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4 Decision to appoint

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The academic appointment board writes a statement in the minutes

Pursuant to the Lund University Rules of Procedure, the academic appointments board should formulate a statement when the final candidate is to be proposed for appointment. The statement should give a clear understanding of how the selection process was conducted, as well as which qualifications were crucial in the choice of candidate. The statement should contain an overall assessment of the reasons for proposing the final candidate. The weighting given to the different requirements and merits should be clear.

The statement should contain the name of the candidate proposed for the position, as well as the names of the other candidates considered. The statement is an important document should an appeal or complaint about discrimination be lodged. The board makes the decision to issue the statement as part of the board’s minutes.

The statement should be saved in the correct casefile in the recruitment system.

Discussion about employment terms, start date and more

In most cases, it is the recruiting manager who contacts the final candidate and offers employment. Before the conversation, the manager should be clear about the terms of employment, such as the desired start date, the salary level, the possible starting package and how the new employee will be introduced to their new job. The manager should also ensure that the final candidate understands that Lund University is a public authority and that this entails certain rights and obligations. It is also important that the manager informs the candidate that the decision to appoint can be appealed by the other applicants.

It is a good idea to invite the candidate to visit the organisation for a day or two. The candidate will feel positive and welcomed if they are invited to meet some of the people they will be working with, see the facilities and perhaps get a guided tour of the University and Lund. This also lays the foundations for a good start to their new employment.

Decision to appoint the final candidate

It is important to inform the recruiting manager that verbal agreements are binding. Therefore, the recruiting manager/head of department should always check with the faculty/department (usually via the HR officer) before a final offer of employment and salary level is made to the candidate.

When the organisation informs about the agreed salary, start date/end date, citizenship checks and if there is a need for a residence permit, the academic appointments board’s HR officer should prepare a decision to appoint in Primula. Sometimes the organisation’s HR officer will enter the decision to appoint in Primula, but if the decision is to be signed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, it is always the academic appointments board’s HR officer who handles the decision.

Due to the right to appeal for the other applicants, the starting date of the employment must be set after the end of the appeal period. The appeal period ends three weeks after the decision to appoint (in the form of a notice board decision) is posted on the notice board at Byrålogen. The decision to appoint must be signed by the person entitled to make the decision.

When appointing associate senior lecturers and senior lecturers, the dean of the faculty is entitled to make the decision. For the appointment of professors, it is the Vice-Chancellor of the University who makes the decision. Completed decisions must be sent via the recruitment system to the unions (in accordance with the central framework agreement on salaries, RALS) and then archived in the recruitment system. The original is sent to the employee together with information about being a new employee at LU.

Informing about a decision to appoint

A special decision (notice board decision) is created in the recruitment system and sent via the recruitment system to the caretaker’s office at Byrålogen to be posted on the University’s notice board for three weeks. A decision to appoint comes into effect when the decision has been on the notice board for three weeks. If the decision to appoint, which contains personal details, is sent to the caretaker instead of the notice board decision, it will not be posted and therefore the decision to appoint will not come into force.

All applicants should be informed that the notice board decision has been posted on the Byrålogen notice board and how long it will be up.

Feedback for unsuccessful applicants

It is important that unsuccessful candidates applying for a position at Lund University also receive a positive impression of the University as a place to work. Therefore, all candidates who have been interviewed at Lund University should receive verbal feedback as to why they have not proceeded further in the process. Candidates who have not been interviewed should be notified by the academic appointments board’s HR officer via the recruitment system. They should also be informed as to where they will find information about the decision to appoint (on the Byrålogen notice board).

Appeals can be made for a period of three weeks

Pursuant to Section 21 of the Employment Ordinance, it is possible to appeal a decision to appoint made by a public authority. It is therefore important that the recruitment process is conducted with a clear vacancy notice and documented selection and reference management. 
Anyone wishing to appeal must submit it to the University no later than three weeks after the date on which the decision was posted on the Byrålogen notice board. Therefore, the start date of the appointment must be set after the end of the appeal period. Only candidates who have applied but have not been offered the position can appeal against a decision.

Terminating a recruitment – no right to appeal

There may be various reasons why is becomes impossible to complete a recruitment, for example if there are no qualified applicants, or if the only qualified candidate declines the position.

In order to terminate a recruitment, the matter must first be negotiated according to the Swedish Employment (Co-Determination in the Workplace) Act. The decision must be objectively justifiable. The academic appointments board’s HR officer can provide more information about the process. Subsequently, the dean or the Vice-Chancellor of the University (in the case of the recruitment of a professor) may decide to terminate the recruitment.

A decision of this kind is not subject to appeal.

Page manager: webbansvarig [at] hr [dot] lu [dot] se | 10 Feb 2023