Introduction

Trading standards staff can make a big difference to people’s lives and they get great satisfaction from successfully exposing rogue traders.

Justice is done. The consumer is protected.
But their impact is not always punitive. They provide the community with advice and support, too – often preventing trouble before it occurs.

Senior trading standards officers cover the same ground as trading standards officers (TSOs) except that they may have extra projects to manage and teams to guide. They are able to use the force of legislation to promote a fair and just environment and stamp out shady practice.

They are employed in all local authorities except district councils.

Work Environment

Senior TSOs are office-based but spend a lot of time travelling to trading premises including shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, factories and markets. Conditions might be noisy, dirty and affected by the weather. Protective clothing is provided – strong boots, overalls, ear/eye/ and head gear. They also attend court hearings. The hours worked are 37 per week with occasional ant-social hours.

Daily Activities

TSOs spend most of their time on routine inspection. But they will also visit traders offering advice and guidance, investigating alleged offences and complaints, recording work results and preparing prosecution files. They carry equipment such as food sampling devices and standard weights and measures. Senior TSOs may brief teams of officers to do visits while they handle the paperwork required for legal prosecution and plan special projects such as:

• illegal sales of age-restricted goods (alcohol sold to underage young people at off-licences)
• adulteration of alcoholic drinks in pubs
• short measure beer
• short weight fuel such as coal
• misleading price indications of package holidays
• sale of counterfeit goods.

They also have to plan targets to meet council objectives and prosecution time limits. Apart from contact with many different kinds of trader they work closely with environmental health officers, police, customs and excise, trade organisations, magistrates/judges, solicitors and the general public.

Skills & Interests

You would need the following qualities to be good at this job:

• practical ability
• attention to detail
• caring nature
• project management ability
• confidence
• ability to get on with people from different backgrounds
• diplomacy
• firmness
• good oral and written communication skills.

Entry Requirements

The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) professional qualifications in consumer affairs and trading standards are at four levels: Foundation Certificate in Consumer Affairs & Trading Standards; Module Certificate in Consumer Affairs & Trading Standards; Diploma in Consumer Affairs & Trading Standards (DCATS); Higher Diploma in Consumer Affairs & Trading Standards (HDCATS). You can combine study with paid employment and work up through the qualifications, or you can study for a TSI accredited degree and start professional qualifications at a higher level. The following organisations provide TSI accredited degree courses:

• Manchester Metropolitan University
• Manchester Metropolitan University Graduate Diploma
• University of Wales Institute, Cardiff
• University of Teesside
• Queen Margaret’s University College, Edinburgh
• South West Regional Assembly (Distance Learning)

Estimated salary range

Variable: could be anything from £30,000 up to £70,000 due to possible differences in job description as given above.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

The promotion prospects are narrow but fairly clear. Experience and length of service can lead to the Chief/Principal Trading Standards Officer post via section head or divisional officer work. There are some opportunities in the private sector as a specialist in quality control or consumer law in large companies.

Related Occupations

Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Protecting Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.

Further Information & Services

Trading Standards Careers information www.tscareers.org.uk

Trading Standards Institute www.tradingstandards.gov.uk

Law Society www.lawsociety.org.uk

Law Society of Scotland www.lawscot.org.uk

Institute of Food Science and Technology (retail food) www.ifst.org

Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland www.royal-environmental-health.org.uk

You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under AC.

What should I do next?

Look for current local government Senior Trading Standards Officer vacancies in the following places:

• LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
• Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
• Local council websites.
• Local newspapers
• National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.

Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:

• Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
• Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
• Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
• Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training.