Purpose statement
This procedure defines the recruitment and selection process for vacancies within the Corporation of the Town of Oakville (Town).
The Town is committed to attracting and retaining a talented, diverse, and inclusive workforce that reflects the community it serves, while selecting the best Candidate for each position. The Town recruits for and fills vacancies in a transparent and competitive basis in accordance with its Recruitment and Selection Policy and procedures, applicable collective agreements, the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and all other relevant policies, employment and human rights legislation.
The Town provides equal employment opportunities, and does not tolerate favouritism, Cronyism, Nepotism or discrimination in its recruitment and selection processes. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Town does not discriminate on the basis that an Applicant is a Relative of a current employee. The Town is committed to the equitable treatment of all Candidates and preventing actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest that may arise from the hiring or employment of Relatives.
Scope
This procedure applies to all aspects of employment, including the Full Cycle Recruitment for full-time, part-time, students, seasonal and temporary employees, as well as internal movement, including appointments, promotions and secondments. Employees covered by a collective agreement are subject to the terms and conditions in their respective collective agreements.
The Recruitment and Selection Procedure will:
- Establish a fair, equitable, anti-racist and anti-oppressive hiring process.
- Ensure the principles found in the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act guide and set the minimum standards for recruitment, selection, employment, retention, and promotion.
- Promote internal equity and external competitiveness through merit-based hiring. Merit includes formal qualifications, experience, credentials, and achievements as well as diverse skills, abilities, knowledge and perspectives.
- Ensure all Applicants experience equitable, accessible, fair, consistent and transparent processes across recruitment, selection, and promotion.
- Ensure all human resource processes comply with collective agreements, relevant legislation and established terms and conditions. Where a conflict arises, the collective agreement prevails, except where it conflicts with the Ontario Human Rights Code, in which case the Code prevails.
Procedure
1. Recruitment Authorization
When a full-time vacancy exceeding four (4) months arises, the Hiring Manager must obtain approval from their Director, with input from Finance to ensure there is an appropriate budget for the position. Vacancies will be reviewed in consideration of operational needs and to determine most appropriate staffing solutions. When a full-time vacancy under four (4) months or a part-time vacancy arises, the Hiring Manager must seek approval from the Department Director.
Any increase to the Town’s full-time staffing complement, including the conversion of part-time positions to full-time positions, requires Council approval through the annual budget process.
All positions must be evaluated in accordance with the applicable job evaluation program.
Temporary Staffing
Temporary vacancies may arise due to emergencies, vacations, illness, legislated leaves, workload, or other operational needs.
In some cases, temporary vacancies may be filled through staffing agencies, approved through the procurement process. Hiring Managers may contact the approved temporary staffing agency directly after consulting HR to determine the appropriateness of using an external temporary staffing agency.
2. Job Postings
Vacancies are posted on the Town’s website through the applicant tracking system.
Prior to posting, Job Descriptions must be reviewed to ensure they reflect Bona Fide Occupational Requirement and qualifications required for the role.
Job postings must:
- Reflect the responsibilities and Bona Fide Occupational Requirements outlined in the Job Description;
- Be inclusive and free of barriers;
- Include the expected range of compensation for the role (in compliance with any applicable legislation);
- Include a statement on the use of artificial intelligence in the recruitment process;
- Include a statement on whether the posting is for an existing vacancy;
- Be posted in compliance with applicable legislation.
HR may engage or recommend external recruitment support, including professional recruitment agencies or organizations specializing in the attraction of diverse Candidates and Candidates from equity seeking groups. Such costs are borne by the hiring department, except for Senior Leadership Team positions, which are funded by HR.
All applications must be submitted online through the applicant tracking system within the specified posting period. Application accommodations are provided on request.
Posting of Non-Union Positions
Permanent and temporary non-union vacancies exceeding six (6) months must be posted either internally only or concurrently internally and externally.
Temporary vacancies of six (6) months or less may be filled through an internal temporary appointment at management’s discretion.
