Now Prime Minister Andy Burnham is urging employers to post salaries in job advertising, rather than waiting for a new law that will require them to do so.
The government is set to make wage details mandatory in advertising, with legislation on the matter to be introduced “as soon as possible”.
The adjustment will benefit job searchers, especially those looking for their first job, and could assist combat pay discrimination, it says. But one industry organization said fixing remuneration was a complex process and regulating advertisements was not always appropriate.
It comes a week after the UK’s equality watchdog declared staff should be entitled to know what their colleagues earn by law.
“The current system felt weighted against the applicant and the changes are designed to tilt the scales back,” Burnham said.
It may be quite soul shattering for young people these days applying for employment when the wage is not disclosed and sometimes they are not getting a reply.
Publishing salaries in advertising was also vital to help close the gender pay gap, the PM said.
He was also questioned on whether MPs should be declaring salaries when advertising to staff in their offices.
Now, several politicians are advertising for positions without quoting an expected compensation.
“It would apply absolutely to them as well and the call I’m making today is, before the law changes, do it voluntarily because it’s the right thing to do,” Burnham added.
Increased Visibility in UK Job Advertisements
The Cabinet Office consulted on pay and preventing discrimination during the summer and the government said there had been “overwhelming support” for increased openness, with 94% of respondents endorsing the measure.
“Whether you’re a young person just starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before you spend your time and effort applying for it,” Burnham said.
The government claimed the move is part of efforts to lower the number of roughly one million young people who are not in education, employment or training – or “Neet” – ahead of the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks.
“The early release of salary information could “highlight unwarranted inequalities in compensation, give workers more confidence to confront discrimination and stop arguments over pay growing into disputes”.
The plans are along the lines of those being proposed across the European Union.
Employers in Europe will have to declare the starting wage or the range for new jobs, which should be published in a job post or communicated before an interview.
Figures from UK employment website Adzuna showed 51% of the advertising on its platform in September featured pay information but the number has been declining in previous years.
Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said the openness on compensation “should be the exception not the norm”.
“Employers who put a salary on a job advert attract more, and better, applicants,” he continued.
More Complicated for Employers
Earlier study by the CIPD, an industry association for HR managers, suggests salary information is more likely to be disclosed by the public sector and charities than private enterprises, with pay ranges more prevalent than exact amounts.
But it found that not all employers were “fully transparent”, with wage ranges occasionally differing by over £10,000.
CIPD chief executive Neil Carberry said it was “a good thing” to provide wage figures in principle, but in fact it was “more complicated”.
“There isn’t always a predetermined price and employers will want to pay based on a candidate’s skills, experience and potential.
It was a complicated procedure, Carberry said. “Job adverts are best left to good employer practice rather than government regulation,” he said.
The government has indicated it would provide greater specifics about what information will be sought and how the act will be enforced “in due course”.
“Labour have opted to make life increasingly harder for firms at a time when they are finding it harder and harder to take on staff.Businesses should be free to pick what information to advertize about job openings and how to attract the best applicants.If they are not dishonest or misleading or discriminatory it should not be a problem for the government.
Equality Watchdog Supports Salary Transparency
Last week the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) stated making salary clear in job advertising would be a “positive step”.
It said that bosses should also be made to answer questionnaires on what colleagues are paid to cut down on pay discrimination.
For now, companies aren’t required to answer to employee requests about co-workers’ salaries.
The EHRC also recommended companies should be banned from asking about current income when offering a job, to prevent a history of discrimination being carried forward.
Currently, employers in the UK can ask you what you earn in your present job but it is up to applicants to decide whether to disclose them or not.