World of HR: British prime minister plans for pay transparency legislation

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The UK government is set to introduce legislation that will require employers to include salaries in job listings to help reduce pay disparities among young people and women, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s administration announced on Nov. 5.

Where in the world? The government will introduce the so-called “Say What You Pay” legislation “as soon as possible,” but Burnham is encouraging employers to comply in advance, Bloomberg reported.

While roughly half of job listings posted to Indeed by UK employers included salary bands in 2025, Bloomberg noted that number has declined amid a poor labor market.

“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,” Burnham said in the announcement. “That’s why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay.”

Burnham credited companies, like global transportation company Siemens Mobility, that already advertise pay information for opening more doors for young workers.

“Salary secrecy has put women at a disadvantage, leaving them negotiating in the dark and making it much harder to challenge unfair and unequal pay,” Penny East, chief executive officer at the Fawcett Society, said.

Some small and mid-size businesses are afraid disclosing salary information will hurt their ability to retain top talent, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, some HR leaders believe salary transparency is more complicated than many realize.

“There isn’t always a single fixed figure, and employers will want to set pay based on a candidate’s skills, experience and potential,” Neil Carberry, chief executive at HR manager industry organization CIPD, told the BBC.

Satellite view. Several US cities and states, including Massachusetts, New York City, Colorado, and Minnesota, have introduced pay transparency legislation in recent years, HR Brew reported previously. Many advocates believe that pay transparency regulations will help reduce the gender pay gap in the US, but they can also help with retention.

“The question we have is, if it is a top priority to communicate total rewards, how can you not be transparent about your total rewards? How can you communicate something without saying what it actually is?” Tauseef Rahman, career practice growth leader at Mercer, told HR Brew previously. “And that’s the challenge that organizations are facing as we go through this work.”