UK Government Urges Businesses to Disclose Salaries Before New Transparency Law Hits

POLICY WIRE — London, UK — Prime Minister Andy Burnham is calling on businesses to begin including salary details in their job postings immediately, rather than waiting for upcoming legislation to mandate the practice.

The British government is preparing to make the disclosure of pay compulsory in recruitment advertisements, with plans to introduce the necessary legal framework as quickly as possible.

Officials believe the transparency shift will significantly support job seekers, particularly those entering the workforce for the first time, while potentially reducing workplace pay discrimination.

However, one industry group expressed concerns that determining specific pay levels is a complicated process and that regulating advertisements may not always be the most effective approach.

This push comes just one week after the UK’s equality watchdog suggested that employees should have a legal right to know the earnings of their colleagues.

The Cabinet Office conducted a consultation over the summer regarding pay and the reduction of discrimination; they reported “overwhelming support” for increased transparency, with 94% of participants favoring the change.

“Whether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it,” Burnham stated.

The government views this move as a strategy to address the nearly one million young people who are currently not in education, employment, or training. This occurs ahead of the release of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, which is expected in the coming weeks.

Making salary information public could reveal unfair pay gaps, giving workers the confidence to challenge discrimination and preventing disagreements from becoming formal disputes.

The proposed measures mirror regulations already implemented in the European Union, where employers are required to disclose an initial salary or range either in the advertisement or before an interview begins.

Data from the job site Adzuna shows that 51% of advertisements in September featured pay information, though that figure has trended downward in recent years.

Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, argued that transparency should be the standard rather than the exception. He noted that employers listing salaries attract more and better-suited candidates.

Research from the CIPD, a human resources industry body, indicated that public sector entities and charities are more likely to reveal pay than private firms. The study also found that while ranges are more common than specific figures, not all employers were fully transparent, with some ranges exceeding £10,000.

Neil Carberry, chief executive of the CIPD, explained that while providing salary details is positive in principle, the application is complicated. There is not always a single fixed figure, and employers will want to set pay based on candidate’s skills, experience, he said, adding that drafting job ads is best handled through good practice rather than government regulation.

The government has stated it will provide further details regarding required information and enforcement methods at a later date.

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Last week, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) described publishing salaries in ads as a positive step. They also suggested bosses should be legally required to answer questions about colleague pay to cut discrimination.

Currently, UK employers are permitted to ask applicants about their current earnings, though applicants are under no legal obligation to provide that information.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)