IAS
IAS Benefits
Attraction and Recruitment
Recruitment Practices
Independent Assessment Services (IAS) promote inclusive and diverse recruitment policies and practices, including a commitment to recruit mature talent.
This is evidenced by their public commitment to recruit more mature workers as part of the Government #onemillionmore campaign. As a member of the Prince’s Responsible Business Network Age Leadership team, IAS signed up to this campaign and has a target to employ increasing numbers of mature talent in their business by 2022.
Over 37% of the IAS workforce is over 45.
In addition they have signed up as an age-friendly employer and developed this profile, published on the independent website Renegade Generation showcasing stories of how their mature employees are supported and encouraged to develop their career options.
IAS is committed to ensuring that the recruitment and selection of all employees is fair, open and transparent and complies with all relevant legislation and that their attraction and resourcing strategies use a variety of channels to fulfil their recruitment requirements.
Types of Hire
IAS is committed to the global 'Internal First Programme' that focuses on internal hiring as the primary route to filling permanent vacancies. Internal career and re-skilling opportunities are also provided to retain talent and protect employment wherever possible. Where an external recruitment need is identified, IAS recruits for permanent and temporary, as well as contingent and sub-contractor roles.
With disability assessor positions across the UK, IAS has a wide range of roles available for registered healthcare practitioners, including specialist and general nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and paramedics.
Diversity and Inclusion
IAS aims to ensure that no job applicant or existing employee receives less favourable treatment because of a “Protected Characteristic” (age, gender reassignment, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, disability, pregnancy and maternity). Recruitment procedures and any career framework/promotion procedures are reviewed regularly to ensure that individuals are treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities and that sufficiently diverse sectors of the community are reached. Job selection criteria are regularly reviewed to ensure that they are justifiable on non-discriminatory grounds as being essential for the effective performance of the job.
Applicants and employee’s Protected Characteristics are monitored to ensure the Equality and Diversity policy is working effectively.
Specific evidence that IAS promotes age diversity in its recruitment practices is as follows:
- All job vacancies are advertised using age neutral language
- A variety of recruitment channels are used to source candidates including the IAS careers site, agencies, LinkedIn, Indeed and Total Jobs, CV Library, nurses.co.uk, SJB website, Ambulance Life publication, Zip Recruiter, DAB radio advertising, careers fairs, industry fairs, headhunting, and also other initiatives like refer a friend and email campaigns
- IAS and third party job agencies are monitored for discrimination
- The selection process is criterion referenced
- Interviewers are fully trained in unconscious bias and recruiting for diversity
Recruitment Structure
IAS operates a full Recruitment Process Outsource (RPO) structure with six specialist recruitment outsourcing organisations recruiting for clinical roles.
Interested candidates can also go to the IAS Careers site.
Interview and Selection
Structured competency-based interviews are used as the main selection technique. The interview has two main purposes - to find out if the candidate is suitable for the job, and to give the candidate information about the job and the organisation.
The hiring manager provides full and detailed feedback to the recruiter on candidates who are unsuccessful at CV shortlisting and interview stage.
Recruitment Programmes
Apprenticeships
Refer to information about Atos apprenticeships.
Graduate Recruitment
Refer to the Atos graduate recruitment programme.
Internships
Refer to the Atos Internship Scheme.
Learning and Development
Career Development
Independent Assessment Services (IAS) recognise the importance of career advancement and encourage progression and personal development through their clinical career framework. All IAS health practitioners receive full training in functional assessments and are enrolled onto the continuous medical education programme. Practitioners can use this towards revalidation and post-registration education and practice.
Learning Resources
Mid-life MOT
The Aeon Network’s Midlife MOT programme due to launch in 2020, aims to keep crucial knowledge and skills within the business by helping IAS employees make sure everything from their financial wellbeing to physical and mental health is heading in the right direction.
