Employees Want Greater Pay Transparency

WM People

A 2024 poll has found that not putting a salary in a job advert puts people off applying and that nearly a quarter also avoid applying for jobs where a pay range is stated rather than a fixed amount.

The majority of people would avoid applying for a job where no pay is stated and nearly a quarter are put off applying if a pay range, rather than a specific salary, is stated, according to a 2024 poll.

The workingmums' poll of over 500 mums found 74% said they would avoid applying for a job where no pay is stated. Twenty two per cent say they would be put off applying if a pay range rather than a specific salary was advertised.

Leaving Too Much Open To Interpretation

Their reasons ranged from needing to be sure of their income and worries that employers would end up offering the job on the lower end of the pay range.

One woman commented: “I would assume they would eventually offer to pay the minimum on the range, but put a larger salary there to encourage people to apply. It doesn’t seem truthful.”

Another said: “At my age, being paid less than the upper end of the range would be demoralising.” And another stated: “I understand pay banding, but it leaves too much open to interpretation from the employer of your skills / experience.” And one respondent said it would depend on the range on offer. “A scale of approx. £5k I would apply, but I have seen jobs with a scale of £20k and that would put me off,” she said.

Participants were also asked if there should be a ban on employers asking about past earnings. This has been a particular issue for women or those who start in lower-paid jobs as it can entrench pay inequality. Forty-two per cent felt there should be a ban, compared to 26% who said there shouldn’t. The rest were unsure. More participants in the poll felt employees should have a right to know what their colleagues are being paid so that pay was more transparent – 48% said this, compared to 32% who said they shouldn’t.

“I understand pay banding, but it leaves too much open to interpretation from the employer of your skills / experience.”

Pay Transparency Campaign

Tech recruitment company Liberty Hive among others have been pushing for greater pay transparency for some time. Liberty Hive started a pay transparency campaign last year. The Government launched a pay transparency pilot in 2022, based on encouraging employers to list a salary range on a job advert and not asking applicants to disclose their salary history, but the results of this have not yet been made public. However, the Government said it had been rolled into its inclusion at work strategy.

Last month, the Government published an Inclusion at Work report and there was little or no reference to pay transparency, although a lot of focus on a diversity and inclusion framework and toolkit generally. Liberty Hive says it hopes that, as part of the practical steps in relation to these, the issue of pay transparency will be addressed.

Moreover, despite Brexit, lawyers believe the recently adopted EU Pay Transparency Directive, which requires all companies operating in the EU to share information about salaries and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds five per cent, will encourage UK-based EU employers to move to greater pay transparency on the grounds that they are likely to want to have a single approach that covers all their jurisdictions to ensure employees are all treated the same.

This article was first published on workingmums.co.uk which was operated by WM People Ltd. WM People's assets were acquired by 55/Redefined in 2024.