Employers to be required to disclose pay in job adverts under new plans
Employers will be legally required to publish salary information in job adverts under plans announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, although the Government has yet to set out precisely what they must disclose or how the requirement will be enforced.
The proposed change is intended to help applicants judge whether a job is worth pursuing before spending time on an application, particularly young people seeking their first role. Ministers also argue that greater transparency will help women challenge unequal pay rather than negotiate without knowing what an employer is prepared to offer.
The Government says it will introduce legislation as soon as possible. Details of its scope, the information required, implementation and enforcement will follow. Burnham has urged businesses to publish pay information now rather than wait for the law.
“Whether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it,” he said.
The announcement comes alongside a Siemens Mobility programme intended to give 10,000 young people experience of engineering and technology over three years, as ministers seek business support for a target of 200,000 additional work experience placements for 14–16-year-olds.
Pay disclosure remains far from universal. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s 2024 Pay, performance and transparency report estimated that 41% of employers always published salary ranges and 18% always published specific salaries.
Early analysis of responses to the Government’s consultation found that 94% backed a requirement to publish salary information, including 93% of business respondents. Those figures measure support among respondents, rather than employers or the public as a whole.
Ministers argue that publishing pay upfront can expose unjustified differences, give workers greater confidence to challenge discrimination and prevent disagreements escalating into disputes. They say it can also help young applicants, including those returning after time outside work or education, concentrate on suitable opportunities.
Bridget Phillipson, the minister for women and equalities, said applicants needed to know whether a role would pay their bills and whether they were sufficiently qualified. She argued that mandatory salary information would support informed choices, help close the gender pay gap and remove an obstacle for first-time applicants and mothers returning to work.
Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, welcomed the proposal as progress towards fairer work for women. She said salary secrecy had left women negotiating without adequate information and made unfair or unequal pay harder to challenge. The organisation has long campaigned for greater pay transparency.
Nishi Mayor, director of employer engagement and partnerships at the Youth Futures Foundation, said one in eight 16–24-year-olds was not in education, employment or training. She welcomed government consultation with employers on removing barriers to work.
Drawing on the foundation’s trials of recruitment and retention practices with employers, Mayor said too many young people struggled to access opportunities. Clear pay information could help them make better-informed decisions and help employers attract more suitable applicants, she argued.
Further youth employment reforms are expected after the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, which is due in the coming weeks. The Government is also developing vocational and technical routes intended to provide a clearer path from school into employment.
Siemens Mobility’s new work experience programme will create more than 3,300 opportunities a year, reaching 10,000 young people over three years. It combines digital learning with practical experience, allowing participants to meet engineers, tackle real-world challenges and explore the use of advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and digital technology on Britain’s railways.
Burnham will join children for a national science lesson to mark the launch, with thousands more pupils taking part online. Practical challenges and demonstrations will introduce them to Siemens Mobility apprentices and engineers and show where science and technical subjects might lead.
The programme also aims to challenge stereotypes about engineering careers. The UCL Institute of Education’s 2020 ASPIRES 2 research found that engineering aspirations had already diverged by age 10: 11% of girls aspired to such careers, compared with 44% of boys.
Aglaja Schneider, managing director of Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, said she had begun her career as a graduate at the company and particularly hoped the lesson would encourage more girls to consider engineering and technology. She said the Tech Experience Launchpad programme came as up to 70,000 workers could potentially leave Britain’s rail industry by 2030.
Schneider pointed to the company’s £360 million UK investment, encompassing its Rail Technology Centre in Wiltshire and Goole Rail Village in Yorkshire, as part of its commitment to manufacturing, technology and future skills.
Rob Morris, also identified as managing director of Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, said changes in artificial intelligence, digital technology and advanced manufacturing required a new generation of engineers and innovators. He described the investment as supporting skilled jobs, talent development and Britain’s industrial capabilities, as well as railway facilities.
Becky Worsey, an assistant chief engineer taking part in the science lesson, said her 10-year-old daughter wanted a job like hers. She argued that meeting engineers and seeing school science applied to practical problems could make the industry’s varied careers and entry routes easier for children to imagine.
Burnham called on more businesses to offer opportunities, building on retail and hospitality sector commitments to create hundreds of thousands of opportunities for young people. Employers can pledge work experience places through the Careers and Enterprise Company as part of the effort to address the 200,000-opportunity gap for 14–16-year-olds.