Recruitment Assurance — Nationwide
Protect your organisation from recruitment bias, inconsistent scoring and costly legal challenges.
We attend interview panels and application sifting processes in person or remotely via Microsoft Teams — anywhere in the UK.
Tribunal-ready documentation from an independent source
Independent oversight that your process cannot provide itself
Evidence your equality obligations are being actively met
Written assessment records that stand up to scrutiny
Show candidates the process is fair and independently overseen
Your hiring managers know the role. They lead the interview. Our role is to sit alongside the panel as an independent professional — observing the process, verifying your criteria are applied consistently to every candidate, and documenting exactly what we see from start to finish.
Our independence is what gives our stamp of approval its value. That assurance is only worth something because we are genuinely independent.
Talk to us about your next appointment"The most common reason recruitment decisions are challenged is not who was appointed. It is how the decision was made." Good practice in structured interviewing
Application Sifting
The interview is rarely where things go wrong. It is the stage before it that carries the most legal risk and receives the least scrutiny.
Shortlisting decisions are typically made by one or two people, without independent oversight, and without documentation that would withstand challenge. When a rejected candidate believes their application was not fairly considered, organisations frequently find they have little to show for how that decision was reached.
Discrimination law applies from the earliest point of the recruitment process. A candidate does not need to have been employed to bring a claim.
Once your shortlisting decisions are complete, you send us the application record: the stated criteria, the applications received, and the decisions made against each one. We review the full set together, checking that the same criteria were applied consistently to every candidate — not just the strongest or weakest applications in isolation, but the whole picture side by side.
For objective, factual criteria — a required qualification, a minimum length of experience, eligibility to work — we can verify directly whether they were correctly and consistently applied. For more subjective criteria, our role is to confirm that a clear reason was documented for each decision, and that the same standard was used throughout, rather than to substitute our own judgement of the candidates.
Every review is documented in writing: what was checked, what was found, and where the process holds up or needs attention. A shortlist you can stand behind.
61%
rise in employment tribunal single claims, year on year (Q3 2025/26)
£102,891
average tribunal award for age discrimination claims in 2023/24
64,000
single claims currently open at the tribunal
£6,000–£30,000
typical legal cost of defending a single claim, before any award
Sources: Ministry of Justice Tribunal Statistics Quarterly; multiple corroborating sources.
Why Criterion Panel Group
Our background spans senior roles in UK law enforcement and operational planning, environments where structured, evidence-based decision making is non-negotiable.
We have no relationship with your organisation, your candidates, or your internal hierarchies. That independence is the point and it is what makes our involvement meaningful.
Every engagement is built around your criteria. We verify it is applied consistently, record thoroughly, and ensure the outcome is grounded in evidence rather than gut feeling.
We work with organisations of all sizes across public and private sectors. Schools, NHS, councils, universities, housing associations and beyond.
Legal Framework
Fair and lawful recruitment is a legal requirement. Criterion Panel Group has a thorough understanding of the legislative framework that governs how organisations must conduct their hiring processes.
Equality Act 2010
All recruitment must be free from discrimination across nine protected characteristics. Our structured, criteria-based approach ensures every candidate is assessed on merit alone, creating a process that is both fair and fully defensible.
Public Sector Equality Duty 2011
Schools, NHS trusts, universities, and local authorities have a statutory obligation to have due regard to equality in all decisions, including who they appoint. An independent panellist provides documented evidence that this duty has been actively met.
ACAS Code of Practice
Employment tribunals routinely reference ACAS guidance when assessing whether a recruitment process was fair. ACAS strongly advocates for structured, consistent, competency-based interviewing. That is the precise methodology we apply.
Employment Rights Act 1996
Recruitment decisions that cannot be evidenced or justified are among the most common sources of employment dispute. Our written assessment records ensure every appointment decision is grounded in evidence.
Every panel engagement we undertake is conducted in full accordance with the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty, ACAS best practice, and the Employment Rights Act 1996, so you can appoint with confidence.
Our Approach
Your hiring managers are the subject experts. They know the role, the team, and what good looks like in your organisation. Our role is to sit alongside the panel as an independent professional, ensuring the process is applied consistently, candidates are assessed on equal terms, and every decision is properly documented.
If you have an existing scoring framework, we observe your panel applying it and verify it is used consistently for every candidate. If you need a structure to work from, we can help provide one. Either way, we work quietly alongside your panel, not in front of it. We do not produce a separate, competing score — the appointment decision, and the judgement of each candidate's suitability, remains entirely yours.
Send us your recruitment policy, person specification, and any scoring framework. We arrive knowing exactly what fair looks like for this role.
