Key facts
- The government said 94% of consultation respondents backed greater pay transparency.
- Legislation making pay details compulsory in adverts is to be brought forward as soon as possible.
- The government linked the move to reducing nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training.
- CIPD chief executive Neil Carberry said setting pay is more complicated than a single fixed figure.
- The government said further details on required information and enforcement will come in due course.
The UK prime minister told businesses on November 5, 2026 to publish salaries in job adverts now, rather than wait for a new law that will force them to do so. The government is planning to make pay details compulsory in adverts, with legislation being brought forward as soon as possible.
The Cabinet Office launched a consultation into pay and reducing discrimination in the summer. The government said there had been overwhelming support for greater transparency, with 94% of respondents backing the move. It argued the change will help jobseekers, particularly those applying for their first job, and could help prevent pay discrimination.
Andy Burnham said: "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." The government said the move was part of attempts to reduce the nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training, ahead of the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks.
The government said publishing salary details upfront could expose unjustified differences in pay, give workers greater confidence to challenge discrimination and prevent disagreements over pay escalating into disputes. Employers in Europe will have to disclose the initial pay or range for new roles, either in a published advert or before an interview.
Adzuna co-founder Andrew Hunter said being open about pay should be the norm, not the exception, and that employers who put a salary on an advert attract more applicants, and better-suited ones. CIPD research has indicated the public sector and charities are more likely to reveal pay information than private firms, and pay ranges were more common than specific salaries, though not all employers were fully transparent, with ranges sometimes wider than £10,000.
CIPD chief executive Neil Carberry said that while giving salary details was in principle a good thing, in practice it was more complicated. He said there is not always a single fixed figure and employers will want to set pay based on a candidate's skills, experience and potential, adding that drafting job adverts is best left to good employer practice rather than government regulation.
The government said it will set out further details on what information will be required and how the legislation will be enforced in due course. Last week, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said publishing salaries in job adverts would be a positive step, and that bosses should be required to respond to questionnaires about colleagues' pay to cut pay discrimination. It also said employers should be prevented from asking about current salary when offering a job.