The Prime Minister announced that employers will be legally required to publish salary information in job adverts, in a policy the government has called ‘say what you pay’. Legislation will be brought forward “as soon as possible”, the government said, but ministers have not yet decided which sizes of company will have to comply and key details will be set out later.
The Department for Business and Trade cited official figures based on the CIPD’s 2024 pay and transparency report to underline the case for change. The department said only 41 per cent of employers always publish salary ranges and just 18 per cent always publish specific salaries.
The government said its early analysis of a consultation showed 94 per cent of respondents backed a requirement to publish pay information, including 93 per cent of businesses. The department argued that publishing pay upfront helps expose unjustified differences, supports women who might otherwise negotiate “blind” and reduces pay disputes.
Alongside the pay transparency announcement, the government unveiled a Siemens Mobility pledge to provide more than 3,300 work experience opportunities a year, reaching 10,000 young people over three years in engineering and technology. The company said the programme is part of a wider government ambition for 200,000 additional placements for 14 to 16 year olds.
Siemens said it has invested £360m in the UK, citing a rail technology centre in Wiltshire and a rail village in Goole. The company also warned of skills pressures, saying up to 70,000 workers could potentially leave the rail industry by 2030.
Reaction and context
Ministers said detailed provisions on scope, the information to be published, implementation and enforcement will be set out at a later date. The government did not publish a bill at the time of the announcement, and several design questions remain unresolved: whether employers will be required to give ranges or exact figures, which companies will be in scope, and how compliance will be enforced.
The Minister for Women and Equalities, Bridget Phillipson, said mandatory salary information would “help young people make informed choices, help close the gender pay gap”. Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said salary secrecy had “put women at a disadvantage”.
The Trades Union Congress welcomed the move. The TUC’s general secretary Paul Nowak said jobseekers know how frustrating “competitive salary” can be, and he described the measure as a step towards fairer pay practices.
Campaign and research groups underlined the wider labour market challenge. The Youth Futures Foundation said one in eight 16 to 24 year olds is not in education, employment or training, and further reforms are expected to follow the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks.
Government spokespeople said early consultation feedback provides a clear signal of support, but a formal publication of the consultation response has not yet been produced. The department acknowledged that its 94 per cent figure is an early analysis of consultation responses rather than a final published response.
Employers and business groups have yet to receive detail on how the requirement will operate in practice. Companies will be watching closely for decisions on thresholds and the level of granularity required, as well as any penalties for non compliance.
Supporters of the change say mandatory pay information should make recruitment fairer by reducing the advantage held by those who can negotiate from a stronger position, and by exposing unjustified pay gaps. Critics are likely to press for clarity on how the law will allow legitimate market differences to be reflected without imposing undue administrative burdens on smaller employers.
The government said it would set out implementation and enforcement arrangements in due course, and promised to bring forward legislation as soon as possible. In the meantime employers, campaigners and industry groups await further detail on the final shape of the measure and the timetable for its passage into law.
