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University of Leeds vacancy advertising policy

Our vacancy policy is designed to ensure organisations that want to advertise opportunities to our students are aware of and adhere to our terms and conditions when using our online job portal.

The vacancy policy has been approved by Student Opportunity and Futures Committee in July 2022 and revisions of the policy have been approved by Head of Global Opportunities in July 2023. The policy is reviewed on an annual basis.

Our offer

The Careers and Placement Service at The University of Leeds aims to advertise a full range of opportunities including: graduate vacancies, work experience opportunities and a small number of further study opportunities which, in our opinion, are relevant to our students and graduates’ aspirations and interests.

This is a free service and opportunities are managed on our online job portal called MyCareer. 

We aim to: 

  • Provide the widest range of opportunities possible to students and graduates.
  • Support the business needs of organisations wishing to engage with our students.
  • Follow sector good practice.
  • Adhere to UK employment legislation.

We reserve the right not to advertise vacancies which in our sole opinion are not suitable for promotion through our service, or which we feel are not in the best interests of our students and graduates.

Please note, part time roles are advertised via the Leeds University Union Job Link service.

Posting employment opportunities

Key principles (via MyCareer vacancies) 

We ask that you:

  • Describe opportunities accurately and honestly.
  • Provide all key information as set out in our online vacancy submission form (we may edit vacancy submissions at our sole discretion to fit a standard format).
  • Provide a closing date for applications. If a closing date is not provided, we will post the advert for one month.
  • Tell us if the vacancy fills before the end of the advertised period.
  • Do not promote roles that place a student or graduate in circumstances of undue health and/or safety risk.
  • Review the Yorkshire Universities Inclusive Recruitment Guide for Employers (PDF) to learn about practical recommendations for delivering an inclusive approach to the recruitment of students and graduates.

UK Opportunities must have full compliance with UK law, including:

  • The National Minimum Wage Act 1998, however, we encourage employers to pay at least the National Living Wage. For more information visit the Living Wage Foundation website.
  • Relevant health and safety legislation.
  • The UK Equality Act 2010. This means they do not discriminate on the basis of age; disability; gender reassignment; marriage and civil partnership; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation, unless:
    • There is a genuine occupational requirement, covered by the relevant legislation, which permits exemption from this legislation.
    • The vacancy aims to provide people from a particular group (or groups) the opportunity to compete for work in areas in which they have been under-represented or absent.
  • In both of the above cases, employers must quote the relevant section of the act and applicable website that outlines the legislation. 

Opportunities outside of the UK:

  • Must comply with employment law (including national or local minimum wage requirements) in the relevant jurisdiction.
  • For countries without minimum wage legislation we require confirmation this role meets local cost of living.
  • 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.
  • Virtual internships, consultancy projects and other virtual opportunities require that the individual is paid an appropriate remuneration for the work the student completes.

Vacancy posting terms (via MyCareer vacancies)

We will:

  • Only advertise opportunities for a maximum of three months, though these can be extended ahead of their expiration date.
  • Only advertise commission-based opportunities where there is a base salary equivalent to at least the national minimum wage, or meets a specific country cost of living.
  • Only advertise project-based work, eg paid per article where the pro rata salary at least meets national minimum wage legislation.
  • 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.
  • Not advertise opportunities that specify a ‘native’ speaker is required – instead this should be referenced as ‘fluent’.

Instances where vacancies will not be posted

Organizations and vacancies that do not meet the employment legislation in the UK

We will not advertise for organisations or vacancies that:

  • Are unpaid or do not meet the National Minimum Wage act. This includes expenses only work and overseas volunteering work. 
  • For placements, unless the role is a required as part of a UK-based further or higher education course (for example medicine, dentistry or nursing), all roles must be paid in line with National Minimum Wage act. If placements are optional part of the course and students can successfully complete their degree without the placement element, National Minimum Wage act rules will apply.
  • We will only approve roles in line with the Equality Act 2010 and any role contrary to that must feature an exemption statement.
Roles we won’t advertise

We will not advertise for organisations or vacancies that:

  • Require the student/graduate to be self-employed or work in a freelance capacity to take up the opportunity unless the roles are paid at least minimum wage as applied in the UK. Please note, we recommend any Intellectual Property/Copyright status between the organisation and student needs to be negotiated and clarified before any freelance or self-employed role is accepted.
  • Require the applicants to work for an individual or work in a private household.
  • Involve students sharing or undertaking academic-related material for use by other students.
  • Are not of undergraduate or graduate level (roles which require a degree or working towards a degree).
  • Require the post holder/student to pay a fee or invest in the role (except in the case of postgraduate study where students may incur some expense).
  • Not advertise opportunities which contain an unpaid 'trial period' as part of the assessment process.
  • Are commission-only sales, or telesales/desk-based sales roles.
Industries and organisations

We will not advertise for organisations or vacancies that:

