A legal job advert is written to get a reply, not to tell you everything. Most of its phrases are not lies. They are gaps. Each gap has a plain question that fills it.
This guide gives you the question for ten common phrases, the law behind a few of them and a checklist for the interview. Where a fact comes from UK law or a survey, we name the source and the year. Where it is our view, we say so. Nothing here is legal advice.
What do the common phrases in a legal job advert really mean?#
Each phrase can mean something good or something poor, and the advert will not say which. So you ask. This table gives our reading of ten phrases and the question that settles each one.
| Phrase | What it can mean | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| "Competitive salary" | The pay is good, or the firm would rather not say. | What is the band for this role? |
| "Fast paced" | A busy, well run team, or too few people. | How many live files does a fee earner carry, and is there an assistant? |
| "Hit the ground running" | Little training and little time to settle in. | What does the first month look like, and who checks my work? |
| "Own caseload from day one" | Trust in your experience, or nobody to check you. | Who reviews my files, and how often? |
| "Exposure to" | You will watch the work, not run it. | What would I run myself, and what would I only see? |
| "Flexible working" or "hybrid" | A pattern the firm will not commit to. | How many days in the office, and is that in the contract? |
| "Benefits include 28 days holiday" | A legal minimum sold as a perk. | What comes on top of the legal minimum? |
| "Progression opportunities" | A path that may exist, or may be a hope. | What did the last two people in the role do next? |
| "Energetic", "driven", "a passion for property" | Words with nothing to check. | What do the work, the pay and the team look like? |
| "Salary depending on experience" | A range the firm has set but not shared. | What is the range, and where would I sit in it? |
Does "competitive salary" tell you anything about pay?#
No. It can mean the firm pays well, or it can mean the firm would rather not say. The advert gives you no way to tell which.
Plenty of lawyers will not spend the evening finding out. In CV-Library's survey of 1,043 UK jobseekers in August 2026, 41% said they would refuse to apply for a job with no salary information. That was up from 38% in 2025. CV-Library is a job board, and the figure is stated intention, not observed behaviour.
- Jobseekers who would not apply without salary information41%
CV-Library, 1,043 UK jobseekers, August 2026
- Job adverts that included salary information58%
CV-Library analysis, previous 12 months
- Indeed postings that included pay58%
Three months to June 2026
Source: CV-Library, reported by Onrec, 13 October 2026. Indeed figure from Indeed Hiring Lab, 3 August 2026.
The same report asked 233 recruiters, hiring managers and direct employers why pay is left off. Pay varying with experience came first, at 27%. Wanting a wider pool of applicants was next, at 16%. Budgets not yet being final was 13%. If the budget is not final, the role may not be either. Our guide to ghost jobs covers that worry.
"Depending on experience" is the most honest of the vague phrases, because it admits a range exists. Ask for the range, then ask where your years would sit in it. If the recruiter asks what you earn now in return, read should you tell a recruiter your current salary first. The case for pay on every advert is in why legal job adverts should show the salary.
Is "28 days holiday and a pension" a benefit or the legal minimum?#
Mostly the legal minimum. Gov.uk says almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday a year. Most people on a five-day week must get at least 28 days, and that is also the cap on statutory holiday. An employer can choose to count bank holidays inside it.
That gives you the first question. Is it 28 days including bank holidays, or 28 days plus? The first is the minimum. The second is more. Part-time staff get the same 5.6 weeks pro rata, so three days a week is at least 16.8 days.
Pensions work the same way. Gov.uk says an employer must automatically enrol a worker aged 22 to State Pension age who earns at least £10,000 a year. So "pension" in an advert is a benefit only if it promises more than the legal minimum. Ask for the employer's rate.
5.6 weeks
of paid holiday a year that almost all workers are legally entitled to. For most people on a five-day week that is 28 days.
3%
the minimum an employer must pay into a workplace pension, with 8% in total including the worker's own 5%. Gov.uk gives these figures from April 2019, on earnings between £6,240 and £50,270.
£12.71
an hour, the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026. It is the legal minimum for anyone that age, including support staff.
A benefit is anything above those floors, such as extra days, a higher employer pension rate or a bonus with written rules. Ask for each one in writing. If the advert lists only the floors, it lists no benefits.
What do "fast paced", "hit the ground running" and "own caseload from day one" say about the workload?#
They say the work is heavy and the support is light, or they say nothing at all. Only numbers tell you which. Ask for live files per fee earner, who checks your work, and how long the training lasts.
In conveyancing the number that matters is live files. There is no official limit, and it depends on the work and the support. Our guide to how many live files is too many shows how to compare. If you are early in your career, how to check supervision before your first law job has the questions.
Hours are the other half. Gov.uk says you cannot work more than 48 hours a week on average, normally measured over 17 weeks, though you can choose to opt out. If an advert asks for flexibility on hours, ask what a normal week looks like and what the busiest week last month looked like. Read any opt-out before you sign it.
Did they give a number of live files?
YesCompare it with your last role, and with the support on offer.
NoTreat the missing number as an answer. Ask once more, then weigh it.
Is there a named person who reviews your work?
YesAsk how often you meet.
NoAsk who covers you. "Own caseload" with no reviewer is a lot for a junior.
What do "exposure to", "progression opportunities" and "driven" tell you?#
Little, unless they are tied to work and dates. Exposure means you see the work. It does not mean you do it. Progression means a path may exist.
Ask what you would run yourself and what you would only watch. Then ask what the last two people in the role did next, and how long it took them. A firm that can answer has a path. A firm that cannot may have one in mind but nothing written down.
