Supplier – employment requirements
To support increased employment in public procurement, we use the purchasing process. What happens during the various phases can be followed here. Those who are, or who would like to become, suppliers to a public authority can get involved for the entire process.
Planning
Are you planning to participate in public procurement with employment requirements? In that case you should prepare well. You can also encourage contracting organisations to set employment requirements in their procurements.
Start by taking the following steps:
- Find out what employment requirements means for your company or organisation. Information and support are available on this website.
- Consider what possibilities you have for receiving interns or short-term employees, what tasks need to be done and what skills you need.
- Contact contracting organisations and express an interest in their setting employment requirements in their procurement contracts.
- Participate in a dialogue with the contracting organisation prior to the procurement process or contact the public authority and try to encourage dialogue in advance of the procurement process.
During the planning phase, work begins on assessing whether it is appropriate to set employment requirements for the procurement. If so, the contracting organisation needs to give an overview of external factors according to the current situation as well as expected developments in e.g., the industry, job market etc.
Amongst other things, the job-matching process is planned to create the best possible opportunities for the company that is awarded the contract to be able to find a job applicant with appropriate skills.
Early planning also allows sufficient time to plan for training, raise competence levels and equip people who are available in the job market so that they can better meet the suppliers' skills requirements. This can involve planning everything from work training and short courses to adult education equivalent to upper-secondary school or specialist training at the university level.
To a greater or lesser extent, general planning and assessment can be done in connection with policy and strategic decisions within the contracting organisation. Dialogue and collaboration with relevant industries, interest organisations, and employee and employer's organisations should then have taken place.
Identification
The more a contracting organisation knows, the better will be the result. This is where the supplier can be of great help.
Describe the particular needs and circumstances:
- What sort of skills does your company need?
- Are there any special situations in the industry (rules, challenges and/or possibilities)?
- Are there any special local or regional circumstances that affect your ability to employ and/or receive interns?
The identification phase involves getting a clearer picture of the expectations and objectives by learning more about the external environment. The contracting organisation carries out the identification in consultation with potential suppliers and the job-matching service.
Amongst other things, the contracting organisation should:
- Identify the external factors affecting procurement with employment requirements, such as demographics, the job market, the industry, existing collective agreements and other job market regulations within the relevant industry and region.
- Set more detailed objectives for procurement with employment requirements.
- Specify the type of service procured.
- Clarify where the service will be performed.
- Describe the potential number of employment opportunities (number of positions or work hours).
- Explain which skills profiles may become relevant (level of education, skills and experience).
It is time for the contracting organisation to analyse the job market and examine both the possibilities and the risks of setting employment requirements for the current procurement. Amongst other things, local and regional circumstances need to be analysed in detail.
As a potential supplier to the contracting organisation, you possess important knowledge about the industry in which you work and the circumstances in your region. This is knowledge that might be needed for the market analysis, such as when the circumstances of the relevant industry are analysed for the local or regional job market where the contracted work will be carried out., This is done since there are regional variations in the job market according to cyclical fluctuations that can impact the availability of individuals in the job market.
During the analysis phase, the contracting organisation assesses the suitability of setting employment requirements for the procurement by analysing the knowledge gained during the planning and identification phases.
A general market analysis might have been previously conducted by the contracting organisation but may still be carried out in prior to the public tender. The job market analysis then becomes part of what forms the basis for the contracting organisation's decision—that is, whether to set employment requirements in the public tender.
It is now time to proceed with the procurement process. This phase involves a lot of work for the contracting organisation, but less for potential suppliers.
During the procurement phase, the contracting organisation sets up the public tender itself, along with the usual tasks of formulating the procurement documents, advertising, and awarding and signing agreements. The contracting organisation is also responsible for setting various special contract terms in the public tender.
The contracting organisation can choose to set numerical requirements in the procurement or dialogue requirements. Numerical requirements mean that the successful bidder undertakes to provide employment opportunities or internship placements for a certain number of individuals. Dialogue requirements mean that the successful bidder only commits to meeting the contracting organisation after the procurement process to discuss the possibility of implementing employment incentive measures, such as offering temporary employment or internship to someone from a designated target group.
Additionally, the contracting organisation can set special contract terms that involve the payment of bonuses if extra people receive employment and/or the successful bidder takes measures to improve gender equality within the framework of the contract.
Throughout the duration of the contract, the supplier must apply the following [select options]:
Bonuses are awarded if extra people from the specified target group(s) are given employment in the form of paid positions or internship.
Special treatment with regards to gender in connection with recruitment can only continue as long as the supplier has a need. Bonuses are not awarded for measures contrary to the Discrimination Act.
[(For framework agreements) [The contracting authority] is further entitled to exclude a supplier from the awarding of contracts according to order of priority or other call-off order, or to withhold the possibility for a supplier to participate in renewed competitive tendering as long as the shortcoming remains.]
[The contracting authority] is entitled to terminate the contract with immediate effect if the supplier fails to produce an action plan or neglects to rectify deficiencies according to an established action plan, if the deficiencies in both cases are material. There is no penalty if the deficiency is due to circumstances beyond the supplier's control.
Implement – find a new coworker
As a successful bidder you are able to receive help in finding and recruiting those whom you would like to offer employment. During the job-matching phase, you will work together with the job-matching service and the contracting organisation.
- Involve HR/the person in charge and other relevant individuals.
- Designate a contact person, coordinator or project manager who is responsible for contact with the contracting organisation and job-matching service so that the individuals you select will correspond to the special contract terms.
