The UK government plans to require salary information in job advertisements, a measure it says could help applicants assess roles before applying, though the law’s scope and timing remain unsettled.
The government announced the plan Nov. 5 and said it would bring forward legislation “as soon as possible.” The proposal is not in force. The announcement did not set a start date, spell out the pay details employers must publish, explain how the measure would be enforced or say where the final rule would apply. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said applicants “should know what a job pays” before committing time to an application.
The government said early analysis found 94% of consultation respondents supported the requirement, including 93% of businesses. Its announcement did not give respondent totals or explain how the shares were calculated.
The July 2026 consultation, which covered England, Scotland and Wales, asked whether employers should put pay information in an advert or provide it in writing before an interview when there was no advert. It also asked whether employers should disclose a salary range, a specific salary or a benchmark rate.
The announcement cited figures from the CIPD’s Pay, Performance and Transparency 2024 report. The CIPD’s published summary says 41% of surveyed organizations always shared salary ranges in external job adverts. Its 18% figure refers to organizations that always shared specific salaries in internal job adverts, so it does not show how often employers put exact pay in public listings. The survey covered 832 UK HR and reward professionals and senior decision-makers in October 2023.
The government says advance pay information could help applicants assess roles and workers identify unjustified pay differences. It also says women may be disadvantaged when negotiating without salary information. Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson said “it shouldn’t be a guessing game.”
Sky News reported that Treasury minister James Murray set no target for how many young people not in education, employment or training the measure might help move into work. The government said further youth-employment reforms were expected after the final Milburn Review report, which it expected in the coming weeks.
