Ad description
A listing posted on the job website Indeed.com, by Fusion17, for the role of a Trainee Sales and Marketing Assistant, seen in August 2025. At the top of the job listing, it stated that the salary for the role would be “From £24,687 a year – Permanent, Graduate, Full-time”. The listing further stated that the role offered “a structured training program with opportunities to develop your skills and progress within the company”, “mentorship […] from experienced sales and marketing professionals” and “potential for future career development and advancement within the company”. At the end of the page, it stated that the position was “Full-time, Permanent” and repeated that the pay was “from £24,687.00 per year”.
Issue
The complainant, who was informed the position was self-employed with a minimum weekly pay of £300, challenged whether the ad was misleading.
Response
Surge International Ltd, whose company the role was for, stated that they had no knowledge of, or connection with, Fusion17 and were unaware of the ad. They were therefore unable to provide any further comment.
Fusion17 Ltd did not respond to the ASA’s enquiries.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA was concerned by Fusion17 Ltd’s lack of response and apparent disregard for the Code, which was a breach of CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 1.7 (Unreasonable delay). We reminded them of their responsibility to respond promptly to our enquiries and told them to do so in future.
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. It further stated that quoted earnings in employment marketing communications must be precise and if income is earned from a basic salary and commission, commission only or in some other way, this must be made clear. Employment agencies and businesses must also make clear in relation to each position they advertise, whether it is for temporary or permanent work.
The ASA considered that consumers were likely to interpret the claim “From £24,687 a year” as suggesting that the minimum salary for the role was from £24,687 per annum. We understood, however, that the complainant was told the salary was in part based on earning commission, meaning that it would vary depending on job performance, with a minimum salary of £300 per week if commissions earned were lower than £300. We noted therefore that the basic salary was significantly lower than the amount initially advertised and that the ad also did not mention the salary included a commission element.
We further considered that as the job listing described the role as a full-time, permanent graduate role, consumers were therefore likely to understand the ad was for permanent employment. The claims that the role offered “a structured training program with opportunities to develop your skills and progress within the company”, “mentorship […] from experienced sales and marketing professionals” and “potential for future career development and advancement within the company” further reinforced the perception of permanent work. However, we understood that the role was self-employed.
Because the ad stated the role was for permanent employment with a starting salary from £24,687, and that was not the case, we concluded that it was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 20.2 (Employment) and 20.3 (Employment agencies and employment businesses).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Surge International Ltd and Fusion17 Ltd to ensure quoted earnings in future employment marketing communications were precise and to make it clear where income would be earned from a basic salary and commission. We also told them to make the nature of self-employment clear in future ads.