- Develop a plan for how the requirements will be met. Contact the contracting organisation and ask about what support they can provide in the job-matching process.
- Compile a desired skills profile for the person(s) to whom you will be offering employment.
- Plan any needed internal training for those who will be given a job/internship placement.
- Compile an introduction and supervision plan and assign resources for supervision.
- Prepare and inform everyone who will be involved in your organisation.
- Communicate. Show that you take social responsibility.
Possible support from the job-matching service:
- Identify individuals from the applicable target group.
- Assess applicants according to the contract requirements.
- Train or educate selected individuals up to the base level.
- Train or educate selected individuals if special skills are needed for a particular position.
During the implementation phase, the employment requirement measures should be put into practise. This requires close cooperation between the successful bidder and the job-matching service.
This phase begins with a start-up meeting together with the contracting organisation, in which the job-matching service should participate to provide support in discussing the skills needed by the supplier. A job-matching service may be found within the contracting organisation, such as a labour market administration, but can also be a public or private employment agency that helps with matching jobs.
As a supplier you can also choose to find a suitable candidate yourself to satisfy the special contract terms.
It you as a supplier that employs or makes internship placements available, and it is you as a supplier that makes the final decision as to who will be offered employment within the framework of the contract, based on the requirements set therein.
The recruitment process consists of the following steps:
- Identify individuals from the target group.
- Investigate and assess the individuals in relation to the contract.
- Train or educate them to a base level.
- Match them according to the contract.
- Internship or instruction—specialised expertise for the position.
- The individual is employed or given an internship placement by the supplier.
Identify
After the contract is awarded, and at a specified time, the job-matching service and procurement officers hold a dialogue with the supplier in order to identify the skills needs. During the dialogue between the job-matching service and the supplier, the possibilities for job matching should be discussed according to the prevailing situation on the job market for the industry and in relation to potential job seekers. The supplier compiles a desired candidate profile in order to be able to begin recruiting suitable individuals to satisfy the employment requirement.
Investigate and assess
Based on the supplier's desired candidate profile and the reason given for the requirement by the contracting organisation, the job-matching service assesses which people (that correlate with the organisation's prioritised target groups) available on the job market have sufficient skills for the assignment. Any further need of training for the assignment is investigated.
Train or educate—base level
Additional introduction or job training may be needed in order to broaden the recruitment pool. This may include Swedish for professionals, short courses or another type of training, especially in combination with internship etc., which can be offered by the local authorities or the Swedish Public Employment Service.
Match
The job-matching service submits job seekers as agreed with the supplier that correspond with the desired candidate profile according to previous dialogue. The supplier interviews the job seekers and selects which ones to employ or offer a supervised internship placement. The contracting organisation must have defined what a supervised internship placement involves for the specific case.
Internship or instruction—specialised expertise
Some tasks may require a certain amount of specialised expertise or internship experience before a person can be employed. The job-matching service investigates the situation to be able to provide these opportunities before employment. The supplier may also offer training for the candidate prior to or during employment.
Employment
When job matching has taken place and a person has been offered paid employment or internship, the job-matching service will help to investigate the possibility for the supplier to receive some form of employment subsidy. Employment takes place in accordance with applicable law, and, where applicable, according to collective agreements for the industry and based on the special contract terms set in the procurement contract.
Employment subsidies
As an employer, if the supplier desires to receive some form of support from the Swedish Public Employment Service for the person employed, the individual must meet certain criteria. Various forms of employment subsidy are based on the individual and their specific needs. To receive support from the Swedish Public Employment Service for an internship placement, the individual's needs will be even more clearly in focus.
Following up
When the contractual period draws to a close, the contracting organisation will see how work has gone and check that the requirements have been met. The follow-up is also valuable to suppliers.
- All procurement contracts with employment requirements must be followed up. Follow-up forms and support can be found under Further information.
- The contracting organisation follows up all measurable objectives in the special contract terms. General follow-up can be done in connection with recurring appraisal meetings or by filing report forms.
- All personal data must be handled in accordance with the Data Protection Regulation.
During the supervision phase, the contracting organisation follows up the supplier's commitments and the measurable objectives in the contractual agreement in the procurement. Verification can take place at the appraisal meeting during the course of the contract and by the supplier submitting a general report to the Contracts manager. The self-report form specifies the information that should be submitted. At the close of the contract, it is appropriate to hold a final meeting to close the process.
When should the follow-up take place?
When and how often the follow-up should be done depends largely on the size of the procurement and the number of individuals offered employment according to the contract. The contracting organisation could, for example, book regular meetings with the supplier to follow up the details regarding employment and the time(s) at which self-report forms must be submitted.
Who should conduct the follow-up?
The person who has main responsibility for conducting the follow-up can vary from one contracting organisation to another. In some organisations, it is the procurement function that is responsible for the follow-up. In others, the follow-up might be taken care of by the municipal labour market administration or similar function. The contracting organisation may use its own resources for carrying out the follow up, or it may be done by representatives of the organisation.
How should the follow-up be done?
Following up the employment requirements can be done in dialogue between the contracting organisation and supplier and by the supplier submitting reports about employment/internship placements that have been filled. At the end of the contract, it would be appropriate to hold a wrap-up meeting.
In order to verify that the supplier is fulfilling its obligations, it may initially be sufficient to request general details that the supplier submits in accordance with the self-report form. The self-report form specifies the details that should be provided by the supplier.
Handling of personal data in connection with the follow-up
When following up employment requirements, it may be necessary to have access to personal data. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR—Regulation 2016/679/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council) applies to all processing of personal data.