Like any other form of planning, Human Resource Planning (HRP) is a rationale approach to the effective recruitment, retention and deployment of people with in an organisation, including, where necessary arrangement for dismissing staff, (G.A. Cole, 2004). HRP is therefore concerned with the flow of people through and sometimes out of the organisation.

Normally it is a requirement for every organisation to plan ahead and make some assessment of their present employee situation, so as to ensure that an appropriate range of skills is available for the entire department within the organisation.

Human Resource Planning is essentially concerned with analysing the existing human resource situation, assessing the external labour market and forecasting the supply situation, forecasting future demands for people and establishing and implementing human resource plan, (G.A. Cole, 2004).

The organisation’s goals for securing the workforce whether for short or long-term includes recruitment and selection, training and development, promotion, redeployment and career planning, pay and productivity, motivation and appraisal, retirements and redundancy, all depends on a sound human resource planning process.

Considering all the above organisation’s goals, Human Resource Planning has contributed a lot in helping Care UK to achieve its goals.

Care UK is the leading independent provider of health and social care in UK. Its deals in Residential care services, Homecare services, Mental health services, Learning disability services, GP practices, NHS walk-in centres NHS CATS and NHS treatment centres. It has its head office at Connaught House, 850 The Crescent Colchester Business Park, Colchester Essex, CO4 9QB.

In consideration to the Care UK recruitment and selection planning, the organisation has adapted both the internal and external recruitment and selection planning process for the managers and health care workers respectively. To maximise its internal capability and run its current 59 nursing or care homes, the organisation want to recruit more managers internally by offering a clear career path that will attract excellent candidates and keep these who have already joined us, “said Carol Cunningham Care UK project manager”. Candidates applying for home managers have to go through a rigorous selection process that involves recommendation by a senior manager or regional directors, aptitude and personality test and a structured interview with the project manager and operational manager to be selected.

The Care UK recruitment policy is structured to ensure that all staff will be fairly employed, while meeting the criteria and standards set by Care UK and in accordance with appropriate legislation, (www. Care uk.com). As a recruitment process, Care UK do advertise their vacancies in the organisation’s website, national and local newspapers, job centre and internet. The organisation does strive to ensure that applicants are kept informed of their progress through the recruitment procedure and candidates are selected on the basis of their ability to perform the job required. Care UK operates an equal opportunity during its recruitment process where applicants are given equal opportunity regardless of their race, sex, religion and age. Basing on the sector of which the organisation operates, much emphasis has been put on the recruitment and selection process as it is a requirement that the right candidates are given jobs. As a result a sound recruitment and selection planning is needed to attract the right candidates for the jobs. As a legal requirement, all the applicants who are applying for positions of healthcare or domiciliary care assistants are subjected to a number of checks before they are selected. These checks includes, enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) disclosure, right to work, occupational health check and verifiable reference check including full employment history. Only the candidates with a satisfactory outcome of the above checks are selected interviewed and offered the opportunity to trained and work with the organisation. As a form of legal requirement, employees that are selected and offered job by the organisation are provided with a written particulars for employment which stipulate clearly the title of the job the employee is employed, scale or rate of remuneration or the method of calculating remuneration, intervals at which remuneration is paid, holiday pay, sick pay pensions arrangement, grieverance procedures applicable and length of notice to be given on either side. A written employment contract is then handed to the successful candidates that have been employed by the organisation.

Having followed the Care UK recruitment and selection planning, the organisation has strict and tough policies when conducting its recruitment and selection process due to the nature of the sector in which it operates. The organisation does follow the right procedures by engaging in both internal and external recruitment process when vacancies do arise within