If a position becomes vacant within six (6) months of an original posting, the Hiring Manager may choose not to repost and, instead, consider Applicants from the original Applicant pool. The position must be reposted if the Hiring Manager wishes to consider new Applicants.
In exceptional circumstances, a posting may be waived and a direct appointment made, if approved by the Director of Human Resources, the relevant Commissioner and the CAO, provided the conditions below are met:
- The incumbent has continuously held the role on a temporary basis for at least two years and has performed successfully;
- The incumbent was originally selected through an open, competitive recruitment process, and;
- The role’s classification and responsibilities remain unchanged.
A direct appointment may also be made when a position is converted from temporary to permanent, provided the role was originally posted and filled through a competitive process and has been occupied for at least two years. All other criteria continue to apply.
3. Selection Process
The following will be taken into consideration during the selection process:
- Application materials including the cover letter, resume, application questionnaire, qualifications, education, experience and relevant credentials;
- Skills, abilities, aptitudes, and suitability in relation to the Job Description and required competencies;
- Tests, interviews and assessments, where applicable;
- Reference checks;
- Background checks, where applicable.
Hiring Managers must not allow irrelevant factors to influence their assessment. Such factors include the Candidate’s name, gender, education timeframe and geographic location, and location of past positions.
Interview panels, which may include subject matter experts from diverse or cross departmental groups, may be used to assess Candidates.
Offer letters are prepared by HR, or by the Hiring Manager or supervisor for part-time roles and must be submitted to HR once signed.
Hiring Managers or HR must notify Candidates by phone or email who are interviewed but not selected within 45 days of their last interview. An employee who is unsuccessful for an internal posting may consult with the Hiring Manager or Human Resources department about his or her candidacy. The Hiring Manager, in consultation with HR as needed, will provide timely, constructive, and job-related feedback based on established evaluation criteria. Feedback will focus on strengths, areas for development, and alignment with the requirements of the position.
Eligibility for Re-employment
Former employees who left the Town in good standing may be considered for re-employment, subject to HR approval.
Former employees are not eligible for re-employment if they:
- resigned without providing proper notice;
- were terminated for disciplinary reasons; or
- are in receipt of termination pay and/or severance pay, during the applicable notice or severance period.
Retired employees are generally not eligible for re-employment. Exceptions may be made for short-term temporary or part-time assignments with the approval from the department Director and the Director, Human Resources, in accordance with OMERS rules.
Collective Agreement and Duty to Accommodate Considerations
HR and Hiring Managers must ensure collective agreement obligations and duty to accommodate requirements for employees are addressed before proceeding with external recruitments.
Eligibility of Relatives to Be Hired for Employment
Nepotism and Cronyism are contrary to the Town’s commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, equity and accessibility. The Town is committed to eliminating barriers to employment and providing fair and equitable opportunities for all individuals.
The Town will not consider an application from individuals who are in an Interpersonal Relationship with, or are a Relative of the Mayor, a Member of Council, the Chief Administrative Officer, members of the Executive Leadership team (ELT) or employed in a Human Resources position.
These Interpersonal Relationships and Relatives or Relative of their partner or spouse (including common-law) include but are not limited to their child (including foster, step, or adoptive), child-in-law, sibling (including step or half), sibling-in-law (including step or half), parent, guardian, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, nephew, niece, or first cousin.
The Town prohibits employment situations where Relatives would:
- Have a Direct or Indirect Reporting Relationship;
- Supervise, be subordinate to, or exert influence over one another’s work or career; or
- Receive real or perceived preferential treatment.
A Relative of a Town employee who is identified as being the best qualified Candidate may be hired if there is no Direct or Indirect Reporting Relationship between the parties and where there is no perceived, actual or potential conflict of interest.
Determination of conflicts are made by the Director of Human Resources and applicable Commissioner, in consultation with the employee(s) involved.
Relatives of elected officials are not eligible for employment within the Office of Mayor and Council.
