Almost half (46%) of current job vacancies in the UK are listing a statutory right as a workplace benefit, Rippl has analysed and discovered.
The most prominent of all was a pension being listed as a ‘company perk’ in 124,589 vacancies, despite being a legal working requirement.
The added ‘benefit’ of the statutory minimum annual leave allowance was mentioned in just over 2,000 job adverts, while statutory sick pay was included 253 times.
“Listing statutory rights in job adverts can be a way for employers to ensure transparency; however, highlighting them in job adverts can appear to be an attempt to make the offer seem more generous than it actually is.” says Jo Benelisha, director of Strictly Recruitment.
Martin Drake, director of Higher People, commented, “Unfortunately some employers are very far removed from what jobseekers want nowadays and actually think they’re doing a good thing by listing statutory rights as benefits.”
The analysis even found more outlandish benefits listed in vacancy adverts, such as ‘free water’ being a perk. Rippl also found 1,078 mentions of free tea, and a further 675 mentions of free fruit. Bean bag chairs had three mentions.
The research highlights the current state of the job market, and the picture being drawn for jobseekers. Listing simple statutory rights as a workplace benefit is suggesting that employers and recruiters are needing more information to fill their vacancy adverts.
Drake even said this “bare minimum” effort is indicative of company cultures, demonstrating they may be more “old fashioned” and less willing to offer flexible working options or pay increases and promotions.