Pay transparency in job adverts

The short answer

No UK law yet requires an employer to put the salary in a job advert. The government has consulted on making every employer do it, and the consultation closed on 27 October 2026. A role based in an EU country already falls under the EU’s pay transparency rules, through that country’s law.

If an advert does state pay, it has to be accurate, and recruitment agencies have extra rules about what goes with it.

What the law asks today

• Pay you state has to be honest. The advertising code says job adverts must be for genuine vacancies and quoted earnings must be precise. If pay includes commission, or is commission only, the advert has to say so. That is what governs “up to” and on-target earnings figures.
• Agencies have extra rules. An agency advert that states a rate of pay must also give the nature of the work, its location and the minimum experience, training or qualifications needed to earn that rate. Every agency advert has to name the agency and say whether the job is permanent or temporary.
• Staff can talk about pay. A contract term stopping people from discussing their pay to find out whether it is linked to a protected characteristic can’t be enforced.
• Ask only what you need. Data protection law says to collect only the information the decision needs, so think before asking candidates about their current salary.

What the government has proposed

The Office for Equality and Opportunity’s consultation on equal pay ran from 14 July to 27 October 2026. It proposes that:

• All employers publish pay information in their job adverts, whatever their size.
• Where there is no advert, the employer gives the candidate the pay information in writing before the interview.

It asked whether that should be a pay range, a specific salary or a benchmark rate, and hasn’t decided. It would be brought in by regulations, with what the government calls an extended implementation period, and no date has been set. The consultation doesn’t propose banning questions about salary history.

The government is now analysing the responses. We’ll update this guide when it publishes its reply.

Roles based in the EU

The EU Pay Transparency Directive applies to roles in EU countries, whoever the employer is, through each country’s own law. Countries were due to bring it in by 7 June 2026, and not all have. Where it applies:

• Candidates must be told the starting pay, or its range, in the advert or before the interview.
• Employers can’t ask about a candidate’s pay history.
• Adverts and job titles have to be gender-neutral.

If you hire into an EU country, check that country’s law for the detail and its start date.

Pay gap reporting

• Gender pay gap: employers with 250 or more employees report every year.
• Action plans: under the Employment Rights Act 2025, employers with 250 or more employees can publish gender pay gap and menopause action plans voluntarily now. They are due to become mandatory in spring 2027.
• Ethnicity and disability: the government has confirmed mandatory reporting for employers with 250 or more employees, with no start date yet.

What to do now

• Put a pay range on every advert. It costs nothing, the government has proposed requiring it, and specialists can tell at once whether the role is worth their time.
• Make the range real. If the top of the range needs bonus or commission, say so.
• Stop asking for current salary. Ask what the candidate is looking for instead, or say what the role pays and ask if it works.
• Get your figures straight now. If you’re near 250 employees, set up the pay data you’ll need to report.

Pay on the advert is part of Good Faith Hiring, the open standard for honest hiring we started. Free for any employer to adopt.