Employment and Homework Schemes

Advertisements which offer work from home are generally known as ‘homeworking schemes’.  A typical example might be:  “Earn £50 per 100 mailing envelopes. Send stamped addressed envelope to ... “.  The National Group for Homeworking estimates that some 1 million people in the UK work from home.

Advertisements for homework schemes frequently appear in Situations Vacant or Recruitment columns in newspapers, rather than the Business Opportunities section, and tend to appeal to people who are most in need of legitimate work from home, such as the unemployed, single parents and the disabled.

The Authority regularly gives advice to newspapers to encourage them to tighten up on their checking procedures when accepting advertisements.  This has meant that some scheme operators have resorted increasingly to placing cards in shop windows - which are not regulated by the ASA.

The rules

~ Work must be clearly and accurately described.  These schemes are not illegal, but the advertiser must ensure that the public are not being misled about the type of work involved, or anything else that would influence their judgement. People must be able to make an informed choice as to whether or not to participate. 

~ Any financial outlay required must be made clear.  These schemes generally involve a registration fee or a sum of money for a ‘starter pack’. 

~ Earnings claims must be capable of substantiation and realistically attainable.  Forecasts of earnings should not be made if the scheme is new. 

~ Those advertising homeworking schemes must give their full name and contact address.  Respondents are asked to send a registration fee to obtain details of the work.

COMPLAINTS

~ Work being persistently returned as sub-standard and no payment being made.

~ Exaggerated earnings claims.

~ Initial advertisements which do not fully describe the work, or refer to a “one-off registration fee” when subsequent literature demands further payments before any work is offered.

ADVICE TO THE PUBLIC

Not all homework schemes are dishonest, but the ASA issues regular public warnings about the problems with those that are. While the Authority continues to take action against companies making misleading offers of work from home, the following advice can help consumers avoid problems in the first place:

~ Don’t expect to earn vast sums of money for doing very little.

~ Don’t send any money unless the initial advertisement clearly states how much you will be charged and exactly what this is for.  In many instances you may have problems getting a refund if you are not satisfied with the scheme.

~ If you are unsure about a particular company, contact your local Trading Standards Department to see if they have had any complaints about them.

~ The National Group on Homeworking offers support to homeworkers on a membership basis and lobbies policy makers to ensure that the interests of homeworkers remain on the political agenda.  They can be contacted on 0800 174 095; www.ngh.org.uk.