An employee of the Town, a Member of Council or a member of a Local Board may not advocate for the employment of any individual by the Town.
4. Reference and Background Checks
Offers of employment are subject to the receipt of two (2) satisfactory employment references obtained by the Hiring Manager before the employee’s start date.
Where a valid drivers’ licence is a Bona Fide Occupational Requirement, Applicants must provide a driver’s abstract from the appropriate regulatory body on or before their start date.
Certain positions may require a satisfactory Police Record Check before the employee’s start date in accordance with the Police Record Check Procedure.
Additional background checks such as education verification, social media checks or credit checks may be required.
All new employees must provide proof of legal entitlement to work in Canada and maintain this legal status in order to continue employment with the Town.
Persons with Disabilities
The Town is committed to non-discrimination against persons with a disability and will provide reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities throughout the recruitment process in accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and Integrated Accessibility Standards.
Definitions
Applicant: An individual who has submitted their resume or application for a specific position within the organization.
Bona Fide Occupational Requirement: A necessary, non-discriminatory job requirement or minimum standard that is essential for the performance of the core duties of a position.
Candidate: An Applicant who has been selected for further evaluation in the recruitment process, such as interviews or assessments.
Diversity without proper regard to their qualifications.
Direct or Indirect Reporting Relationship: Where a Town employee has or may have management oversight over the functions within the roles and responsibilities of the position that is available or, if there is perceived opportunity for the supervisor / manager to exert influence over the career of the other. This may also include indirect supervision, such as covering a section in on-call situations, portfolio changes, or through an indirect or direct chain of command.
Diversity: refers to the presence of a wide range of human qualities, attributes and intersectionalities within a group, organization or society.
Full Cycle Recruitment: The fair and equitable process of job analysis, attracting, screening, shortlisting, and selecting qualified Candidates for a job. This includes sourcing Candidates, screening applications, conducting assessments and interviews, references, and onboarding.
Hiring Manager: The individual accountable for making the final unbiased and equitable decision on hiring a Candidate, typically the manager of the department or the direct supervisor/manager for the role.
Inclusion: For this procedure’s purpose, an environment in which all individuals are welcome, treated fairly and respectfully, and supported to succeed with access to relevant essential resources and opportunities.
Interpersonal Relationship: An Interpersonal Relationship is a connection or association between two or more individuals. These relationships can vary in nature and intensity, ranging from Relatives/family ties or current or former consensual intimate partnerships. In the workplace this could impact the objectivity of the decision-making responsibility or create an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest (either favorable or unfavorable).
Job Description: The document outlining the duties and requirements of a position, created for job evaluation to determine the appropriate level of pay.
Nepotism: The practice of showing preferential treatment to Relatives—typically in hiring, promotions, or other professional decisions—based on Interpersonal Relationships rather than merit, qualifications, or performance. In organizational settings, Nepotism can undermine fairness, reduce employee morale, and compromise the integrity of decision‑making processes by creating the perception or reality that opportunities are not awarded equitably.
Relative: For the purposes of this policy, Relative is defined as a member of the employee’s family or the family of an individual with whom the employee has an intimate personal relationship (including common-law), such as:
- child (including foster, step, or adoptive), child-in-law,
- sibling (including step or half), sibling-in-law (including step or half),
- parent, guardian, parent-in-law,
- grandparent,
- grandchild,
- aunt,
- uncle,
- nephew,
- niece,
- first cousin
Town: The Corporation of the Town of Oakville.
References and related documents
Recruitment and Selection policy
Police Record Check procedure
Employee Code of Conduct
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Ontario Human Rights Code;
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
Accessible Employment procedure
Responsibilities
The hiring department, in conjunction with the Human Resources (HR) department, is responsible for the administration of this procedure and adhering to the Bona Fide Occupational Requirements and qualifications required for the roles.
It is the responsibility of Applicants and all Town employees to comply with their obligations under this procedure, including declaring any existing relationship that could result in a supervisory reporting issue, conflict of interest or other forms of perceived favouritism.