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Do you have to advertise a job vacancy?
When a role in your team becomes vacant your first priority is to fill it, so that work can continue as normal. Advertising the vacancy might slow the process down – but do you have to advertise a job by law?
As a manager or business owner recruitment is an important part of your role. When someone leaves, it is in your interests to take charge of the hiring process. The faster you find a suitable new person for the role, the sooner you can get back on track and achieve your goals.
The normal process is to check and update the role profile and create a job advert that goes out internally to other employees at your company, and externally via job boards and relevant media.
Do I have to advertise a job?
However, sometimes, especially if you need a new employee in a hurry, you might seek other ways to fill the vacancy. Perhaps someone else in your team is interested in the role and you think they have the right skills and aptitude. In this situation, do you have to advertise a job?
The answer is that there is no legal requirement to advertise a job internally or externally. It’s good practice, though, to check with your HR or recruitment team before making the decision not to advertise a job vacancy.
Although there’s no legal need to advertise, your company might have made its own pledge or policy to advertise all vacancies. There are good reasons for doing so.
What are the benefits of advertising a job?
The main reason why companies advertise job vacancies is to make sure they get the best possible pool of candidates to pick from. By reviewing CVs and interviewing potential recruits you are more likely find the best person for the job.
Advertising also presents you with the opportunity to improve the diversity of your team. It’s well established that a group of people who have a variety of different characteristics – such as age, ethnicity, social background etc – tend to be more productive.
Sharing job vacancies internally is good for employee morale too. If you can see that there are frequent new opportunities within your company and you generally feel encouraged to apply for a new role, you’ll feel good about your career options and potential progression.
Do bear in mind, too, that if there have been any redundancies in your company, one of the obligations is to seek alternative positions for people put at risk. There is more information on redundancy in our employment rights section.
Finally, many companies actively want to share their vacancies as part of their commitment to the community. Providing employment in your local area is a good news story and boosts reputation. In addition, businesses that want to expand need to bring in new skills and ideas from outside.
Is it OK not to advertise?
So there are good reasons to share a job vacancy, but do jobs have to be posted by law? No. As long as you have checked your company’s recruitment policy and can explain your reasoning, you can fill your vacancy without needing to advertise.
If you do decide to advertise the role, there is some useful advice and support on creating a successful job advert in this article.
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