Careers
All employees have access to learning and development opportunities through ‘My Learning Journey,’ an e-learning Continuous Professional Development (CPD) hub with access to hundreds of courses. In addition, the Harvard Management Mentor programme provides all employees with access to 40 different business topics including Change Management, Diversity, Teamworking and Leadership, Project Management and Finance.
All employees have an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in place that is built by the individual and discussed by their manager on a regular basis. IDPs are held on the 'My Careers' portal.
Access to learning
Digital literacy is supported as part of any new change process and all employees have access to resources to support this learning via the 'Future Fit' programme.
Secondments
Employees have access to a temporary internal and external secondment to another role within the UK. The transfer can be to another department, another division or an outside organisation.
Internal secondment is available to employees for a limited duration of at least three months, but less than two years.
External secondment is based within another organisation for a defined period of time.
Acting up
These are internal opportunities within a department or service line. Acting up or temporary promotion or undertaking higher duties opportunities will normally be for a specific period or to cover for a specific reason.
Job Shadowing
Job shadowing is organised locally according to development need.
Mentoring
Internal
Every employee is allocated a named mentor on-site to promote day-to-day development.
External
Since 2015 IAS has partnered with ANTZ – a leader in social innovation, connecting businesses, charities and third-sector organisations to deliver social value within local communities – and the decommissioning SME Tier 1, to create a mentoring programme that helps disadvantaged people. To date, the programme has engaged over 78 mentees – a blend of ex-offenders and others experiencing challenges within their communities. Employees take an active role mentoring and supporting participants to find jobs, gain further education and commit to meaningful roles in society.
Intergenerational and Reverse Mentoring
IAS holds great value in intergenerational (mentoring between younger and older employees) and reverse mentoring (both older and younger employees act as a mentor and mentee). Their pilot programme launched in February 2020 via the Aeon Generational Diversity Network.
Career Breaks and Sabatticals
In an aim to actively engage in flexible working practices IAS will, where possible, enable employees to take such time off under the Career Breaks and Sabbatical Scheme. The reasons for requesting a career break generally fall within the following categories: Personal Development, Education and Dependent Care.
There are two different types of career break or sabbatical available:
- Short Term: 1 month – 3 months
- Long Term: 3 months – 1 year
Benefits and Wellbeing
Your Health
Private medical
Employees receive quick access to private hospitals or private facilities within the NHS with AXA PPP Healthcare, and extend the cover to immediate family.
Medical indemnity
Complimentary medical indemnity insurance covered under a corporate policy for all Independent Assessment Services work.
Doctor@Hand
Employees receive fast and convenient access to a GP from the comfort their own home.
Your wealth
Pension
Company pension stakeholder scheme, where IAS match all employee contributions up to a maximum of 10% of your basic salary.
Company share scheme
Available periodically and allowing employees to purchase company shares at discounted prices.
Professional registration
Reimbursement of annual professional registration fee for IAS clinical employees.
‘BE Hive’ Benefits Excellence Programme
Allows employees to tailor their benefits package to suit their individuals needs from will writing, annual health screening and restaurant discount cards to purchasing additional annual leave, dental insurance and income protection. More details on some of the most popular benefits are below:
Critical illness: Cover for employees and family members against the financial impact of an insured critical illness such as a stroke or a heart attack.
Life assurance: Looking after families with a lump sum payment if employees should pass away while employed by IAS. This can be extended to partners.
Travel insurance: Single employee cover through AXA PPP Healthcare, with the option to also cover dependents.
Charitable giving: Make one-off and regular payments, sponsoring charitable causes from employees’ pay (including friends’ events, or even their own), and save tax at the same time.
Prosper
Employees can and save when buying items, from technology and gadgets to holidays and broadband, through cashback, gift cards, and online discounts and enjoy benefits including Car Salary Sacrifice, Cycle to Work and SmartFit gym membership.
Car salary sacrifice: Purchase a brand new, fully maintained car – including a selection of electric vehicles – without the hassle of the associated running costs.
