There are 3 versions– a standard application form, a teachers application form and a shortened application form for some entry level jobs.
There is also a separate form for apprenticeships. Use of the application form ensures that all the required information is provided in a structured way, makes shortlisting straightforward, and helps applicants demonstrate their suitability for a job.
However, the recruiting manager may wish to accept CVs to encourage applications from a wider field. If this is the case, the advertisement should state that CVs are acceptable. More guidance is available on this in a separate section.
Submissions in alternative formats such as braille should be accepted. More detail on disabled candidates and reasonable adjustments is available in the guidance sections on Equality and Diversity and Interviews.
Using the application form provides monitoring information about the applicant in terms of their gender, and race, etc. This information is detached from the form before it reaches the recruiting manager, so you will be unaware of it, unless the applicant has indicated that they are disabled and the Disability Confident commitments apply or they have requirements which you need to take into account at the interview stage.
The information is collected in an anonymised way in order to enable us to monitor which groups of people apply for our jobs and who reaches each stage of the recruitment process. This helps us meet our Public Sector Equality Duties and understand whether we are reaching all sections of the community. Monitoring enables us to make adjustments to our procedures where necessary to make sure we are recruiting as openly as possible and that decisions are free from any kind of bias.