Employers will be forced to publish salary information in job adverts under government proposals to overhaul anti-discrimination laws. The draft plans, published by the Cabinet Office, would require companies to disclose not just salary but potentially other job conditions to candidates. Ministers argue the move will help jobseekers navigate the market and could prevent future pay discrimination claims.
But the exact details of what must be shared are yet to be finalised. Officials plan to consult on whether exact salaries, a pay range, or a "benchmark rate" must be displayed, and whether bonuses should be included. Employers that do not publish a job advert will have to give candidates the information in writing before an interview.
“Employers will have to publish salary information in job adverts under government plans to rewrite anti-discrimination laws.”
In a policy document, the Cabinet Office said salary information would help jobseekers make informed application decisions and improve hiring by weeding out candidates with "misaligned pay expectations". Citing academic studies, it added that transparency would help prevent "unequal outcomes" when salaries are offered to successful applicants. "When pay is opaque, salary decisions can be influenced by stereotypes – such as stereotypes of women, ethnic minorities, or disabled people," the document said.
Although pay transparency is not currently mandatory in the UK, the trend has been growing. Previous research by the CIPD, an industry body for HR managers, found the practice is more common in public bodies and charities than the private sector, with pay ranges more common than specific salaries. However, it cautioned that employers are not always "fully transparent", with ranges sometimes wider than £10,000.
The proposals echo similar rules being rolled out across the European Union, where large employers of more than 100 workers must disclose the initial pay or range for new roles, either in a published advert or before an interview. The EU rules also ban employers from asking candidates about their salary history – a measure not featured in the Cabinet Office consultation.
The government intends for its proposals to apply in England, Wales and Scotland, with the exact terms set out in legislation following a consultation with industry ending in October. In Northern Ireland, the rights watchdog has argued that the new EU pay transparency rules should apply under the terms of the Windsor Framework, but the Northern Ireland Executive has declined to say whether it plans to adopt them.