UK plans to require salary figures in all job advertisements

In brief

• The UK government plans to require employers to state salaries in job advertisements.
• The measure is aimed at young people and at reducing gender-based pay inequality.
• A draft bill is to go to Parliament soon, but no date has been given.

Government aims to reduce youth inactivity

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Thursday that employers in the United Kingdom would have to disclose the salary for each vacancy in their advertisements (Gehaltstransparenz: Großbritannien plant Pflicht zur Gehaltsangabe bei Stellenanzeigen – ZEIT ONLINE) (Großbritannien will Gehaltsangaben in Stellenanzeigen vorschreiben – DER SPIEGEL). The move is part of the government's effort to reduce the number of young people who are neither in work nor in education or training.

In a statement, Burnham argued that people starting their first job, as well as parents returning to work, should know what a position pays before they invest time in an application.

Bill to be presented to Parliament

The government's office said a draft bill would be submitted to Parliament soon, but it did not give a date. Reports from the same day describe the plan in similar terms, so the proposal appears settled in substance even though its legislative path is still open (Britain to make salary disclosure in job ads mandatory – Hacker News) (Gesetz geplant: Briten sollen künftig wissen: Wie viel Geld bringt der Job? – ZEIT ONLINE).

Expected effects on pay equality

According to the government, mandatory salary information would help young job seekers when applying for their first post. It would also make pay more transparent and counter inequalities that can disadvantage women.

The proposal follows a pattern in which pay transparency is treated as a tool against gender gaps, and it would apply to advertisements placed by employers across the country.

What happens next

No timetable has been published for the bill, and the details of which employers would be covered and what penalties might apply have not been set out in the reporting available. Until Parliament receives the draft, the scope of the rule remains uncertain.