Cycle to work: Employees can take a new bike and fresh cycling equipment to work and save tax and National Insurance on the value.
Yourself
Employee Assistance Programme
A free, anonymous helpline where employees and their resident families can get counselling and advice on a wide range of topics including family, financial and legal matters.
Training and development
Continuous Professional Development and in-house training.
Award-winning employee support networks
As IAS strive to be diverse and inclusive, employees have access to seven employee support networks, on hand with regular advice and support. Employees can also get involved and make their own contribution to creating a culture in which differences are recognised, valued and celebrated.
Age Diversity Monitoring
Independent Assessment Services (IAS) is fully engaged in using employee, new recruit, and candidate data to ensure they retain and recruit a diverse workforce.
This information is published in the data section of their Age-friendly employer profile.
Aligned to their Equality and Diversity Policy IAS uses monitoring to ensure there is no discrimination of the “Protected Characteristics” (age, gender reassignment, sex, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, disability, pregnancy and maternity) in the following areas:
Recruitment
Vacancies
The total number of vacancies and those filled by older workers are monitored across the year to ensure there is diversity in the successful applications, as a percentage of total applications.
Applications
IAS provides multiple application channels for health professional jobs including direct applications, agencies and job sites. They are particularly careful to post advertisements that use appropriate language to ensure an unbiased interview selection process.
Retention
Training
Learning and Development opportunities are available to all IAS employees regardless of their age, via unlimited access to their ‘My Learning Journey’ hub.
Promotions
Promotions take into account their Equality and Diversity Policy.
Redeployment
Leavers
The demographic of company leavers is regularly monitored and exit interviews conducted to understand the reasons for the employee departure.
Redundancy
All possible scenarios for an employee redundancy are investigated with options for redeployment or other solutions before a position is made redundant.
Retirement
A variety of retirement solutions are available should an employee wish to discuss this route. There is no set retirement age.
Monitoring
Equal Opportunities
In order to ensure fair opportunities for career development and promotions, equal opportunities monitoring is applied in the application and interviewing stage.
Diversity Training
As part of onboarding training, all employees receive unconscious bias training to emphasise the commitment to equal treatment of all. Diversity training for interviews is also included.
Employee Relations and Engagement
Independent Assessment Services (IAS) actively promote policies and initiatives that support employees in working flexibly to achieve a satisfactory work life balance. These are particularly useful for mature employees who are trying to balance their changing life priorities such as caring for an older relative, reducing hours due to ill health, spending more time with their family or developing their own interests outside of work.
These tools are communicated via the HR team and supported by line managers to ensure employees are supported in achieving balance to their work and home life.
Caring for Carers
Access to Carer Resources
Carers can access resources to support their needs via the IAS Employee Assistance Programme (PAM Assist).
Paid Carer (Dependant) Leave
Several policies exist that help employees balance caring needs with work obligations including the flexible working policy.
Five days of paid ‘emergency time off for dependents’ is available to employees with caring responsibilities, in addition to the use of flexible working.
If further leave is required, the option of taking annual leave to supplement any time taken under the above policies, is available. Employees can buy additional annual leave under the flexible benefits scheme, at renewal time, if further annual leave is required.
If all these options are exhausted, unpaid leave can be requested.
Employee Carer Network
The IAS internal Aeon Generational Diversity Network offers additional advice and support for Carers.
Flexible Working
All employees have the right to request flexible working. Flexible working incorporates a wide variety of working practices. A flexible working arrangement can be any working pattern other than the normal working pattern. A typical type of change would be a change in working pattern or working location. A number of options are available to all employees to enable flexible working including:
- Remote working/working from home
- Reduced hours/part-time
- Job share
Resource Group
The Aeon Generational Diversity Network
This network aims to ensure that all employees are given the same chance to grow and succeed, regardless of their age, whether that is career development or planning retirement. Its multi-generational focus promotes increased engagement and relations between all ages.
