Alien
An alien is anyone who does not meet the Civil Service nationality requirements

Assessment Centre (AC)
A series of tests and exercises designed to enable a judgement to be made about an applicant's competence to work in a specified grade or post

Assessment Team
A suitable group convened to oversee and judge the results of the various elements of an assessment centre

Assessor
Suitable person convened to assess an applicant's competence as indicated by the use of related activities in an assessment centre

BMI
Civil Service Pension Scheme occupational health adviser

Casual employment
A temporary appointment to meet short term needs, not to be used where the period to be covered is expected to be in excess of 12 months

Civil Service Commissioners
Official body appointed by the Crown which holds responsibility for governing all Recruitment to the Civil Service

Conditional appointments
Where a candidate is appointed before pre-appointment checks have been fully completed

Internal Conversion Programme - Prison Officer
Procedure by which Prison Service staff who wish to become prison officers may apply for conversion

Core Competence Framework (CCF)
An agreed core competence framework for roles within the Prison Service

CPMU
Central Personnel Management Unit of the main Home Office

DPS number
Directorate of personnel services number, allocated to all staff (other than administrative, professional and technical grades (e.g. PTO) where the NI number is used) to facilitate the easy storage and retrieval of records

EEA
European Economic Area

Eligibility
Essential requirements for a post or grade which an applicant must meet in order to be considered by a board or assessment centre

Executive search
Commissioning a Recruitment agency to identify / target a key audience of potential recruits, executive search should only be used for Recruitment for the most senior or highly specialist posts

Exceptions register
Register of all permitted exceptions to fair and open competition

External Recruitment service providers
The prison service has a framework agreement with two Recruitment agencies (Barkers and TMP Worldwide) to provide a range of Recruitment services

Fair competition
Applicants must be considered equally on merit at each stage of the selection process based on relevant criteria applied consistently to all, using selection techniques that are reliable and guard against bias

Fitness standards
Tests used to measure potential prison officers' level of physical fitness against set minimum performance levels

Fixed term appointments
Fixed term appointments (FTAs) are appointments made through open and fair competition for a specified period of time for more than one year and up to a normal maximum of five years. In law, they must have defined start and expiry dates.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS)
Scheme in which the Prison Service participates, whereby an employer can demonstrate that they are serious about achieving equality of opportunity for people with disabilities

Head hunting
Commissioning a Recruitment agency to identify / target a key audience of potential recruits, executive search should only be used for Recruitment for the most senior or highly specialist posts

IDS
The Intensive Development Scheme is used to recruit external candidates into trainee operational manager posts

Minimum period in post
Jobs may be advertised with the expectation that the successful applicant will remain in the post and not apply to transfer else ware in the Service for a predetermined period of time (this does not preclude applying for promotion or compassionate transfer)

Mobility
The requirement for individuals in specified grades to be liable for redeployment to any post within the Prison Service in the grade they are employed

MSSU
Management Selection and Support Unit

New Deal
Government initiative designed to tackle unemployment and social exclusion by assisting unemployed individuals to find work

Not directly employed
Those who do not work under a Prison Service contract of employment

OASys
Offender Assessment System

OHA
Occupational Health Advisor

POST
A verbal/numerical-reasoning test

POELT
Prison Officer Entry Level Training

Positive Action
Steps taken to encourage applications from groups which are under represented

Pre-appointment checks
Enquiries to determine whether the candidate is likely to give satisfactory service in the future and whether there is anything in their more recent past that might discredit the Service

Prison Officer grades
Staff substantively in the prison officer, senior officer and principal officer grades

Prison Service Trade Union Side (PSTUS)
Group of recognised trade unions comprising Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), First Division Association (FDA) and Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists (IPMS), for whom there are separate consultation arrangements

PSJIC
Prison Service Joint Industrial Council

PSTUS
Prison Service Trade Union Side

Re-appointment
Appointment to the Civil Service following an earlier period of employment in the Civil Service

Recruitment information sheet
Document used to inform the applicant about the job and the employer

Re-employment
Returning in an equivalent, higher or lower grade

Redeployment
The move or transfer of a member of staff to another post on level transfer or promotion, either in-situ or in a different location

Re-employment
Returning in an equivalent, higher or lower grade

Re-instatement
Returning in the same substantive grade as that held before resignation

Reserve candidates
The provision whereby candidates interviewed at a board and marked as suitable but not selected may be offered, in merit order, a post

Senior Civil Service
Posts graded above Civil Service unified Grade 6 and Prison Service grade of Senior Manager A

Seniority date
Date from which seniority to a particular grade applies, normally the date of appointment

Skills assessment form
Competence questionnaire completed by applicants in conjunction with the application form

Short-term appointments
Those employed on a fixed term or casual basis

Sifting
Means by which a board or assessment centre may consider applications against eligibility and competence, in order to judge which applicants should be called to interview or assessment

Specialist
A post for which there are precise qualifications required without which any applicant would be ineligible

Substantive grade
The permanent grade in which an individual member of staff is employed

Two Ticks Symbol
The logo representing the "Positive about disabled people" initiative in which both the Home Office and Prison Service are participants. Commitment to the Guaranteed Interview Scheme is a key element of this

Workstep
Government scheme to assist the unemployed find work