The advertised rate that quietly breaks minimum wage

Here is a number that looks respectable: a care assistant advertised at a healthy hourly rate, holiday pay included. Plenty of adverts say exactly that. Now do the arithmetic the advert hopes you will not.

Irregular-hours workers accrue holiday at 12.07 per cent. If the advertised figure has holiday rolled into it, the true basic rate is the advert divided by 1.1207. Take a rate of thirteen pounds fifty: divide it out and the basic rate is twelve pounds and five pence, sixty-six pence below the National Living Wage. The advert did not just underpay. Presented the wrong way, it was unlawful.

Why this matters beyond the law

A worker who spots this, and experienced workers do, learns something about the agency before their first shift: that the headline was written to look bigger than the pay. Trust rarely recovers from that first impression.

The fix costs nothing but honesty. Advertise the basic rate, state plainly that holiday pay accrues on every hour on top and appears on the payslip as its own line, and let the smaller-looking number be the true one. We took that decision early, and we would rather explain a smaller honest figure than defend a bigger misleading one.

One question for any advert

Whether you are a worker reading a job post or a provider comparing agency quotes, ask: is holiday inside this number or on top of it? The answer sorts the market faster than any brochure.

This article is general commentary from our own experience running a healthcare staffing agency. It is not legal advice. Take specific questions to ACAS or an employment law adviser.