Volunteering
Access to Volunteering/Community Relations Programmes
IAS has a multi-layered community relations programme active within the UK and employees are encouraged to engage at any level they wish – global, national, local and personal. From a Global perspective IAS aims to be involved and support organisations within the following areas:
- Education equality
- Youth and women: Empowerment, inclusion and employability
- Social cohesion: community outreach
- Knowledge equality
- Social Networking /digital inclusion
- School Governors, Special Police etc.
Employees can spend up to a half a day per person per month of paid company time volunteering.
Leave
IAS is committed to helping employees who have responsibilities for dependents and believe that it is important for an employees overall health and wellbeing to have breaks from work.
Paid Leave
Annual Leave
The core basic entitlement for all permanent employees is 25 days per annum (pro rata) plus the 8 public bank holidays designated in the UK.
Compassionate/Bereavement/Special Leave
The number of days granted will depend upon the individual circumstances of the case but normally, up to 5 working days paid leave in total will be granted in a 12-month period, to cover any of the above.
Study Leave
Career development is supported for all employees and 5 days of paid study leave in a 12-month period plus paid time off to sit exams is available.
Medical Appointments
Paid leave for GP and Hospital appointments are at the discretion of the line manager.
Family Leave
This paid leave policy includes maternity, paternity, adoption, parental, shared parental and dependents leave.
Domestic Emergencies
One day of paid leave is available to enable employees to deal with an unforeseen domestic emergency.
Religious Purposes
IAS will allow reasonable time off work needed because of religion or beliefs. Employees make up the time lost or may take annual leave or may exceptionally take the time off as unpaid leave.
Marriage or Civil Partnership
Employees may take one day of paid leave in addition to annual holiday on the occasion of their legal marriage or civil partnership.
Moving Main Residence
Employees are entitled to one day of paid leave in addition to annual leave when they move their main residence.
Trade Union/Employee Representative Activities
Employees have the right to paid time off for activities as a union representative or TU Officer of a Company recognised Trade Union or as an official representative of any other formal Company bodies i.e. EWC, I&CC.
Pension Scheme Trustees Employee Representative Activities
Employees who are a trustee of the IAS occupational pension scheme have the right to reasonable time off with pay during ordinary working hours, in order to perform any of their duties as a trustee or undergoing training relevant to the performance of their duties.
Court Appearance or Assisting Police as a Witness
Reasonable time off will be given to an employee if they are called upon to give evidence as a witness in Court. Paid time off will be given when required to assist police as a witness.
Jury Service
Time off will be given to employees called upon for Jury Service and IAS will pay for the balance (less court payments) of lost wages.
Unpaid Leave
Employees can request to take unpaid leave if their standard annual leave and additional leave entitlements are exhausted.
Public Duties
Employees are entitled to reasonable unpaid time off to perform public duties in the following roles:
- a Justice of the Peace or magistrate
- local councillor
- school governor
- member of any statutory tribunal (for example employment tribunal)
- member of the managing or governing body of an educational establishment
- member of a health authority
- member of a school council or board in Scotland
- member of the General Teaching Councils for England and Wales
- member of the Environment Agency or the Scottish Environment Protection agency
- member of the prison independent monitoring boards (England or Wales) or a member of the prison visiting committees (Scotland)
- member of Scottish Water or a Water Customer Consultation Panel
- trade union member (for trade union duties).
Court appearance or police detention as a defendant
Time required to attend court or being detained by the police as the defendant is taken as annual leave, or where no annual leave is available, is unpaid.
Territorial or Reserve Forces Annual Camp
Employees requiring time off to attend annual camp must use annual leave to cover at least half their absence. IAS will pay the balance of wages for the other half of their absence.
Organisational Design and Culture
The senior management team and directors of IAS actively support the company policies and initiatives that are designed to encourage and enhance the cultural value of mature workers.
