How to check a UK job vacancy before you apply: pay, contract, right to work — and scam signs

Russian-speaking groups and classified boards are full of job adverts — some are genuine, some are outright traps. Before you apply, and certainly before you send documents or money, spend five minutes checking. A sound vacancy differs from a suspicious one in three things — pay, contract and the right to work — plus a set of fraud warning signs.

1. Pay: not below the minimum

The UK has a legal minimum, the National Living Wage. From April 2026 it is £12.71 an hour for workers aged 21 and over; rates are lower for younger workers and apprentices — the exact figures are on gov.uk. If a vacancy promises less than the minimum, or offers to pay cash “off the books”, that is a warning sign: such work strips you of rights, sick pay and pension contributions, and the employer is breaking the law.

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2. A contract is compulsory

By law a worker is entitled to a written statement of employment particulars — setting out pay, hours, holiday and notice — and it must be given no later than the first day. A real employer is not afraid of paperwork and provides a contract. “All on trust, no documents” is a reason to be wary.

3. The right to work

To work legally in Britain you must have the right to work: British or Irish citizenship, settled status, or a visa that allows it. The employer must check it, usually via a digital share code you generate on gov.uk. A vacancy that says “no checks, cash for everyone” is not convenience but a sign of an illegal and often exploitative set-up.

Signs of recruitment fraud

Now the outright scams. Remember the key rule: you should never pay to get a job. In Britain an employment agency may not by law charge a work-seeker a fee to find them work. So any demand to pay upfront — for “training”, a background (DBS) check, a uniform, equipment or visa help — is almost always a scam.

Other red flags: pay that is too generous for vague work; contact only through a messenger with no company email or office; a request for your bank card details or to “just receive and forward” someone else’s money (this is how “money mules” are recruited, and it is a crime); a vague company name and pressure to “decide right now”.

How to check a vacancy in five minutes

Look the company up on Companies House, the free official register of firms — does it exist and for how long. Open the employer’s own website and see whether the vacancy is on its careers page; apply through the official site rather than only a link in the advert. Check the recruiter’s email domain — a serious company writes from a corporate address, not a free mailbox. And do not send your passport, money or card details until you are sure the employer is real.

If you meet a scam

Report fraud to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cybercrime centre (actionfraud.police.uk, 0300 123 2040). If you have already transferred money, call your bank at once. The sooner you act, the better the chance of getting your money back and stopping the scheme for others.