Reasonable Adjustments - Request Process

Police Officer Recruitment

A. Policy on requesting reasonable adjustment needs relating to a disability or condition during the Deloitte Managed Stages of the recruitment process

Introduction

The Police Service of Northern Ireland welcomes applications from all and will consider any reasonable adjustment needs requests from applicants. As independent recruitment agent to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Deloitte will process and, where appropriate, facilitate such requests.

This page outlines the steps you should take if you wish to request a reasonable adjustment relating to a disability or condition. (This includes hidden disabilities or conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, and specific learning difficulties such as Dyslexia).

Any applicant with a disability will be considered individually on their merit.

Requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered in line with the Disability Discrimination Act.

If you wish to request a reasonable adjustment to enable you to participate in the recruitment process, you will have the opportunity to do so when completing your online application form. For example, you should make us aware of any particular communication or access needs that relate to a disability or condition you may have. Please note, you are not required to tell us about any disability or condition you may have if you do not wish to do so. However, we would encourage you to let us know so that we can support you. Any information you share with us will be used only to facilitate the scheduling and testing of applicants.   

Any reasonable adjustments offered will apply to the Deloitte Managed Stages of recruitment (i.e. the Initial Selection Test / Assessment Centre).

Please follow the guidance provided below to enable us to consider your adjustment request.   

B. Reasonable Adjustment Needs - Request and Consideration Process

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  • The above diagram summarises the process that will be followed.
  • More detailed instructions on how to request a reasonable adjustment are provided below. 
  • In addition, if you wish, you are welcome to consider our more detailed process flow illustrations, showing in finer detail what will happen during the Request and Consideration process. However, should anything be unclear, feel free to contact us and we will clarify for you. The more detailed process flow illustrations are available on the following webpage: Detailed Process Flow Illustrations.   

Step 1 - Request an Adjustment

While completing the online application form you will be given the opportunity to tell us about any adjustments you need that would allow you to fully participate in the recruitment process (including the Initial Selection Test and the Assessment Centre).

Applicants with any disability or condition who would like to request an adjustment should let us know within the "Assessment / Education" section of the online application form. You need only to provide us with a few words outlining your specific needs. We will follow up with you after you have submitted your supporting evidence if more detail is needed.

Step 2 - Provide Evidence

Once you have requested your adjustment needs on the online application form, you must then follow this up by providing us with your diagnostic evidence, addressing any adjustment needs to info@joinpsni.co.uk as soon as possible after applying. If you do not have the diagnostic evidence, please provide us with any supporting evidence or medical certificates you do have. We will be able to advise whether the evidence you have is sufficient. Please remember - we need you to take action on this. We will advise you of the date by which your supporting evidence is due to be received by us. 

Details on the evidence format Deloitte can accept can be found below within section C.

(Please note: Even if you have applied to the Police Service before and were granted an adjustment, it will be necessary for you to make your request for reasonable adjustments again and re-submit evidence again. Due to data retention / data protection terms, Deloitte cannot refer to information relating to previous campaigns). 

Step 3 - Review and facilitation

All requests and evidence will be reviewed by our Specialist Team and, if appropriate, reasonable adjustments to testing will be applied and you will be advised as such prior to the assessment event. In the case that your request for an adjustment is not considered appropriate, you will be offered an opportunity to participate in non-adjusted testing. We will do our best to support you and apply the appropriate adjustment(s). The adjustment(s) applied will take into account your needs as well as considering the tests and assessments planned. We would ask for your understanding. It will aid the process if you can provide as much relevant information as possible up front to allow full consideration of your request to proceed. The decision of the Specialist Team on the adjustment(s) to be applied is final.

Evidence Format - The information we need to have access to, to allow us to consider your request.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment assessments are fair to everyone. We are here to support you, however we can only make adjustments where we know about them, and based on the information you provide us with. If you do not tell us about your reasonable adjustment needs and provide us with your supporting evidence, we will not be in a position to consider your request. This includes needs relating to Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), hidden disabilities, and other disabilities and conditions. 

If you have forgotten to let us know about any adjustment needs you may have via the online application form, don't worry - please email us via info@joinpsni.co.uk and we will endeavour to help.

As you appreciate, we need to establish specific guidelines for candidates to follow when requesting adjustments and providing acceptable evidence. To allow full and proper consideration of evidence, there are certain details it should contain. In summary, we need the evidence you supply to be "diagnostic" and "address exam adjustment needs". It should include your name and be complete evidence (with no pages missing). 

If you have any queries please reach out to us and we will help guide you through the request process. We have also created a list of Reasonable Adjustment FAQs which may assist.

C. Providing Evidence

(i.) General Instructions To Follow When Providing Evidence: 

Once you have submitted your reasonable adjustment request via the application form, please follow this up by sending your supporting diagnostic evidence via email to info@joinpsni.co.uk as soon as possible. We will set a date and time by which your supporting evidence is due to be received by us. (This due date is normally set for the afternoon of the closing date for applications. We will communicate clearly in the online application form when this due date is set for). 

Regarding the due date for supporting evidence, we will be as flexible as possible for as long as possible. If you are having difficulty meeting our initial due date, please get in touch with us by email to keep us up to date. While we may have some flexibility with our initial due date, we will set a cut-off point that is workable. It is likely that the absolute final due date for supporting evidence in relation to reasonable adjustments will be in advance of the assessment centre stage. 

When you email us about this, please attach complete supporting diagnostic evidence, addressing exam adjustment needs. 

If you are having difficulties supplying evidence in the format we ask, please get in touch and we will do our best to advise you. Overall, we need you to supply some evidence in support of your adjustment needs request so that it can be considered. 

Evidence should be scanned as one single scanned document and emailed to info@joinpsni.co.uk. When providing evidence by email you must include:

  • Your name
  • Your date of birth
  • Details of the time and date you made your online application 

Mobile phone photos of documentation will be accepted as an alternative to scans, providing they are clear and the order of pages included is obvious and numbered.

(ii.) Evidence Format Requested:

We would ask you to consider the following and endeavour to meet these parameters with regard to the format in which your supporting evidence is presented. 

Please submit your most recent diagnostic report, addressing exam adjustment needs, prepared by a qualified professional familiar with your case. A diagnostic report, addressing exam adjustment needs, is a written statement outlining details of your condition or disability and setting out the professional recommendation for appropriate adjustments to exam conditions. These reports are normally prepared by a qualified doctor, educational psychologist or other appropriate professional (e.g. certain chartered psychologists, or in some circumstances specialist teachers with a current Practicing Certificate in SpLD Assessment). 

In order for the supporting evidence to be considered by our Specialist Team please ensure the following:    

  • An individual diagnostic report (and not a screening or profile document) or medical certificate is required.
  • The report should address your exam adjustment needs. 
  • The report must be complete with no pages missing.
  • The report itself must be submitted and not a commentary on the report by a third party.
  • If a follow-up report or reports are available, both the follow-up and the original report should be provided.
  • If you have more than one disability or condition in relation to which you would like to request adjustments, please provide evidence relating to all matters.

If you do not have diagnostic evidence, please provide us with any related medical evidence or medical certificates you do have. We understand that different conditions and disabilities may have differing diagnostic report formats associated with them and that depending on your condition or disability you may have varying degrees of contact with the qualified professional familiar with your case. As such, we commit to being supportive of you and open to considering whatever supporting evidence you can provide. We will be able to advise if the evidence you do have is sufficient. Above all, we encourage you to engage with us so that we can understand your needs and so that we can advise you.   

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