Falsely inflated salary in job advert?

LadyC

A friend of mine, applied for a job that stated in the job offer a salary of £30-35k.

The job sounded absolutely ideal, he had all the skills and experience necessary, the only slight downside was the hour commute on public transport/car instead of the usual 30 mins walk and he applied for the job, through an agency (for info, his current salary is £28.5k)

So anyway, he had an initial interview with the agency, as requested by the company recruiting and was then put forward for an interview with the HR manager at the company. This went well and he was invited back to meet the owner of the company and have a second interview a week or so later. This also went well too (despite the owner's reputation for trying to make candidates feel awkward in interviews!) and a few days later, they got back to him to say they would like to offer him the job but had a few concerns about his ability to the job and therefore the pay would be more like £24-27k.

Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Colleagues I have spoken to say this is illegal, but is it? From a little investigation, I have done, it would appear that if he didn't meet the criteria of the job description, a lower offer would seem appropriate. However, he did meet them all, and felt he proved so in the interview. I could understand if they said, ok we'd like to employ you but in a more junior role with fewer reponsibilities because we have a few concerns, but not in the same role surely? If they have concerns, why would they want to employ him to do the advertised job?

It may be academic as I suspect he doesn't want to pursue working for a seemingly shoddy company, but as far as I can see, he has taken a fair bit of leave to attend the interviews and has incurred travelling expenses. It seems to me that they have deliberately wasted his time and the decent thing may be to offer some recompense. If you want anything clarified before offering responses, please say. I don't want to make this any wordier than it already appears to be!

Thanks in advance.

Lady x

Jarndyce

No it is certainly not illegal. The terms of the job offer were clearly set out and he was free to take it or leave it on that basis.

You can argue it was poor practice, but who are you or we to say that the employer genuinely did have reservations about your friends ability to do the job?

k3lvc

Not quite sure that this could be classed as 'illegal' but I'm sure someone more qualified can answer this bit.

In terms of is it the norm then in my experience yes - unless the candidate ticks all the boxes and can hit the ground running then I wouldn't expect to pay anything above the minimum advertised. If there were any doubts and there was only one candidate suitable I'd offer below BUT I'd make it clear that on achievement of some stretching objectives I'd review after 3/6 months.

Maybe the expectation is that your 'friend' would show his/her balls and negotiate a little.

As for recompense for 'wasted time' please tell me you're having a laugh

saintjammyswine

If your friend had more skills & experience than required & was then offered a higher wage package, would the same apply then? No, they are free to offer what they want and it is up to your friend to accept or not.

getmore4less

Its the new range that makes it suspect, they should have said an actual amount.

The reply is along the lines "I though I was well worth a salary in the range advertised, what concerns do you have perhaps we can discuss them.

Tygermoth

This seems to be cropping up a lot for example:

I interviewed for a role advertised at 21k and was offered 16K

I thought maybe there was a bit of negotiation to be had. But no the company in question stuck to that offer. I had previous experience and met all the criteria and they said I interviewed well and was the best candidate.

Contacted them again to ask why such a low offer I was told it’s an employer’s market and someone will take the job - potentially with full experience (which they will not have to pay a premium for)


Since this I have had two more that have done the same.

getmore4less

They(if they take anything) will keep looking for something better and could be out the door in weeks.

an9i77

Agree it is poor practice and reflects the general trend amongst employers these days to take the p, because they think they can get away with it. How it should work is, the job will be evaluated and benchmarked against what other similar jobs in the industry and location are paying. Employer decides whether to pay market rate, below market rate, above market rate or whatever their strategy and budget dictate. The role is advertised. Candidates apply. Candidates can either do the job or can't. If they can't do the job they shouldn't offer. If they can do the job they should offer within the range - depending on experience and salary expectations. If it's borderline they should offer at or near the bottom of the range possibly with an agreement to review x months down the line. Of course there is a big difference between what should happen and what does! I have heard of jobs being downgraded before, if the employer realises, perhaps after interviewing a few people, that they don't need someone quite so experienced to do it and can pay less for a less skilled employee. But in that case the job should be retitled as such and it should be clear that it is actually a different job all together. In this case it sounds like they are playing on your friend's desperation to get the job, by offering less than it is worth. It sounds like your friend would be best to decline their offer and focus his search elsewhere. Has he said no to them?

liam8282

Just tell your friend to put it down to experience, reject the job offer based on what has already been stated by others.

geoffky

how can the boss afford his winter holiday unless your mate pays for it? (another one for the wall)

Lessbutbetter

They offered 30-35K however we know that they can offer alot less if they get the right candidate at the right money. They maybe had someone for interview who had a better skill set and more experience who they knew they would have to offer the full 35k to, however sometimes companies will choose someone who is ready for the job but still has alot to learn, hence their offering of a lower salary to your friend. Of course lots will just try their luck at offering a lower salary as they believe they are in the position to do so.

it would appear that if he didn't meet the criteria of the job description, a lower offer would seem appropriate.

Totally true, but even though you believe your friend meets all the criteria, you must be a little naive to think that the company will offer the top end of the salary offering due to him having the right amount of experience. Most companies will try to justify offering a lower salary than asked for. It'd be great if we all got what we thought we were worth.

Can he not negotiate?