Prime Minister Andy Burnham has confirmed a new pay rule for all jobs in a major law change to make work “fairer for everyone”. Under new plans announced on Thursday (November 5), all employers will be legally required to publish salaries in job adverts meaning jobseekers will know exactly how much the role pays before they apply. According to the Government, less than half (41%) of employers always publish salary ranges and only one in five (18%) always publish specific salaries. But the Government will mandate job adverts to ‘say what you pay’ by making publishing salaries a legal requirement, making openness about pay the minimum standard.
The change means jobseekers will no longer be asked to apply for jobs without knowing what they will earn, while also helping to address pay inequalities and close the gender pay gap.
Confirming the new pay rule in a post on LinkedIn, Mr Burnham said: “Looking for a job can be daunting enough, especially when it’s your first one, without having to guess what you’re actually going to be paid. And when pay is kept hidden, women in particular lose out. So, we’re changing the rules.
“Soon, employers will have to include salary information when they advertise a job. Because if you’re asking someone to give up their time to apply, the least you can do is tell them what the role pays.
“And putting pay out in the open helps close the gender pay gap too. It’s a small change, but it makes work a bit fairer for everyone.”
According to the Government, there is “overwhelming support” for greater pay transparency, with early analysis showing 94% of respondents to the government consultation backing the requirement, including 93% of businesses.
Publishing salaries upfront can help expose unjustified differences in pay, give workers greater confidence to challenge discrimination and prevent disagreements over pay.
The Government said it will bring forward the legislation “as soon as possible”, but in the meantime, Mr Burnham is calling on all businesses to include job salaries on adverts now, rather than wait for the law to change.
Praising the change, Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society said: “For too long, salary secrecy has put women at a disadvantage, leaving them negotiating in the dark and making it much harder to challenge unfair and unequal pay.
“Requiring employers to publish salaries in job adverts is a significant step towards making work fairer for women and tackling the gender pay gap.
“Fawcett has long campaigned for greater pay transparency. The decision taken by government today is real progress. Women will no longer have to make decisions about their financial futures based on vague promises or unclear terms.”
