A direct appointment is one which is offered without competition for the position. Under normal circumstances, there should be no direct appointments to permanent posts.
Very occasionally, circumstances may arise where there is a case to make a direct appointment to a permanent post where the Strategic Appointment route is not appropriate.
Circumstances leading to the consideration of a direct appointment will arise very infrequently, and the facts of such cases are likely to vary greatly. It is therefore not possible to establish fixed criteria where direct appointments may be made. In all cases advice should be sought from HR. Examples when use of this Policy may be appropriate include TUPE transfers, some Fellowship appointments, or situations where the work and role only exist if that individual is employed, for example when they are named on a grant proposal to an external funder for continuation of an existing project.
Please see Manager Guidance section below for detailed procedure.
This guidance provides advice on:
Strategic appointments
Strategic appointments differ from direct appointments – these are usually open-ended hires of an individual who will bring a rare or unique subject specialism, knowledge base or reputational prestige. Strategic appointments are managed using the Strategic Appointments Policy.
Direct appointments and the University Redeployment Pool
For highly specialist roles, a direct appointment will be considered where it can be evidenced that the essential subject expertise is unlikely to exist within the URP as part of the business case (see Section 3).
1. Direct appointments – individual named on grant/Fellowship award
1.1 Where the proposed appointee is all the following:
1.2 Managers/PIs must ensure there are no other people on the same grant or within the same research theme at the same grade that should be given the opportunity to apply for the role – if so, an expression of interest (EOI) process should be carried out with all eligible staff unless the manager/PI can make a clear, robust case that the individual’s skill set is unique to others on the grant.
1.3 For all individuals, the manager/PI should submit a Staffing Request Form on ERP. Following this, they should contact the Onboarding Employee Services Hub mailbox onboarding-employee-services-hub@bristol.ac.uk with the documentation in Section 3 below.
2. Direct appointments – individual is not named on a grant/Fellowship award
2.1 A Manager wants to appoint a known external candidate for a short-term FTC (normally up to 1 year) and one or more of the following applies:
2.2 Managers must ensure there are no existing staff who should be given the opportunity to apply for the role – if so, an expression of interest (EOI) process should be carried out with all eligible staff unless the manager can make a clear, robust case that the external candidates skill set is unique to others in the immediate team/research group.
2.3 Managers should also consider whether the candidate could be temporarily appointed via the TSS/CAG contract route, rather than a main staff appointment. https://www.bristol.ac.uk/temporary-staffing/
2.4 In the event that a direct appointment is appropriate, the manager should compile a written proposal for the direct appointment using the form below, having consulted with a HR Business Partner. The proposal should be submitted to the Dean of the Faculty (or delegated authority) for approval, who will have the final decision. Once approved, the manager should send confirmation to their HR Business Partner and the Onboarding Employee Services Hub mailbox, onboarding-employee-services-hub@bristol.ac.uk with the documentation in Section 3 below, copying in the relevant Finance contact.
2.5 Extensions up to a further 6 months may be permitted, on the understanding that there will be no further extensions. A rationale for the extension should be sent to the original approver, and approval sent to the relevant faculty HR Queries mailbox and HR Business Partner.
2.6 Appointments for a contract duration longer than one year must be advertised via the full recruitment and URP process.
3. For all Direct Appointments the hiring/supporting documentation, which should be sent to the Onboarding Employee Services Hub mailbox, should include:
It is important that both the Onboarding Team and the Staff Immigration Team are notified if a candidate requires a visa to work in the UK, as this may affect the date they can commence employment.
Please note that an individual cannot begin work until a signed contract has been received, and all required pre‑employment checks have been completed. This includes ensuring that the Right to Work check is carried out before their start date.
4. Requests for a direct appointment to a higher grade (linked to a Fellowship or other funding award)
4.1 Managers/PIs may wish to request that an existing employee be appointed to a higher grade, due to being awarded grant funding or a Fellowship Award that would increase their salary beyond the grade of their current role.
4.2 There should be no requests for a direct appointment to a higher grade. The individual must apply for promotion in the next available academic promotion round.
4.3 Only in extremely exceptional circumstances may an exception be made, and the manager/PI must approach the Dean of the Faculty to discuss the particular circumstances. Approval is at the Deans' discretion, with advice from the relevant Head of HR Business Partnering and Pro-Vice Chancellor.
Date of Revised Policy – February 2026
