The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Leicestershire Trading Standards that a Leicester employment agency posted ‘misleading’ job adverts.
In a written ruling, the ASA concluded that the ads posted by Developing Your Potential Recruitment Limited were ‘misleading’ because the authority had ‘not seen evidence that the roles were genuine’.
The roles for teaching assistants in various locations in the UK were posted by Developing Your Potential Recruitment Limited on employment websites in the autumn.
Trading standards officers with Leicestershire County Council believed that the jobs were not genuine, outlining that Developing Your Potential Recruitment Limited was inviting applicants to interview to determine their eligibility for a training course run by the employment agency itself.
We welcome the decision from the ASA as, when a position is advertised, applicants should be able to have the confidence that the job is genuine
Person:County council leader Nick Rushton, cabinet member for regulatory services
In response to the ruling, Developing Your Potential Recruitment Limited said that when a candidate replied to an ad, it was the start of a four-stage process that might or might not lead to a job. It said the fourth stage was to offer unsuccessful candidates the opportunity to attend its optional training course.
The company also said it couldn’t provide evidence that the vacancies were genuine “because many of the teaching assistant vacancies had a transient lifespan”.
Trading standards are also encouraging job-seekers experiencing similar problems with misleading advertising to contact the Advertising Standards Authority on 0207 492 2222 or visit www.asa.org.uk/make-a-complaint as well as the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.