Recruitment and immigration status - legal update 1st June 2009

Legal advice received by NHS Jobs following a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judgment may affect the way in which employers use applicants' immigration status as part of the recruitment process. NHS Employers issued guidance in May 2009 which states that the assessment of a candidate's right to work in the UK and immigration sponsorship should be addressed at the end of the short-listing and selection process. It should not be used to exclude them from short-listing or selection.

The National Recruitment Scheme for NHS pre-registration trainee pharmacists (England & Wales) complies with NHS Employers recruitment guidelines. Therefore with immediate effect the following questions have been removed from the application form:

• Are you a United Kingdom (UK) or European Economic Area (EEA) National?
• If not, do you have any evidence of entitlement to enter and work permanently in the United Kingdom (UK) i.e. settled status?

We appreciate that some students have already completed application forms and submitted data on their immigration status. This information has been deleted from our recruitment database. When you log onto the website and view your application form you will be able to see that this information has been removed. We can ensure that the hospitals will not receive information on any applicant's immigration status.