Teacher recruitment ad misled over pay

A television advert aimed at recruiting would-be teachers has been banned because it suggested newly-qualified staff could earn 34,000 pounds, the advertising watchdog said on Wednesday.

The advert for the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) featured a young-looking teacher talking to a pupil with the voice-over saying: "You could earn 34 grand a year. The banter's not bad either."

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld two complaints, saying the advert was likely to mislead.

Teachers can potentially earn 34,000 pounds, but only after about five years. Usually they start on about 20,000 pounds.

The TDA said the advert was designed to show there was potential to earn a competitive salary, and that it did not state the quoted figure was a starting salary.

The ASA said this was not made clear in the advert.

"The ASA understood the salary range for a teacher was 20,000 pounds to 51,000 pounds and that some could potentially earn 34,000 pounds in their late twenties i.e. five years after they qualified," it said in a statement.

"However, we considered that the claim 'You could earn 34 grand a year' in conjunction with the very youthful appearance of the teacher and 'Turn your talent to teaching' suggested that 34,000 pounds was the salary for young, newly-qualified teachers. Because it was not, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead."