Pay Transparency in Job Adverts: What UK Employers Need to Do Before the Law Changes

Pay Transparency in Job Adverts: UK Employer Guide 2026

Key takeaways

• 43.74% of UK job adverts include salary information, down from 64.6% in 2016.
• The UK government consultation on pay transparency in recruitment closes on 27 October 2026.
• 80% of applicants say they avoid roles that do not list pay.
• Job adverts showing a salary attract 27% more applications.
• 62% of hiring managers believe leaving salary out costs them nothing.

Only 43.74% of UK job adverts include salary information. A decade ago the figure was 64.6%.

In July 2026 the UK government opened a consultation on equal pay and pay transparency. One proposal would require employers to publish pay information in the job advert, or send it to the candidate in writing before interview where the role is not publicly advertised. The consultation closes on 27 October 2026. It applies to all employers, with no size threshold set out in the recruitment section.

Adverts that say "competitive salary" are running out of road.

What pay transparency in job adverts means

Pay transparency in job adverts means publishing a real salary or salary range in the advert, so a candidate knows what the role pays before deciding whether to apply.

It sits at the low risk end of a wider practice. Full pay transparency can extend to published bands for every role, a written compensation philosophy and open benchmarking data. Putting a range on the advert is the first step, and the one the incoming UK rules are most likely to require.

What the UK pay transparency consultation proposes

Pay information in recruitment. Employers would publish a salary or salary range in the advert, or provide written salary information before interview where the role is not publicly advertised. The detail will be set in later regulations. The government has said it is still deciding what must be disclosed beyond basic salary, naming collective bargaining provisions, annual adjustments and other financial benefits as possibilities.

Enforcement. The consultation proposes an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit. Where it would sit is still open, with the EHRC, the Fair Work Agency and a new independent body all under discussion.

Wider protections. The government is considering extending equal pay protections to cover race and disability, bringing them closer to the protections that already exist for sex.

The UK proposals do not ban salary history questions. The EU rules do. The UK version is narrower and focuses on what employers tell candidates rather than what they ask them.

Legislation is unlikely this year. The government has signalled a long implementation process, and the regulations that carry the detail will follow the consultation rather than accompany it.

What the EU Pay Transparency Directive requires of UK employers

Directive (EU) 2023/970 applies to organisations operating in the EU, including UK employers with EU entities, and increasingly to UK suppliers whose clients are covered by it.

An unexplained pay gap of more than 5% in the same role triggers a joint pay assessment. First gap reports are due in 2027. Most UK organisations have never tested their pay data against a 5% threshold inside a single job family.

UK job adverts have gone backwards on salary transparency

Adzuna analysed more than 10 million UK job adverts. In May 2026, 43.74% included salary information, against 64.6% in 2016. The fall between March 2025 and March 2026 was 4.88 percentage points, the steepest annual drop in recent years.

A separate study of 3,988 live UK job adverts on LinkedIn found 53% carried no salary at all. Adverts omitting salary ran at 84% in media and entertainment, 78% in healthcare, 74% in technology and 73% in finance. Education was the most open, with 12% omitting pay. By region, 72% of Greater London adverts left salary out, against 33% in Wales.

Open Org's 2026 research across 456 tech startups and scaleups found an average organisational transparency score of 43 out of 100, covering progression, engagement, policies and pay.

Candidates skip job adverts with no salary

Reed surveyed 2,250 employees and hiring managers. It found 78% were less likely to apply for a role with no salary stated, and 22% apply only to adverts that show pay. Four years later, the Totaljobs Salary Trends Report 2026 put the first figure at 80%.

An advert without a salary asks someone to spend an hour applying without knowing whether the role pays enough to take. Some candidates can afford that. Some cannot, and they stop reading.

Emily Sivey, Head of People at PayCaptain, told the Includability Community Support Group that the cost lands on people's financial planning.

"How can you plan a mortgage, or a house move, or childcare, if you can't see what's coming?"

A published range also removes the advantage that otherwise goes to whoever is most confident about asking for more, and it reaches people who assumed they would be underpaid and were not going to apply.

Hiring managers underestimate what salary secrecy costs

In the Reed research, 62% of hiring managers believed leaving the salary out had no negative impact on applications. Reed's listings data showed adverts with a salary attracted 27% more applications than those without. Forty four per cent of managers admitted omitting salary from adverts.

Among employers who did publish a salary, 42% reported more applications, 38% reported better quality applications and 35% said it saved recruitment time.

CIPD research found 41% of UK organisations always share salary ranges externally. In the HR sector itself, 42% of job adverts include salary, according to Totaljobs.

What happened when pay transparency in job adverts became mandatory

In the US, Colorado made salary ranges compulsory in job postings in 2021. David Arnold, Simon Quach and Bledi Taska tracked the effect across the state's advertised roles.

• Postings containing pay information rose from around 35% to nearly 70% within months.
• Posted salaries rose about 3.6% within the same firm, occupation and county.
• Realised earnings rose about 1.3% in Glassdoor data and 1.4% in administrative earnings data.
• New hires and existing staff saw similar increases.
• The number of job postings did not fall, and there was no evidence of a drop in employment.

Pay transparency is a spectrum, not a switch

Juro's public pay framework, adapted by PayCaptain for its own handbook, sets out five degrees of transparency. They are not a ladder you climb in order.

1. What we pay. People see their own payslip and nothing else. Most companies sit here.
2. How we pay. The market data and benchmarking behind the numbers.
3. Where we pay. Salary bands. People can see the ceiling of their band and where they sit in it.
4. Why we pay what we do. A written compensation philosophy that shares the reasoning, not only the figures.
5. Everything. Full openness. A handful of companies do this.

Degree four is possible without degree three. Plenty of organisations write a philosophy before they publish a single band.

