Companies in the UK are advertising job vacancies on job boards that pay below the minimum wage, according to research from the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The research from the union body found 46 full-time jobs posted on the three sites (Reed, Indeed and CV-Library) on a single day in July that appear to pay less than the National Living Wage. The National Living Wage has been set at £11.44 per hour since 1 April 2024.
While workers aged under 21 can be paid lower rates of the minimum wage, advertising roles at lower rates potentially exclude older workers and could be unlawful due to indirect discrimination, the report added.
According to the TUC, minimum wage abuses do not only occur within contexts such as insecure or illegal employment. The Low Pay Commission estimates that 29% of jobs which pay at or below the minimum wage are salaried roles.
The research found most of the 46 jobs that the TUC found advertised at rates below the National Living Wage are full-time positions with annual salaries.
Of the 46 jobs advertised that appear to pay below the minimum wage:
- 26 stated that experience is required, and a further 3 that experience is desirable
- 7 stated requirements for qualifications, including professional certification and degree requirements
- 10 advertised annual salaries, or starting points in salary ranges, that are less than £20,000.
The TUC says the prevalence of jobs advertised at less than the National Living Wage, suggesting that a growing number of salaried workers may now be experiencing underpayment, shows that a step change in enforcement is needed.
It comes after the government announced legislation in the King’s Speech to create a Fair Work Agency. This new body is expected to be a single inspectorate formed from the HMRC National Minimum Wage enforcement team, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, and the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate.
The TUC welcomes this move and says that to be effective the Fair Work Agency will also need significantly more inspectors than the current system, and stronger powers to punish employers who breach the law.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said in a press release, “Nobody should be cheated out of the pay they are owed by their employer. However our research has found that lots of employers are advertising jobs at less than the legal minimum wage. Workers are not the only victims. These pay cheats undercut all those good employers who do the right thing. And that creates unfair competition.
“The new Fair Work Agency is a chance for the government to crack down on offenders and ensure all workers are paid at least the legal minimum,” Nowak added.
Responding to the TUC’s claim that major job boards are advertising salaried jobs at below minimum wage, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Deputy Chief Executive Kate Shoesmith, said in a press release, “A few assumptions have been made in this review that need to be investigated further – like are the jobs full time?”
“Regardless, National Minimum Wage rates should always be paid, and the vast majority of businesses do just that - there were 1.7 million live job vacancy postings last month. In fact, many employers regularly have to pay more than the going rate to attract people to roles because of labour and skills shortages,” Shoesmith said.
“Where there is genuine bad practice, this needs to be stamped out,” Shoesmith continued. “We have always shared a view with the TUC that the new Fair Work Agency is a chance for the government to ensure we have a well-regulated labour market. As it is being created, policymakers must maintain the subject expertise of the current enforcement bodies it is merging. For example, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) in our part of the labour market is crucial, especially if regulation is expanded to include all labour suppliers and payroll providers, such as umbrella companies.”