In person or via Microsoft Teams. We observe how your criteria are applied to each candidate, note anything that requires attention, and record it in real time. The hiring manager leads and makes every judgement on merit — we watch the process, not the candidates' technical competence.
Every candidate assessed against the same process, in real time. Notes are contemporaneous — recorded as it happens, not reconstructed from memory.
A clear, evidenced document confirming the process was independently overseen, consistently applied, and conducted fairly. Tribunal-ready from day one.
About Us
Criterion Panel Group was founded by Oliver, a professional with 13 years' service in the UK public sector, specialising in operational planning, stakeholder engagement, and the delivery of complex operational activity, including experience across law enforcement and military service environments.
Our founder holds a BA (Hons) in Policing Studies, combining academic grounding in law enforcement principles with extensive real-world operational experience.
Our founder established Criterion Panel Group after seeing first-hand how often good recruitment decisions go undocumented and undefended — and how much difference a genuinely independent, structured process can make.
We are based in South Wales and operate nationally, attending panels in person or remotely via Microsoft Teams.
Law enforcement, military service and public sector operational roles
Upper second class honours — academic grounding combined with operational experience
Based in South Wales, operating nationally in person or via Microsoft Teams
Professional indemnity insurance held with Hiscox
Transparent Pricing
The same rates apply whether you're booking recruitment or disciplinary oversight.
Single Session — Remote
up to 45-minute session
Independent observation and process verification for a single candidate. Includes criteria review and written assessment record.
Best Value
up to 4 hours via Teams
Independent observation for 3 to 5 candidates remotely. Includes process documentation and written assessment record.
Full Day — Remote
up to 8 hours via Teams
Full day independent observation for larger hiring rounds. Includes full process documentation and written record.
Single Session — In Person
up to 45-minute session
Independent observation at your site for a single candidate. Includes criteria review and written assessment record.
Best Value
up to 4 hours at your site
In person independent observation for 3 to 5 candidates. Includes process documentation and written assessment record.
Full Day — In Person
up to 8 hours at your site
Full day in person independent observation for larger hiring rounds. Includes full process documentation and written record.
In-person attendance for a Single Session includes travel within 25 miles of Swansea. Half Day and Full Day in-person attendance includes travel within 50 miles of Swansea. Beyond these distances, travel costs are agreed in advance. All fees exclude VAT. Criterion Panel Group is not currently VAT registered.
Need something that does not fit these packages? Large hiring rounds, multi-site engagements, or ongoing oversight arrangements are all possible.
Request a bespoke quoteNot sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute call. A no-obligation conversation by phone or Microsoft Teams to talk through what independent oversight could look like for your organisation.
Book a free 15-minute callProfessionally Insured
ICO Registered
13+ Years Experience
Law Enforcement & Military Background
Nationwide Coverage
Public Sector Expertise
Frequently Asked Questions
We observe. Your hiring managers lead throughout and make every appointment decision. We sit on the panel to verify your criteria are applied fairly and consistently to every candidate — we are not there to take over.
No. We are not subject matter experts in your field, so producing our own competing score against your criteria would not be meaningful, and could create confusion about who is actually making the appointment decision. Instead, we verify that your panel applied its criteria consistently and fairly to every candidate, and we document that verification in writing. The judgement of each candidate's suitability, and the final appointment decision, remains entirely with your hiring panel.
Both. We attend remotely via Microsoft Teams or in person at your site. Remote is available to organisations anywhere in the UK. In person includes travel within 50 miles of Swansea, beyond that travel costs are agreed in advance.
A minimum of five working days wherever possible. We understand recruitment timelines do not always run smoothly and will always try to accommodate shorter notice where we can.
All of them. Schools, NHS, councils, universities, housing associations, and private sector organisations of all sizes. The principles of fair, impartial, criteria-based assessment apply equally regardless of sector.
Yes. Criterion Panel Group holds professional indemnity insurance with Hiscox, giving clients complete peace of mind that they are working with a professional, accountable service.
Our written assessment record is produced specifically to protect you. Every candidate's performance is documented against the criteria at the time, not reconstructed afterwards. That contemporaneous record is what stands up if a decision is ever questioned.
Yes. We offer independent sift review as a standalone service or as part of a full end to end package covering shortlisting through to final panel.
No. Sifting is typically done by one person, over time, rather than in a single sitting — so we review it differently to how we attend interview panels. Once your shortlisting decisions are made, you send us the criteria, the applications, and the outcomes, and we review the complete set together. This lets us compare decisions across the whole candidate pool, which is often more effective at spotting inconsistency than observing one decision at a time. Our written record covers what we checked and what we found.
No. All fees shown exclude VAT. Criterion Panel Group is not currently VAT registered, so the price you see is the price you pay.
Get In Touch
Tell us about your upcoming appointment and we will get back to you within one working day.