New 'say what you pay' law will make every job advert show the salary

Every job advert in Britain will have to show what the role pays, under a new law announced by the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. The "say what you pay" rule will make publishing a salary a legal requirement for employers, ending the common frustration of applying for a job without knowing what it is worth.

The government says it will bring forward the legislation "as soon as possible", and in the meantime the Prime Minister is calling on all businesses to start publishing salaries on their job ads now rather than wait for the law to change.

Why it matters

According to figures from the CIPD quoted by the government, fewer than half of employers (41%) always publish salary ranges, and only one in five (18%) always publish a specific salary. That leaves jobseekers, and particularly young people applying for their first job, spending time on applications for roles that may not pay enough to live on.

"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," said Mr Burnham. "That's why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay."

The change has wide backing. Early analysis of the government's consultation found 94% of respondents supported the requirement, including 93% of businesses.

Closing the gender pay gap

Ministers and campaigners say the rule will also help women, who can be left negotiating "blind" and are more vulnerable to lower pay offers when salaries are hidden.

Bridget Phillipson, Minister for Women and Equalities, said: "What a job pays is rightly at the forefront of people's minds when looking for work - it shouldn't be a guessing game." She added that "no-one should have to enter an already daunting process salary blind".

Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which has long campaigned for pay transparency, called the decision "real progress". "Requiring employers to publish salaries in job adverts is a significant step towards making work fairer for women and tackling the gender pay gap," she said.

10,000 work experience places in engineering

The announcement came alongside a new work experience programme from Siemens Mobility, the rail engineering company, which will create more than 3,300 opportunities a year and reach 10,000 young people over three years. Participants will meet engineers and see how advanced manufacturing, AI and digital technology are changing Britain's railways.

It counts towards the government's goal of 200,000 extra work experience placements for 14 to 16-year-olds. To mark the launch, the Prime Minister was due to join children for a national science lesson, with thousands more taking part online.

Becky Worsey, an assistant chief engineer at Siemens Mobility, said: "As an engineer and a mum to a ten-year-old daughter that wants to have a job like mine, I want young people to see that engineering is for them."

What happens next

Details of who the law will cover, what information adverts must include and how it will be enforced are still to be set out. Further reforms are expected after the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks.

For jobseekers in Birmingham, the practical message is simple: many employers are being asked to show the salary from today, and before long all of them will have to.