Employer FAQs
Signing up and posting your role as an employer
How to sign up
Please click on ‘Post a Role’ on the top menu. Once you have filled in the form, you will receive an activation email to the email you signed up with. This will also be your username. By registering you agree to our Terms & Conditions of usage.
How to post a role
Once you have logged in, please click on ‘Post a Role’ on the top menu. Use the side menu to post a job, an internship, a placement, a competition or volunteering role by filling out the online form.
We view internships as entry-level roles where a mentor supports and guides the employee, whereas jobs are for candidates with enough experience to work independently. We do not accept freelance salary or zero hour contracts for interns. This type of role should be posted in the job section.
We check all vacancies to ensure they fit within UK Employment Law and our own policies, which we aim to do within 3 working days of receipt. This timeframe may increase if we are experiencing a high volume of submissions.
Any Featured Adverts received by 5PM will be processed the same working day.
All vacancies, including re-submissions and edited vacancies are subject to approval. Your vacancy will not appear in the listings as soon as you submit it. We process submissions in the order we receive them.
Once approved, it will appear online straight away and you will receive a notification to the registered employer email. If there is missing information or if we need to query information with you it may take longer for your entry to appear online.
Is it free?
For direct employers, our jobs board is free to advertise on. Your role will be live for 2 weeks after which you may resubmit your post. For recruitment and staffing agencies, or anyone recruiting for 3rd parties, there is a charge of £100 + VAT per post. Please note, non-profit recruitment agencies are exempt.
We also offer a Featured Advert, which is a promotional service for direct employers if they want to increase exposure for their role on our website, which is competitively priced at £180 + VAT per post. Find out more
Will my personal contact information appear online?
We only display the contact details you provide for jobseekers to contact you in the ‘application contact details’ section of the submission forms. We hold your employer contact details for security checks and office information. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions for details of how we may use your contact details.
What do we advertise?
What type of vacancies do we advertise?
We are happy to advertise genuine opportunities that follow:
• UK Employment Legislation;
• Creative Opportunities Terms and Conditions;
• Our Opportunity Policy;
• UAL’s Equal Opportunities Policy.
We cannot list the salary as ‘competitive’ or 'dependent on experience' for full-time, part-time, temporary or international positions. All job and internship roles must be specific jobs with a guaranteed salary.
We do not advertise jobs that offer equity in a business, payment in kind (e.g. vouchers) or jobs that are 'commission only'. All jobs must include a clear salary indication, except freelance opportunities where we can list the fee as ‘negotiable’.
For sales jobs, please indicate the base salary as well as possible OTEs. If a salary is dependent on experience, you may list a salary range.
Do you advertise open calls for artists, competitions or volunteer roles?
We can advertise these kind of opportunities in line with our Policy.
What about hiring students for course placements, events or project collaborations?
If you are interested in our students for work placements as part of their course, please use the enquiry form of the relevant course.
For fashion work placements for students as part of their course, please contact LCF Graduate Futures.
If you are interested in delivering workshops, talk and CV checks on behalf of your company, please check Events to get involved.
If you are interested in a bespoke project collaboration with our students from our colleges such as Central Saint Martins, please contact that college’s Innovation and Business team.
Technical difficulties
When I register for an account there’s a message ‘username is already taken’?
This means someone in your company has already registered on Creative Opportunities. If you know who this was, ask them for their email and password to access it. If this person has left, please let us know so we can change the account or delete it.
If you work for a large company, it is possible to create extra accounts using different email usernames.
If there is any further difficulty, do get in touch at: jobsonline@arts.ac.uk
I have forgotten my username or password?
If you have forgotten your username, please contact: jobsonline@arts.ac.uk and we will let you know what it is.
If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it.
Why is my advert slightly different from the information I originally submitted?
We monitor the wording of all vacancies to ensure they fit within:
• UK Employment Legislation
• Creative Opportunities Terms and Conditions
• Our Internship Policy
• University’s Equal Opportunities Policy
Sometimes we will amend the wording of an advert to make sure it fits these policies, and that it follows Government advice on best practice of recruitment advertising. Unfortunately we are not resourced to provide an explanation or alert to every change we make. If you are not happy with changes made to your advert you can choose to un-publish your advert by contacting us: jobsonline@arts.ac.uk
Can I change my vacancy once it has been submitted?
Yes, please log in to your Employer Account and select "Edit" below your vacancy. You can then re-submit the edited vacancy. Please note all changes need to be re-approved and your vacancy will go to the back of the approval queue (up to 3 working days). So we recommend that you check the details of your opportunity before submitting to avoid delay in it appearing online.
My company has a policy not to advertise salaries for our vacancies, can I keep the salary private?
It is our policy to include a clear salary for all vacancies, except for freelance roles, advertised on Creative Opportunities. This allows candidates to make realistic applications. If your salary is dependent on experience you can provide a salary range.
If the HR department has a confidentiality agreement regarding salary, we may contact you to verify this.
Who will see my vacancy?
Your vacancy will be public on the internet. We only promote creative opportunities to students and graduates of University of the Arts London. But the website has a wider following and received 2.1 million views in 2018.
I only want University of the Arts London students or graduates to apply for my role – what can I do?
