Pay transparency works. Why job adverts must say what they pay

Publishing job adverts without salary information wastes everyone’s time and amplifies pay inequalities. All too often, it's women, Black 1, or disabled workers who end up paying the price - being offered lower salaries than their colleagues, or finding a role lacks the flexibility they need. 

That is why the TUC welcomed the government’s announcement last week that it will bring forward legislation as soon as possible to require publishing salary information in job adverts. Unions have long called for this change, most recently in response to the equal pay and pay discrimination consultation that closed last month. We believe this should apply to all employers, in everywhere they advertise, and to all paid positions including internships, short term contracts, part-time jobs, traineeships, placements, and work experience. Employers should be upfront with potential recruits and clearly say what they pay. 

Here’s four reasons why:

1. Putting salary information in job adverts helps stop discrimination before it starts. Publishing salary information reduces information asymmetry between applicants and employers. This imbalance can enable discriminatory pay offers, driven by stereotypes—such as about women, Black, or disabled workers—or by prior discrimination— such as when employers ask candidates to divulge their salary history. Offers should instead be based on job requirements and candidate qualifications. Job advert pay transparency can encourage employers to evaluate job roles before recruiting, encourage pay consistency, and prevent pay inequality.  
Equal pay law doesn’t just apply to basic salary; it applies to all contractual terms. This matters because otherwise the spirit of the law could be evaded by paying men and women the same basic rate, but different amounts of wider remuneration, such as pension benefits, bonuses, or travel allowances. Unequal pay often occurs in elements like bonuses and overtime rates and where pay-rise and grading systems are opaque. This is why the pay information to be required in job adverts should go beyond basic salary. The government should also consider banning salary history questions.  

2. All job seekers, especially young people, deserve to know the salary before investing time and effort applying. There are nearly a million young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET). Real experience of paid work is the most effective way of getting them into long-term employment. Whether a young person looking to start their career or a parent trying to make ends meet, all job seekers should be provided salary details upfront so that they can focus their search on jobs that best cover their cost of living.   

3. Too many jobs are advertised without salary information. While many good employers already say what they pay, too many do not, and the problem is getting worse. Recruitment platform, Adzuna, reported that pay transparency in UK job adverts has gone backwards over the past decade, with the share of postings that disclose a salary falling from 64.6 per cent in 2016 to less than half (43.7 per cent) in May 2026. CIPD has similarly estimated that only 41 per cent of employers always publish salary ranges, and only 18 per cent always publish specific salaries. They also found that 27 per cent of employers never publish salary ranges, and 45 per cent never publish specific salaries. 

4. Putting salary information in job adverts makes good business sense. No employer advertises a job without budgeting for it. So, why risk wasting time reviewing and interviewing candidates who can’t afford to do the job? Vague details about salary also risks putting off good candidates from applying. There was overwhelming support for the government’s common-sense proposal by 94 per cent of respondents in their recently closed consultation, including 93 per cent support from businesses. Good employers have nothing to fear from saying what they pay from the off.  

What’s next?  

Last weeks’ announcement came just nine days’ after the government’s equal pay and pay discrimination consultation closed. The consultation paper proposed a statutory requirement for employers to publish information about pay and conditions in job adverts, and to provide this information in writing to candidates before the interview, where there is no advert. The government has committed to bring forward legislation to implement this proposal as soon as possible, with further details on scope, required information, implementation, and enforcement to be set out in due course. 

We also want to see the government go further and ban asking for salary history, another practice that embeds discriminatory pay.  

The government should use the next King’s Speech to introduce legislation on pay transparency. This would also provide an opportunity to introduce a duty to advertise flexible working options. This would ensure employers consider flexibility when designing jobs and further help applicants understand if a job will meet their needs up-front. Flexible working is vital for parents, disabled workers, and workers with other caring commitments, and access to quality flexible working reduces gender, ethnicity, and disability pay gaps. 

In the meantime, all businesses should heed the prime minister’s call to say what they pay on job adverts now, rather than wait for the law to change. 

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  The TUC uses ‘Black’–with a capital B–to indicate people with a shared history. ‘Black’ is used in a broad political and inclusive sense to describe people in the UK who have suffered from colonialism and enslavement in the past and continue to experience racism and diminished opportunities in today’s society.