The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) oversees the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (the CAP Code) which is the rule book for non-broadcast advertisements, such as job ads.
Home Instead St Albans, a home health care company placed two ads for:
- A paid-for ad on Facebook, seen in March 2022, for a job as a home care provider in St Albans featuring an image with text that stated, “Flexible Working Patterns”. Clicking on the ad took users to the job listing on the Home Instead website.
- A job listing on the website www.homeinstead.co.uk, for a Weekend Care Assistant in St Albans. Underneath the sub-heading “Care Assistant Job Pay & Benefits”, text stated, “0 Hours Permanent Contract” and “Flexible Shift Patterns Available”.
Further down the page, text stated, “Flexible shifts – whether you’re looking for a couple of shifts a week in the Evening or Evening care work on the weekends, we can offer you shifts so you can work whenever it suits you”.
An applicant who was offered the job, but later denied a flexible working pattern, asked the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to decide whether H’s job ad claims were misleading.
In this instance, Home Instead St Albans had breached the CAP Code as no flexible working patterns were actually available. The ASA ordered H to remove the offending job ad and ensure that its future job ads and/or descriptions are accurate and do not mislead in relation to flexible working hours.
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