Employers
are missing a golden opportunity to sell themselves to prospective employees by
leaving pensions information out of job adverts.
The
TUC claims that less than one in 10 recruitment campaigns make any mention of
pensions despite the fact that it is often a key element of the benefits
package on offer.
Over
a two-week period last month, the TUC studied the job sections of various
newspapers ranging from national broadsheets to local weekly papers to see if
employers were advertising the existence of a pension alongside other
job-related benefits.
TUC
researchers discovered that out of a total of 1,519 adverts placed, only 101
(6.3 per cent) made any mention of pensions.
Of
the 101 adverts that offered a pension only half (50 per cent) listed the type
of pension scheme as final salary, and just 13 referred to the level of
employer contribution.
TUC
general secretary Brendan Barber said: "Employers who offer a pension, but
don’t advertise [the fact] when looking for new staff, are missing a trick by
not mentioning one of the key elements of the benefits package they offer.
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"If
all job adverts mentioned whether or not the company provided a pension, and
stated the level of employer contribution, it would help individuals choose a
prospective employer,” he said. “This would encourage jobseekers to start
regarding a pension as important a factor as salary and holiday entitlement
when considering any career move.”
