and
advise those who are being considered for a position promptly and tactfully when the position has
been filled.
14.
PROBATIONARY PERIODS
Probationary periods will be for a period of six (6) months or longer as determined by the position
or as outlined in the appropriate Collective Agreements or statutes.
15.
REFERENCES
a)
Employment references must be completed and documented prior to issuing any offers
of employment (verbal or written). Final employment is subject to receipt of satisfactory
screening, police record check and employment reference check. Employment
reference checks are to be conducted and will involve contact with at least two previous
employers if an external applicant.
b)
The reference check should confirm enough information, taken from the application or
the interview, to judge if the applicant has given honest responses. Also obtain
information on training received, work performance, and whether the person would be
considered for rehire.
c)
Place the completed reference checks in the applicant's file.
16.
HIRING OF RELATIVES
a)
This policy provides guidelines for the hiring of relatives.
b)
"Relative" is defined as an employee's spouse, child, brother, sister, or parent. "Senior
staff" is defined as a Director or Supervisor/Manager.
c)
No relative of a senior staff member will be hired to work in the same department as the
senior staff member or win an area where they would be supervised by a senior staff
member related to them. Generally, no relatives will be employed in an area where
they would be supervised by an employee related to them.