EHRC urges ban on salary history questions and wage disclosure requirement
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has urged the Government to ban employers from asking job applicants about their previous pay or salary expectations. It says such questions can carry existing pay inequalities into new jobs, while requiring employers to disclose current staff wages could help candidates assess offers.
The Government is consulting on reforms that include publishing salary information in job adverts, or providing it before interviews when no advert is used. The EHRC also wants a legally enforceable pay questionnaire and says it should run a proposed equal pay enforcement unit, with extra funding. Research cited by the commission found 58 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men felt salary-history questions had led to lower offers; more than 10,000 equal pay claims reach employment tribunals each year on average.
In short
- EHRC wants salary-history questions banned in recruitment.
- It says employers should disclose current staff pay.
- More than 10,000 equal pay claims reach tribunals yearly.
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The case for
Banning salary-history questions could stop past discrimination or unequal pay from following people into new roles, while requiring employers to disclose salary ranges would give applicants a fairer basis for negotiation and help expose pay gaps. Supporters may also argue that enforceable reporting and a properly funded enforcement unit are needed to make equal-pay rights effective rather than merely aspirational.
The case against
Employers may argue that previous pay and salary expectations can provide useful context for assessing a candidate’s experience, seniority and likely fit, and that restrictions could make hiring less flexible. Mandatory disclosure, questionnaires and stronger enforcement could add administrative costs or discourage candid discussion; critics may favour targeted action on proven discrimination over broad requirements applied across employers.
Explained simply
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is the independent public body responsible for promoting and enforcing equality and human rights law in Great Britain. Equal pay law gives women and men the right to the same pay for doing the same job, or work judged to be of equal value.
Pay can differ between people doing similar work, and past pay gaps may reflect unequal treatment or wider patterns in the labour market. If a new employer uses someone’s previous salary to set an offer, that gap may continue; knowing the pay for a role can help applicants compare offers.
The Government is considering changes to how employers share pay information and how equal pay rules are enforced. These proposals relate to recruitment as well as disputes over pay, which can be taken to an employment tribunal.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Bosses should be banned from asking job applicants about their salary history and be forced to reveal their current wages, equality watchdog says”.