---
source: policy_docs
audience: role:admin, role:employer
title: Screening and Hiring Standards
---

# What the match score means

The AI match score is a reading of an application against a role's stated
requirements. It is a starting point for a decision, not the decision.

| Band | Reading | Expected action |
|---|---|---|
| 80 and above | Strong match on stated requirements | Shortlist |
| 70 to 79 | Viable, usually with one gap | Shortlist if the gap is trainable |
| 50 to 69 | Marginal | Read the application before deciding |
| Below 50 | Weak against this role | Consider for other open roles |
| No score | Not yet screened | Screen before deciding anything |

A candidate with no score has not been assessed. They are not a candidate who
scored badly, and they must never be ranked as though they were — an unscored
applicant sitting below a 40 in a sorted list is a reading error, not a
judgement.

# Screening is not a decision

Screening moves an application from applied to screened. It does not reject
anybody. A rejection is a decision a person takes, records a reason for, and can
explain to the candidate if asked.

Rejecting on the score alone is not a reason. "Below the bar for this role"
without a stated requirement it failed is the same as no reason at all.

# Time to decision

Every applicant gets a decision within ten working days of applying. Where a
role is paused, the applicant is told it is paused rather than left in the
pipeline — a candidate who hears nothing assumes a no and takes another job,
which costs the same as a rejection while looking like nothing happened.

Candidates at interview stage get a decision within three working days of the
interview.

# Interviews

An interview is required before hiring into a supervisory role. For general
staff it is optional and should be used where the application leaves a specific
question open, not as a default gate.

Interview notes are recorded against the application. A hire with no notes is a
hire nobody can explain in six months.