Mandating salary transparency is another burden for employers to bear, and is no silver bullet for fair pay, writes Jay Bhayani

Should every job advert come with a salary attached? The Prime Minister thinks so, but I’m not convinced.

This question comes after Andy Burnham urged businesses to publish pay details now, ahead of upcoming legislation to make disclosure compulsory. 

The government argues that greater pay transparency would help jobseekers, particularly young people entering the workforce for the first time, make informed decisions about employment opportunities and reduce the risk of pay discrimination.

Those are worthwhile goals. Candidates understandably want to know the salary before committing to an often lengthy application and interview process. But encouraging good practice is different from legislating for it. Compulsory disclosure risks adding to employers’ growing compliance burden while overlooking how recruitment works in practice.

My own experiences of recruiting have shown me that overly prescriptive adverts can often mean missing out on strong candidates. By keeping the advert more open, I’ve attracted people who might not have fitted my original brief but have ultimately turned out to be better suited to the business.

A couple of years ago, an applicant to the HR consultancy team I lead illustrated the value of this approach. She was earning considerably more than our budget could stretch to, so publishing a salary might have deterred her. However, in conversation, she was open to lower pay in return for greater flexibility, more interesting work, less travel and fewer overnight stays.

That conversation would never have happened had the advertised salary put her off. Requiring employers to set pay upfront risks closing down opportunities before either side can explore them.

Salary only tells part of the story

There is also the question of what employers will actually be required to disclose. Salary is only one element of remuneration. Overtime, bonuses, pension contributions, sick pay and other benefits can all form part of an employee’s overall package. 

For the manufacturers that Make UK represents, shift arrangements, working patterns and additional responsibilities can vary significantly, these elements are particularly important. Some may also depend on length of service or individual circumstances. 

The government needs to be clear about the scope of any requirement and avoid creating an administrative exercise that becomes increasingly difficult to manage.

Publishing starting salaries can also expose differences between new recruits and existing colleagues, creating difficult conversations about pay and retention. But those differences are not necessarily evidence of unfair treatment but rather driven by market forces. 

For example, manufacturing wages already average eight per cent above those in the wider economy but acute skills shortages and a shallow pool from which to recruit often means employers within the sector are required to offer even higher salaries to secure the people they need ahead of their competitors.

The sheer variety of roles in manufacturing alone – more than 100 covered by Make UK’s annual pay research – further illustrates why setting salaries is far from straightforward. Add differences in location and business circumstances, and a published figure can only tell part of the story.

Disclosure is therefore no silver bullet for fair pay. Any legal requirement must preserve employers’ ability to respond to changing skills needs and labour market conditions.

Encourage good practice, not more paperwork

The wider context cannot be ignored either. Employers have already implemented significant employment law reforms because of the Employment Rights Act and are preparing for more. Make UK and PwC UK’s Executive Survey 2026 found that 86 per cent of manufacturers identified employment costs as a major business pressure. 

Our research has also found that 32 per cent want employment rules made simpler and less costly, while only 11 per cent believe the Employment Rights Act should continue as planned.

Against this backdrop, another statutory requirement needs careful consideration. Businesses are not opposed to fairness or transparency, but they do need a stable and proportionate regulatory environment in which they can recruit effectively and invest in their workforce.

Pay discrimination must be taken seriously, but we should not assume that mandating salary information in every job advert is automatically the most effective way to tackle it. 

Employers should be encouraged to be transparent, and many already choose to publish salary ranges voluntarily. There are clear benefits to doing so, including managing expectations and attracting suitable candidates.

But there is a difference between encouraging sensible recruitment practices and prescribing how businesses must operate through law.

Not every good idea should be a law

If the government proceeds, it must at the very least allow meaningful salary ranges rather than forcing employers to advertise a single figure. It must also recognise the complexity of total remuneration and ensure the requirements are workable for businesses of all sizes.

The objective should be to make recruitment fairer and more effective, not to create another compliance headache for employers already navigating substantial changes to employment law in an already turbulent and expensive operating environment.

Good employment practice is something to encourage. But not every good idea needs to become a legal requirement.

Jay Bhayani is executive director for legal at UK manufacturing trade body Make UK