Updated: March 2018
This policy applies to all organisations engaging with the Careers Service and should be readin conjunction with the policy for Advertising Vacancies on St Mary’s CareerConnect.
General
All opportunities are published to current students and alumni for free of charge through Jobs on CareerConnect. Organisations can upload their own opportunities, however our Employer Engagement Officer will review all opportunities before they are made available to students and alumni and may clarify information with organisations if details appear unclear or incomplete. The information you provide with your advert must be true and not misleading and we reserve the right to alter or edit your advert at our sole discretion. We aim to publish all opportunities within two working days of submission.
In submitting an advert you are requesting that this appear on our website(s) and grant permission that the Careers Service may reproduce the advert (in whatsoever form we see appropriate) for other vacancy advertising services we consider viable. It is the duty of organisations to inform us if an opportunity is filled so we are able to remove this from our system.
The Careers Service reserves the right not approve organisations or opportunity requests which are deemed unsuitable for promotion to our students and alumni. This may include, but is not limited to:
- Organisations or opportunities suspected to be illegal, unethical or discriminatory.
- Organisations or opportunities that present an undue health and safety risk.
- Organisations or opportunities promoting services to our students and alumni as a cost and/or where the University already offers the equivalent service for free of charge.
- Organisations or opportunities which may bring St Mary’s University or our students into disrepute.
Employment Legislation
St Mary’s Careers Service supports the advice on internships (PDF) issued by the Universities and College Union (UCU) and National Union of Students (NUS).
St Mary’s Careers Service expects all organisations to ensure compliance with UK or European law, including the National Minimum Wage Act and relevant health and safety legislation and will not advertise unpaid work experience or internships other than where they meet relevant criteria for exemption, for example:
- Voluntary workers, under a contract of employment, with a charity, voluntary organisation, an associated fund-raising body, or a statutory body. Voluntary workers can expect to receive reasonable out of pocket expenses related to their work.
- Voluntary, and passing the ‘worker test’ as outlined within the advice above where there is no contract of employment (written, oral or implied) to perform work and where there is no obligation to undertake specific instruction.
- Placements defined as part of a student’s programme of study, which do not exceed one year in length.
- Work shadowing (including insight weeks), where the placement consists entirely of shadowing an employee with no performed work.
For opportunities based outside of the UK (including internships), organisations are responsible for ensuring opportunities comply with employment law (including national or local minimum wage requirements) in the relevant jurisdiction. For countries without minimum wage legislation we require that organisations match the equivalent of the UK rate.
General Terms
- We will only advertise opportunities for a maximum of three months, though these can be extended ahead of their expiration date.
- We will only advertise commission-based opportunities where there is a base salary equivalent to national minimum wage.
- We will only advertise project-based work e.g. paid per article where the pro rata salary meets the national minimum wage legislation.
- We will only publish opportunities which are written in full English or advertised with an accompanying English translation, which also include a full description and application requirements.
- We will not advertise opportunities where students and/or alumni incur a cost to apply.
- We will not advertise opportunities which contain an unpaid ‘trial period’ as part of the assessment process.
- We will not normally accept opportunities from organisations who do not have a valid company website, full postal address or whose sole email address is with a webmail account provider.
- We will not accept opportunities which require a photograph as part of the application process.
- We will not accept opportunities which involve student sharing or undertaking academic-related material for use by other students.
Advertising opportunities through Jobs on CareersConnect does not imply approval or recommendation and the Careers Service reserves full editorial control over Jobs on CareerConnect and thus the right not to approve organisations and/or opportunities or to terminate organisations and/or opportunities where they are deemed to breach these terms and conditions or to bring St Mary’s University into disrepute.
Organisations should be aware of students’ study obligations and should not require students to work in excess of twenty hours per week, except during vacation periods. We will ensure that organisations are flexible and provide alternative times and/or dates for assessment and selection processes where these may clash with timetables or examination commitments.
Discriminatory Adverts
St Mary’s Careers Service will not advertise opportunities which contravene the Equality Act 2010 and which may prevent applications on the basis of protected characteristics including age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
In certain circumstances it can be lawful to discriminate if a particular requirement is deemed an essential aspect of the role, or conversely, if possession of particular quality would make undertaking the role impossible. Where this applies, you should make clear the reasons for the requirement and that these are explicitly explained within the text of the advert.
It is ultimately the responsibility of organisations to ensure that any opportunities posted comply with relevant legislation including the National Minimum Wage and the Equality Act 2010.
Visa Sponsorship
St Mary’s Careers Service recognises that some organisations and/or opportunities are unable to offer visa sponsorship to candidates. To ensure compliance with UK law, we advise the following wording when advertising these positions:
“Please note all applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are eligible to work in the United Kingdom at the point at which the role commences.”
Policy on Brand Ambassadors/Campus Managers
St Mary’s Careers Service will advertise positions which comply with the following recommendations:
- The advert is explicit that the successful candidate will be required to work inconsultation with St Mary’s Careers Service and that they should be aware of the services offered by us when raising brand awareness.
- The organisation recruiting should inform St Mary’s Careers Service when they have recruited for the role so we are to liaise with the representative if required.
Advertising Competitions, Scholarships and Other Opportunities
St Mary’s Careers Service will not advertise competitions, games and scholarship opportunities through Jobs on CareerConnect.
Instead, we may advertise these opportunities through our social media channels and request that organisations submit a summary of the opportunity, including a link to access further information to inis.fitzpatrick@stmarys.ac.uk
Advertising Opportunities on behalf of Third Parties/Outsourcing Agencies
St Mary’s Careers Service will advertise opportunities from third parties/outsourcing agencies providing certain criteria are met.
Please note the following before submitting an opportunity:
- We must know the identity of the employer and this must be published to students and alumni.
- We will only advertise specific/individual opportunities, not open-ended opportunities or broader recruitment campaigns.
- We will only advertise opportunities that we deem to be of an appropriate nature to our students and/or alumni.
In stances where organisations use outsourcing services to manage their recruitment, the Careers Service will not charge for advertising opportunities, however we will require confirmation by email from the end client that the agency is acting on their behalf and/or reserve the right to contact the end client directly. Where this is apparent, we may allow agencies to access employer profiles through Jobs on CareerConnect so you can manage opportunities and events on behalf of clients, however the editing information on organisation profiles is prohibited without the permission of the Careers Service. Any unauthorised changes many result in your organisation being prohibited from using our services.
All roles being handled by outsourcing companies should be added to your client’s organisation profile – not on your own.