Employers across Great Britain could soon be required to disclose salary information in job advertisements under proposed reforms aimed at increasing pay transparency and reducing workplace discrimination.
The plans form part of the government’s wider effort to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and make the recruitment process fairer for jobseekers.
Under the proposals, businesses would be expected to provide applicants with clear information about pay before interviews take place. For roles that are not publicly advertised, employers would instead have to give candidates the salary details in writing ahead of the recruitment process.
Ministers believe the changes will help people make better-informed decisions when applying for jobs while also reducing disputes over pay expectations during hiring.
The government has not yet decided what level of salary information employers would be required to disclose. A public consultation will examine several options, including whether companies should publish an exact salary, a salary range, or a benchmark rate for each position.
Officials are also seeking views on whether employers should provide details of additional forms of remuneration, such as bonuses and other financial benefits, alongside basic pay.
According to a government policy paper, greater transparency could improve recruitment by discouraging applications from candidates whose salary expectations differ significantly from what employers are prepared to offer.
The government also argues that open pay information can help tackle discrimination by limiting the influence of unconscious bias during salary negotiations.
Officials said opaque pay practices can contribute to unequal outcomes for women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and other groups, as employers may offer different salaries to equally qualified candidates.
Although there is currently no legal requirement for employers in the UK to include salary information in job adverts, many organizations have voluntarily adopted the practice in recent years.
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has found that salary disclosure is more common among public sector organizations and charities than private companies. However, the body has noted that some advertised pay ranges remain extremely broad, limiting the level of transparency provided to applicants.
The proposed reforms mirror measures already being introduced across the European Union.
Under new EU rules, employers with more than 100 workers will be required to disclose the starting salary or salary range for advertised vacancies before interviews take place. The legislation also prohibits employers from asking applicants about their previous salary history.
The UK government’s consultation does not currently include a similar ban on questions about salary history.
The proposed legislation is expected to apply across England, Scotland and Wales. A consultation with businesses and industry groups will run until October, after which the government intends to finalize the details before introducing legislation.
It remains unclear whether Northern Ireland will adopt similar measures. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has previously argued that EU pay transparency rules should apply in the region under the Windsor Framework, although the Northern Ireland Executive has not confirmed whether it intends to introduce comparable legislation.
