Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring employers to publish salary information when advertising job opportunities.

There is growing evidence to show that when salary information is not transparent, it has an impact on how people, particularly women and those from ethnic minorities, negotiate pay. This can ultimately result in lower starting salaries and smaller pay rises. In light of this, we have considered the merits of making this a requirement.

However, we appreciate that some employers may find it challenging to be fully transparent about pay, and for many organisations, moving immediately to a system of full pay transparency would require a period of adjustment. We therefore do not believe that introducing a legal requirement to disclose this information is the right course of action.

However, in order to encourage and assist employers in voluntarily adopting this, we are considering what further support employers may need. In addition, our pay transparency pilot will provide insights on the impact it can have.