The Earning + Learning campaign launched on September 24th 2026. You can watch the recording of the online launch event below.
Speakers at the launch event were:
- Professor Kim Allen, project lead, University of Leeds
- Isis, representative from the Expert Advisory Board of young people that co-created the campaign
- Dr Lilith Brouwers, project coordinator, University of Leeds
- Vic Jones, Trade Unions Congress
- Kate Nightingale, Young Women’s Trust
You can read Isis’ statement here:
Hi everyone, my name is Isis and I’m one of the members of the Expert Advisory Board behind the campaign.
I studied at the University of Leeds and worked part time while I was there. One thing that stood out to me was that some employers would say your pay would be lower during training and then go up after. At the time I just accepted it and didn’t question it. But that’s what this campaign is about. Students not knowing if what their employer is telling them is legal, or if they’re being treated unfairly because they don’t know what to look out for.
I think this hits hardest for international students. A lot of us are not fully familiar with UK work law, and if English is not your first language, it’s even harder to speak up when something doesn’t feel right. That makes international students a really easy target, and it’s something this campaign can really make a difference on.
A lot of my friends were in the same position. Some of them were being paid below minimum wage and had no idea that wasn’t okay. They didn’t say anything because they didn’t know it was wrong, or they were scared to lose the job. I studied sociology and even took law modules at uni. And even I didn’t always know. So most students had even less chance.
That’s why I wanted to be part of this campaign. In my final year I took Professor Allen’s module and it really pushed me to think about going beyond just understanding problems and actually doing something about them. So when the chance came up to join the board, I knew I wanted to get involved.
Being part of the process was a really good experience. We didn’t just sit there and give feedback. We each did a full presentation to the designer, sharing our ideas on the visuals, the tone, and where the materials should go so students would see them. The whole point was to make something that didn’t feel like a lecture. Something that felt like a friend telling you something useful.
I actually came up with the slogan ‘Your boss hopes you never read this.’ If it makes people a little uncomfy, maybe that’s because it’s hitting on something real. It speaks directly to students and makes them think ‘wait, does this apply to me?’
What I hope students take away is simple. It is worth checking. Your rights exist, they apply to you, and it only takes a few minutes to find out if you are being treated fairly. We want every student to be protected. Real change is never just individual. It’s structural. One student knowing their rights is a start. All of them knowing is a movement.
Thank you.