Recognised as an employer that proactively encourages mature candidates to stay working within the business, around a third of Atos UK & Ireland’s 9000+ strong workforce is aged between 50 and 64. 37% of the IAS workforce is over 45.
David Haley, Senior Vice President, Global Head of BTS & Head of FSI Northern Europe for Atos says they make great role models for younger staff.
David comments that "Experienced workers can teach important life skills to their younger counterparts. We find that they leave a legacy of knowledge, loyalty and expertise to others and a positive team culture that will benefit generations to come”.
Organisational Design
Board Strategy
The senior management team and directors are active campaigners for age diversity across the organisation. This is evidenced through:
- Membership of the Age Team at the Princes Responsible Business Network
- Creating the Aeon Generational Diversity Network, the employee resource group for age diversity
- Creating a unique Age-friendly Employer Profile to attract mature talent and showcase existing mature employees working in the organisation
Learning and Development Culture
Training
Diversity training (including age) is provided to employees to promote equality and diversity. This includes:
- Diversity training for line managers
- Unconscious bias training for all employees
- Diversity training as part of the onboarding (induction) for new employees.
Community
Employee Resource Groups
There are a number of equality and diversity networks including one called Aeon – The network for generational diversity.
The Aeon network provides support and networking for mature employees ensuring that all ages have a chance to grow and succeed. The network is led and coordinated by an age champion. The network also provides representation on forums and working groups to ensure these groups reflect opinions from a wide range of employee ages.
A number of mature worker role models are actively engaged in the intergenerational reverse mentoring pilot programme.
Retirement Transitions
The effect of the removal of the Default Retirement Age by the Government in April 2011 has been positively embraced by IAS. A number of working practices, policies and initiatives within the organisation encourage employees to remain working for as long as they wish.
Work Patterns
Flexible Working
The Flexible Working Policy incorporates a wide variety of working practices. A flexible working arrangement can be any working pattern other than the normal working pattern. This is ideal for working flexibly towards retirement.
Change of Contract/Role
There is also flexibility to change roles (e.g. reducing managerial responsibility) and to change the working contract (from employee to a project based contract work or to zero hours) to suit the needs of the employee.
Transitions
Midlife MOTs
In the early stages of development, Aeon Network's Midlife MOT programme aims to keep crucial knowledge and skills within the business by helping employees manage their financial, physical and mental health.
The “My Careers” portal offers tools, resources and learning opportunities for employees to support their transition into the second half of their career.
The Employee Assistance Programme (PAM Assist) provides information and encouragement to address specific age issues that can impact a mature workers career including:
- Caring
- Demystifying the menopause
- Bereavement
- Financial advice
Retirement
Planned Retirement
Employees can retire at any age, as the Default Retirement Age was abolished in 2011, this includes working beyond State Pension Age.
Early/Phased Retirement
There are contractual and phased retirement options for employees. The retirement age to draw a full pension varies by Scheme and there are options to draw down or defer the pension. Some schemes allow early retirement without any financial penalties. Employees can request phased retirement options (reduced schedules, remote/project based working) through the use of the flexible working policy.
Alumni Network
Although there isn’t a formal Alumni network, employees can keep in touch with the business, post exit, with a view to re-engaging in future work opportunities.
Retirement Planning
All employees receive an annual update from their pension provider, Aegon. Phasing down and early retirement are some of the flexible options in working to a chosen retirement date.
Access to other advice (legal) pertinent to phasing down and early retirement is accessible through the ‘Be Hive’ employee benefits scheme.
Retirement Gift/Long Service Award
In order to congratulate employees on their retirement/long service the Company will contribute up to £200 for a retirement party, and increasing cash awards for work anniversaries:
- 10 years - £150 or 1 day annual leave
- 20 years - £400 or 2 days annual leave, celebratory lunch
- 30 years - £600 or 5 days annual leave, celebratory lunch
- 40 years - £1,000 or 10 days annual leave, celebratory lunch
- 50 years - £1,500 or 15 days annual leave, celebratory lunch