ASA Adjudication on Johnston Press plc

Ad

A local press ad, for an employment website, stated “halifaxjobstoday.co.uk Launch of new Halifax focused jobs website Evening Courier has today launched its very own job site, providing a fantastic new resource for job seekers and businesses in Halifax ...”.

Issue

The Modelling Information Service challenged whether the ad breached the Code, because it did not make clear that halifaxjobstoday.co.uk was an employment agency.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Johnston Press plc t/a HalifaxJobsToday said they did not operate as an employment agency. They said they merely provided an online job board, featuring ads on behalf of recruiters and employment agencies. They asserted that at no point in the process did Johnston Press intervene and act as an employment agency.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA understood that an employment agency was defined by legislation as an organisation providing services, whether by the provision of information or otherwise, for the purpose of finding persons employment with employers; we considered that by that definition HalifaxJobsToday was an employment agency. The CAP Code required such organisations to make clear in an ad that they were an employment agency, if the name did not disclose that fact. We noted the name of the service, HalifaxJobsToday, and noted the ad featured details of the service offered. However, we noted the ad did not make specifically clear that they were an employment agency. Furthermore, we considered that the name was unlikely to make it sufficiently clear for readers. Consequently, we concluded that the ad was in breach of the Code.

The ad breached CAP Code clause 52.3 (Employment and business opportunities).

Action

The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told HalifaxJobsToday to ensure that they made clear (i.e. in the body copy of the ad) that they operated as an employment agency.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)