Britain's employers will be legally required to publish the salary in every job advertisement under a new law Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on Thursday, in a pay-transparency reform the government has branded 'say what you pay'. Burnham said the government will introduce the legislation 'as soon as possible' and called on businesses to start publishing pay details immediately rather than wait for the law to reach them, Reuters reported on Friday.
Source: Reuters, Nov 6, via TradersUnion
'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. That's why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay,' Burnham said. He also called on businesses to 'open more doors and give young people the experience and confidence to take that first step into the world of work'.
Source: Reuters via EuropeSays / Trade News (BBC report), Nov 5-6
Aimed at young jobseekers and the pay gap
The government says the move is part of its wider drive to get more young people into work: nearly one million young people in Britain are not in education, employment or training, and further youth reforms are expected after the final report of the Milburn review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks, People Management reported. Ministers also present upfront pay as a fairness tool: publishing salaries could expose unjustified pay differences, give workers confidence to challenge discrimination and stop pay disputes escalating, the government said.
Source: People Management (CIPD), Nov 6; BBC report via Trade News, Nov 5
Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson said mandatory disclosure would help jobseekers judge whether a job offers enough financial security, HR Review reported. The TUC's general secretary Paul Nowak welcomed the pledge, saying that requiring employers to publish salaries is a significant step towards making work fairer for women and tackling the gender pay gap.
Source: HR Review, Nov 6
What employers do now — and what is still undecided
Today there is no legal obligation: employers may advertise a 'competitive salary' or give no figure at all, and they may ask applicants what they currently earn — though applicants are under no obligation to answer. Data from jobs site Adzuna shows 51% of adverts on its site in September carried salary information, a share that has been falling in recent years. The government has not yet set out exactly what information employers will have to publish, how the rule will be enforced or when it will take effect; those details are promised 'in due course', and for now no new legal duty applies.
Source: BBC report via Trade News, Nov 5; The Brief, Nov 6
The announcement follows a Cabinet Office consultation on pay and discrimination launched in the summer, and comes a week after the Equality and Human Rights Commission said employees should legally be able to find out what their colleagues earn. Britain is also following a European lead: the European Union's pay transparency rules require employers to disclose the initial pay or pay range for a role in the advert or before interview.
Source: BBC report via Trade News, Nov 5; People Management, Nov 6
The UK is one of the top destinations for Punjabi and Indian workers and students, and first-time jobseekers are exactly the people hidden pay hurts most — an applicant cannot judge a warehouse, care-home or office offer, or spot an underpaid one, without a number. If the law passes as announced, every UK job advert — including the entry-level roles newcomers apply for — will have to carry its pay upfront. What happens next: the Bill's text, its scope and enforcement, and the start date, all still to be published.