  • We consider to be risk damaging the reputation of The University of Leeds.
  • Are in or connected to the tobacco or nicotine industries.
  • Are perceived to endorse ‘study aids’ or natural highs designed to enhance student study.
  • Are not represented by the degree courses provided by The University of Leeds.
  • Are suspected to be illegal, oppressive, exploitative or discriminatory (patent trolling, adult/sex industry, pyramid selling schemes etc. this list is not exhaustive).
  • Are reported as engaging in unprofessional conduct.
Other circumstances/grounds for refusal 

We will not advertise for organisations or vacancies that:

  • Are advertised by recruitment agencies or third parties who are unable to name the client and opportunities posted by jobs boards for the purpose of signposting to their own website.
  • Have misleading, incomplete or inaccurate job descriptions.
  • Require a photograph of the applicant as part of the application process.
  • Require our students/graduates to apply via a premium rate phone number.
  • Are believed to be impersonating any person(s) or misrepresenting your identity or affiliation with any person(s) or entity.
  • Are delivered in hard copy, nor distribute flyers, posters or similar material.
  • Are charged where the University already offers the equivalent service free of charge.

Further 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.

Organisations should be aware of students’ course of study obligations and should not require students work in excess of twenty hours per week, except during explicit vacation periods in the academic calendar. 

Posting volunteering opportunities (via the Leeds volunteering hub)

Vacancy posting terms

The University of Leeds has a dedicated Volunteering Team, who manage the advertisement and promotion of volunteering opportunities on the Leeds Volunteering Hub on MyCareer. 

We will:

  • Only advertise volunteering roles (unpaid) for charities, voluntary organisations, statutory bodies, community groups and not for profit social enterprises such as Community Interest Companies (CICs) and Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs).
  • Only publish volunteering opportunities which are appropriate for students, where levels of expectation are realistic and achievable and where voluntary activity will not replace the work of paid members of staff.
  • Prioritise volunteering opportunities in the Leeds and West Yorkshire area.
  • Promote virtual and distant opportunities that meet the vacancy and volunteering policies criteria.
  • Only publish volunteering roles that fit around students’ academic commitments during term time. A guide timescale for this is no more than 15 hours per week.
  • Edit opportunity submissions at our sole discretion to fit a standard format.
  • Consider each opportunity on a case-by-case basis.

We ask that you:

  • Provide all the key information required when uploading an opportunity including confirmation that you have public liability insurance in place (applicable to both virtual and in-person opportunities).
  • Describe opportunities accurately and honestly.
  • Post opportunities in a timely manner to ensure widest possible publication.
  • Screen potential volunteers appropriately (including carrying out DBS checks as required) to determine whether they are suitable for the advertised roles.
  • Provide volunteers with adequate induction, training, support and supervision which should include a health and safety briefing.
  • Report to the Volunteering Team the number of University of Leeds students who volunteer (including their details) and where possible the number of hours undertaken.
  • Inform the Volunteering Team of any accidents or near misses involving the student volunteers.

We will not advertise opportunities described as ‘volunteering’ for organisations that promote:

  • International volunteering roles unless these are funded.
  • Unpaid internships or placements.
  • Volunteering roles where an upfront (refundable or otherwise) payment is required eg Festival volunteer roles where volunteers are expected to purchase a ticket before volunteering commences.
  • Roles for organisations which are overtly political or require a volunteer to be from a particular faith background.
  • Fundraising volunteering activities that solely involve the collection of sponsorships/donations such as skydiving/running a marathon or bucket collections etc. (For this type of activity we have an active Raise and Give Society within Leeds University Union).
  • Translation and interpretation roles where translation of official documents is required. We will however promote language café/conversation facilitation roles.
  • Sports Coaching: we will only advertise volunteering roles for sports coaching where the volunteer is assisting and supporting a paid coach.
  • Roles that are presented to us as unpaid, but are advertised as paid elsewhere.

Terms of advertising for all external opportunities on MyCareer

  • Although we attempt to limit access to students and graduates of The University of Leeds via our secure website, any information sent is still being placed in the public domain and could potentially be accessed by anyone.
  • Please note that vacancy adverts still including statements along the lines of ‘must be able to/have permission to work in the UK’ will be rephrased as follows – ‘the successful candidate must, by the start of their employment, have permission to work in the UK’. This is because, while a correct term of employment law, the statement could be seen to contravene equality law.
  • There is no agency relationship between the Careers and Placements Service Centre and any organisation.
  • We reserve the right to refuse these services at our discretion, and to alter these terms of service at any time.

To discuss any aspect of the vacancy advertising policy, please email the recruitment team at employerteam@leeds.ac.uk.

Version control 

Page published: 28 July 2023
Page last updated: 14 September 2023
Details of any amendments since first published:

  • Accordions added to Vacancy posting terms (via MyCareer vacancies).
  • Link to Yorkshire Universities Inclusive Recruitment Guide for Employers PDF.
  • Leeds University Union Job Link service link moved to end of section.

Contacts