If you only want students or graduates of the University of the Arts London to apply for your vacancy, please state this on your advert. But, under our Equal Opportunities Policy, all vacancies placed on the site will be open to UAL students and graduates from any of UAL's colleges.
If you would like to work with a particular college or course please contact them directly. Contact details for are available on the University's main website.
Pay rates, employment law, international jobs and international students
What is the current rate for the National Minimum Wage?
Please refer to the employment rights and pay and work rights for interns.
How much should I offer to pay an applicant?
Please refer to the UK National Living and Minimum Wage rates. The amount you offer to pay should take into account the level of experience you expect the applicants to have.
While it is legal to pay the UK National Living / Minimum Wage, we strongly recommend employers based in London to consider paying the London Living Wage. You could also try looking at similar jobs on Creative Opportunities to work out a realistic salary.
Can I offer the apprentice wage?
Any employer wishing to offer the Apprenticeship rate needs to prove that the job training will go towards a formal qualification within a specific field. This is normally a NVQ Level 2, 3 or 4. For more information, please see the Apprenticeships website. Contact the National Apprenticeships Service as there are some steps you need to go through to set the apprenticeship up as outlined on their website.
I have a small business and can't afford to pay National Minimum Wage. Can I advertise unpaid work in return for free courses or portfolio building?
We cannot advertise unpaid work or work that is paid in kind because this may have legal implications. However, many start-up companies find employing students and recent graduates, at the National Minimum Wage, a very cost-effective way of receiving professional services such as branding, filming and web design.
I’ve hired a freelancer who has been paid but not produced any work and cannot be contacted?
Please contact us at: jobsonline@arts.ac.uk
We also advise seeking legal counsel regarding any contract agreed upon.
Can I ask applicants to send ideas for my logo or website as part of the application procedure?
Unpaid pitching may have legal implications in terms of the Minimum Wage and we would advise against this. To recruit a logo, web or brand designer, it is best practice to ask to see examples of similar work from the applicant’s portfolio as part of the application procedure. Select your favourite designers based on their work and offer them a fee to pitch a couple of ideas. This would enable them to develop some bespoke ideas and allow you to make a confident choice. If you can’t offer paid pitches, we would advise you to ask designers to send their most relevant work to your company.
Can I employ an international student?
Students on a Tier 4 Visa may work in the UK. But their visa will restrict the number of hours they can work each week. It is usually up to 20 hours per week during term-time for Further Education and Higher Education courses. But you should check the student’s visa for confirmation of each individual’s allowance. Outside of term-time International Students can work an unrestricted number of hours.
Self-employment/freelance work: International Students are not allowed to start their own business in the UK and so should not work on a freelance basis at any time.
Please note, there are certain types of visas that permit study and work with the restrictions imposed by Student / Tier 4 Visas (e.g. dependants visa). There may be legal implications for employers found to be employing International Students who are breaking the terms of their visa. The employer is responsible for checking the visa status of any International Student that they employ.
Do I have to meet the minimum wage requirements when employing someone in a different country?
As an employer, you should adhere to the UK's employment legislation framework. We check that all UK-based jobs meet the National Minimum Wage and expect all overseas employers to pay at least the local minimum wage. For example, if your company is based in France but you’d like to recruit someone from the UK, you need pay the French minimum wage.
However, while the minimum wage may be legal, we still may not advertise it through Creative Opportunities. This is because most of our users are UK-based students or graduates of UAL and we cannot promote certain roles knowing how incredibly difficult it would be for our students to live on a low salary, especially in a new city, without financial support for accommodation, transport or flights. Each role will be looked at individually.
The key legislation to be aware of is:
The National Minimum Wage Act 1999 which promotes decent minimum standards and fairness in the workplace. It applies to nearly all workers and sets hourly rates below which pay must not be allowed to fall.
The Equality Act 2010. The Equality and Human Rights Commission works to eliminate discrimination, reduce inequality, protect human rights and to build good relations, ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to participate in society. It provides information and advice in relation to the following pieces of important legislation.
The nine main pieces of legislation are:
the Equal Pay Act 1970
the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
the Race Relations Act 1976
the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
the Equality Act 2006, Part 2
the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007
We will not advertise vacancies that directly or indirectly contravene UK employment legislation above.
For example, if you state the number of years of experience required for a role, this could be seen as indirectly discriminating against younger applicants who hold the relevant skills and qualifications for a role but do not have 5 years’ experience. Similarly, the use of ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ may also have age connotations and we will use appropriate alternatives where possible.
Useful resources for employers:
Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance, July 2011
Equality and Human Rights Commission. Please refer to What is age discrimination? when writing a job description.
Discrimination in Advertising: A Recruiter's Guide
Employing people: a handbook for small firms (PDF 4.7Mb) written by Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
Recruitment advice and guidance by Acas.
Do you advertise unpaid internships / work placements?
We do not advertise unpaid work placements on Creative opportunities. We only post paid job jobs and internships and competitions and volunteering roles according to our Policy. This is a decision by the University to makes sure that opportunities are open to all, not just those that can afford to work for free.
Are students on internships covered by the University’s insurance?
Students who do internships advertised on Creative Opportunities are doing so outside their academic study. So they are not covered by the University’s insurance. It is mandatory that employers make sure all graduates and students undertaking work for them are covered by Employee Insurance.