Section 2.3: Clergy - Application Process

Requirements

2.3.1 All clergy applicants must be given access to the following information: 

  • The church body’s:
    • Statement of its commitment to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
    • Safeguarding Policy. 
    • Safer Recruitment Policy. 
    • Whistleblowing Policy. 
    • Recruitment of Ex-Offenders Policy1
  • The selection procedure for the post. 
  • A privacy notice detailing how the applicant’s personal data will be processed during the recruitment process. 

 

2.3.2 For those church bodies who advertise on the Church of England’s recruitment hub, (Pathways), the Application Form and other associated documents must be completed. 

  • 1

    This document is only necessary if the church body is a Registered Body or is in receipt of DBS Update Service information. A Registered Body is an organisation that has registered with the DBS to submit standard and enhanced checks and is entitled by law to ask an individual to reveal their full criminal history.

Guidance

2.3.1-2.3.2 Application Process

Using the Church of England Pathways site has benefits in terms of being easy for both the recruiting body and the applicant, as well as helping to standardise application processes.  

For those church bodies who do not use the Pathways site, it is recommended good practice that an application process is followed.  This may or may not involve the use of an application form, but it is recommended that it does.  This may be very brief, dependent on the circumstances of the role, especially if a role is not being advertised, but it does give the applicant an opportunity to present themself in the best way, and provides some accountability for decision making. This is especially the case for particularly sensitive or specialist clergy roles, such as Youth Ministry or Deliverance Ministry.  

It is important to note that these are minimum requirements.  It is acknowledged that many dioceses run a full application process for all clergy appointments, even though they may not be advertised, and this is recommended as good practice.