Words such as "energetic" and "driven" carry no information. They do no harm, but they give you nothing to check.
On this siteSee an advert with the basics shownEvery Wilson Mannion advert shows the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date, so you can compare any other advert against it.Browse the jobsWhat does "flexible" or "hybrid" mean, and is it a right?#
Neither word is a number, and neither is a right. Ask how many days a week you would be in the office, and ask to see where it is written.
Gov.uk says every employee can ask for flexible working from their first day in a job. It also says an employer can refuse if it has a good business reason. So the request is a right. The answer is not. Gov.uk's timeline, updated on 22 October 2026, lists flexible working among measures due in 2027 and gives no detail yet.
The contract is where a promise becomes one. Gov.uk says the principal written statement is due on the first day of employment. It must give your hours and days of work, if and how they may vary, and where you will work. So ask whether the statement will say two office days, and whether the firm can change that. A pattern the firm can change at will is worth less than one it cannot.
What does UK law say about how an advert is worded?#
It bars discrimination and sets a minimum for agency adverts. It does not make a firm show the pay.
Gov.uk tells employers not to state or imply in a job advert that they will discriminate against anyone. Acas names age-coded wording such as "recent graduate" and "highly experienced", and sex-coded titles such as "barmaid" and "handyman". Gov.uk says the first two belong in an advert only when they are real requirements of the job. Section 39 of the Equality Act 2010 bars discrimination in how an employer decides whom to offer a job.
Recruitment agencies have further rules in regulation 27 of the 2003 Conduct Regulations.
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Name | The full name of the agency or employment business. |
| Type of work | Whether each position is temporary or permanent. |
| If pay is shown | The nature of the work, the location, and the minimum experience, training or qualifications needed to get that pay. |
| Before advertising | Information on the specific position and the hirer's authority to find workers for it. |
| Not required | Regulation 27 does not require the pay itself, or the firm's name. |
We found no matching rule on content for a firm advertising its own role, beyond equality law. Gov.uk says complaints about employment agency legislation go to the Fair Work Agency.
This may change. On 14 July 2026 the government opened a consultation called Equal pay and pay discrimination, which closed at 5pm on 27 October 2026. It proposed that all employers publish pay information in job adverts, or give it in writing before interview where there is no advert. Regulations would set the detail, such as how wide a range can be. Nothing is law yet.
What does a clear legal job advert look like?#
It answers the questions in the first table before you have to ask them. Every item on the right is known to the firm before it advertises.
What the vague advert says
- "Competitive salary and benefits."
- "A fast paced team."
- "Hybrid working."
- "Own caseload from day one."
- "Progression opportunities."
- "28 days holiday."
What a clear advert says
- £48,000 to £58,000, plus a bonus whose rules are set out in the advert.
- About 60 live files per fee earner, with a full-time assistant.
- Two days in the office, set out in the contract.
- Your own caseload from month three, reviewed weekly by the head of department.
- A review at twelve months, with supervisor level as the next step.
- 28 days including bank holidays, plus a pension at 5% from the firm.
The figures are made up to show the shape. They are not market data. For real bands, see the salary guide. Firms can read how to write a conveyancer job advert. If a firm cannot fill the right-hand column, the advert may be early.
What should you ask before you apply and at interview?#
Ask the same questions of every role, so you compare like with like. Start with the advert, then the recruiter, then the firm.
Find the four basics
Pay, place, working pattern in days, and the date posted.
Mark each phrase
Match it to the first table and write the question beside it.
Email before you send a CV
Ask for the band, the working pattern and whether the role is open. The one-email test is in ghost jobs.
Ask the recruiter
Who the firm is, and who sees your CV. See what to ask a legal recruiter before you send your CV.
Ask the firm at interview
Live files, supervision, the first month and the working pattern.
Before you say yes, try the cost of the wrong move calculator. The sums run in your browser, and nothing you type is sent or saved.
Every advert we run shows the pay or earnings basis, the working pattern and the date. If anything on an advert is unclear, ask us. A named person looks after you, it costs lawyers nothing, and no CV goes to a firm without your say so. For roles in this area, see our conveyancing recruitment page.
On this siteAsk about any advert on a callA 20-minute confidential screening call on Microsoft Teams. Bring the advert and your questions.Book a screening callSources
- GOV.UK: Holiday entitlement
- GOV.UK: Workplace pensions, what you, your employer and the government pay
- GOV.UK: Workplace pensions, joining a workplace pension (automatic enrolment)
- GOV.UK: National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates (from 1 April 2026)
- GOV.UK: Maximum weekly working hours
- GOV.UK: Flexible working
- GOV.UK: Written statement of employment particulars
- GOV.UK: Employers, preventing discrimination: discrimination in recruitment
- Acas: Advertising a job
- legislation.gov.uk: Equality Act 2010, section 39 (employees and applicants)
- legislation.gov.uk: The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 27 (Advertisements)
- GOV.UK: Employment agencies and businesses: Job advertisements
- GOV.UK: Pay and work rights helpline and complaints
- GOV.UK: Equal pay and pay discrimination consultation (published 14 July 2026, closed 27 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Equal pay and pay discrimination consultation document, chapter 1, pay transparency in recruitment
- Onrec: 4 in 10 jobseekers won't apply without a salary, reporting CV-Library's Candidate Behaviour Barometer 2026 (13 October 2026, job board survey)
- Indeed Hiring Lab: Indeed's 2026 Mid-Year UK Jobs and Hiring Trends Report (3 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline update (updated 22 October 2026)
This is general information, not legal advice. Where a figure comes from another organisation, the source is above, and we say when it is dated.