Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Upheld.
Ad description
An ad from Paragon Acquisitions on a job listings website seen on 4 August 2015 was headed “Graduate trainee: Marketing and Business Management Manchester” and information in a box at the top of the page included “£18,000 - £28,000 per annum, OTE”. The ad gave information about the job and type of candidate they were looking for. Text towards the bottom of the ad included “The more you put in the more you get out in this commission only role, so a solid work ethic and desire to succeed are essential”.
Issue
The complainant, who had applied for the role, challenged whether:
1. the description of the job role was misleading, because they understood the vacancy was for a door-to-door sales position and this was not made clear in the ad; and
2. the ad was misleading, because it did not make sufficiently clear that the earnings were based on commission only.
Response
1. Paragon Acquisitions Ltd said they did not do door-to-door sales, and that their company focused on promotional event sales, in-store promotions, event sales and trade shows. They said this was made clear on their website and social media.
2. They confirmed that the role in question was commission only, and believed that this was made clear in the ad. They said that the job listings site had approved them listing the expected earnings as a range at the top of the ad because it presented candidates with a realistic earnings estimate, and they then clarified in the body of the ad that the earnings were commission only.
Assessment
1. Upheld
The job role was described as “Graduate trainee: Marketing and Business Management” and the ad went on to say that that Paragon Acquisitions were looking to enhance their leadership and management core - it also referred to their clients wanting sales and marketing representation in additional locations and listed various tasks under “Graduate Openings Involve”, including “Promoting Clients Products and Services” and “Learning to Host Product-Training Workshops”. We considered that those reading the ad would understand it was for a trainee marketing management role, and that some face-to-face marketing activities would be involved alongside other tasks. The complainant said they had attended an interview and understood that the vacancy was for a door-to-door sales position. We were not provided with any evidence from Paragon Acquisitions either for the work they usually carried out or in relation to the specific job role advertised. We were therefore unable to determine if the role was accurately described. We therefore concluded that the ad was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising) and
20.2
20.2
Employment marketing communications must relate to genuine vacancies and potential employees must not be asked to pay for information.
Living and working conditions must not be misrepresented. Quoted earnings must be precise; if one has to be made, a forecast must not be unrepresentative. If income is earned from a basic salary and commission, commission only or in some other way, that must be made clear.
(Employment, homework schemes and business opportunities).
2. Upheld
Text at the top of the ad stated “£18,000 - £28,000 per annum, OTE”, and we understood that “OTE” referred to ‘on target earnings’ but considered that some readers would not be aware of what this meant. We also considered that it failed to make clear that earnings for the role were entirely commission based. This information appeared in the body copy of the ad but only towards the bottom of the page within a paragraph of text. We considered that the commission only nature of the role was significant information and that it should have appeared either in the information given in the box at the top of the page or, if this was not possible due to the site architecture, prominently at the top of the ad so that it would be seen by readers. Because it did not make sufficiently clear that the earnings were based on commission only we concluded that the ad was misleading.
On this point the ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules
3.1
3.1
Marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so.
and
3.3
3.3
Marketing communications must not mislead the consumer by omitting material information. They must not mislead by hiding material information or presenting it in an unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely manner.
Material information is information that the consumer needs to make informed decisions in relation to a product. Whether the omission or presentation of material information is likely to mislead the consumer depends on the context, the medium and, if the medium of the marketing communication is constrained by time or space, the measures that the marketer takes to make that information available to the consumer by other means.
(Misleading advertising),
3.10
3.10
Qualifications must be presented clearly.
CAP has published a Help Note on Claims that Require Qualification.
(Qualification) and
20.2
20.2
Employment marketing communications must relate to genuine vacancies and potential employees must not be asked to pay for information.
Living and working conditions must not be misrepresented. Quoted earnings must be precise; if one has to be made, a forecast must not be unrepresentative. If income is earned from a basic salary and commission, commission only or in some other way, that must be made clear.
(Employment, homework schemes and business opportunities).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Paragon Acquisitions Ltd to ensure that descriptions of job roles were accurate and to make clear if they involved door-to-door sales. We also told them to ensure that ads stated prominently if earnings were based on commission only.