Sivey recommends starting at degree three.

"If I had to pick, publish a salary band. It's a low risk, high leverage move, and it's the point where trust starts to build."

What counts as a real salary range in a job advert

A range needs a top and a bottom, and both have to be real. The Includability JEDI Toolkit rules out three common substitutes.

• "Competitive" is not a range.
• "Up to £45,000" is not a range.
• A band wide enough to cover two grades is not a range, and a candidate will read it as one.

The job advert review grid in the Includability JEDI Toolkit carries one row for pay. What good looks like is "a real range with a top and a bottom." Someone who did not write the advert signs that row off before the role goes live, and the completed grid becomes the record an assessor can read.

What to publish alongside pay in the job advert

State what else is in the package where it affects the decision. Pension contribution. Leave. Flexible and hybrid working. Where the role is actually based. If the working pattern is open to discussion, say so, because a candidate who needs it will not ask.

Milkround's 2019 research found 71% of graduates said business acronyms such as SLA, DOE and B2B were confusing and left them feeling unqualified. Just over six in ten felt they could not apply for a role they did not understand, and half of UK workers had been put off applying by jargon in a job description.

Every requirement listed is a filter. A list of twelve requirements is read as twelve requirements, and someone who meets ten may not apply. Cut the list back to what the person cannot do the job without on day one.

Pay transparency in practice: PayCaptain's published philosophy

PayCaptain publishes its handbook in full, including benefits, policies, salary bands and levelling frameworks. Three principles sit inside its compensation philosophy.

Pay equity and non-negotiation. The offer is the first and final offer. Pay is set by a structured process rather than by who negotiates hardest. Candidates see the band and are asked openly where in the range they would sit, based on skills and experience.

Competitive, benchmarked pay. Every figure is sourced and shared. The CIPP Payroll Salary Report is used for the payroll team and the Chartered Institute of Marketing report for marketing, on a three tier system aimed at the 50th percentile. Salaries are advertised. In two years, one person has left for more money.

A real Living Wage commitment. Every salary is verified against the real Living Wage, with the London rate applied across the whole business.

Salary reviews weigh six factors: individual performance, progression, role specific impact, internal equity, market competitiveness and company financial health. PayCaptain talks through its profit and loss at every monthly company meeting.

"Transparency isn't something you publish once and hope for the best. It's a practice. It's a culture shift."

Five pay transparency actions for this quarter

1. Publish a band on the next role you advertise. A real range with a top and a bottom. One role is enough to start.
2. Write your compensation philosophy down. A single page will do. Say why you pay what you pay, and what would change it.
3. Train managers to talk about pay. In one to ones and career conversations, before someone asks. The people who ask are disproportionately likely to get rises, and they are disproportionately men.
4. Run every advert through a review grid before it goes live. Pay, requirements, jargon, working pattern, adjustments contact. Have it checked by someone who did not write it.
5. Keep the record. Your published pay ranges, the completed review grid for each role, and the advert as published on every channel it went to.

The pay transparency evidence to keep for B Corp and audit

Pay transparency work feeds into JEDI2.g, the B Corp criterion covering inclusive hiring practices.

An assessor looks for two things: that the practice exists, and that it was applied to a real vacancy. A policy document proves the first. A completed advert review grid for a role you actually filled proves both.

Retain your published pay ranges, one completed review grid per role advertised, the advert as published on each channel including agency versions, and your standing JEDI commitment statement with a record of the postings it appeared in.

The cost of getting pay wrong at offer stage sits alongside the compliance case. Gallup estimates that replacing a worker costs 1.5 to 2 times their annual salary. Oxford Economics, cited by Peninsula, puts the average UK cost of employee turnover at more than £30,000 per employee. Totaljobs found 28% of employers said candidates frequently dropped out because pay and benefits did not meet expectations, and 36% saw more drop-outs than the year before.

Pay transparency in job adverts: frequently asked questions

Is it a legal requirement to put a salary in a job advert in the UK?

Not yet. The UK government opened a consultation in July 2026 proposing that employers publish salary information in job adverts, or provide it in writing before interview. The consultation closes on 27 October 2026 and any resulting regulations will follow it. Employers operating in the EU already face requirements under Directive (EU) 2023/970.

What percentage of UK job adverts include a salary?

43.74% as of May 2026, based on Adzuna analysis of more than 10 million UK job adverts. The figure was 64.6% in 2016.

Does adding a salary to a job advert increase applications?

Yes. Reed found adverts showing a salary attracted 27% more applications than those without. Employers who published salary also reported better quality applications and shorter recruitment times.

How wide should a salary range in a job advert be?

Narrow enough that a candidate can make a real decision. A range spanning two grades will be read as a single range and will damage trust when the offer arrives at the bottom of it. Publish the range for the role you are hiring for.

Should we publish salary bands internally as well?

Internal bands change retention rather than attraction, and they are the higher trust move. External adverts are the lower risk entry point. Most organisations work towards published internal bands and a written compensation philosophy from there.

Where Includability fits

Pay transparency is one thread in a wider picture of culture, wellbeing and leadership. Most organisations we work with are already have good intentions. What they cannot do is prove it, join it up, or put it in front of a board in a form that holds together.

The Includability Cultural Roadmap brings six expert pillar calls into one board ready view. It starts with your data, adds external expert perspective and produces a prioritised direction.

Talk to us any time at hello@includability.co.uk.

About Includability

Includability is a strategic partner, colleague and community for organisations that want to move from intention to evidence.

We are a multi pillar, expert led system that helps organisations get clear on what is working, what is not, and what to do next. Our partners get access to a expert network, the Includability Academy, Community Support Groups, self identification surveys, an inclusive job board and burnout awareness support.

The JEDI Toolkit referenced in this article is available through the Includability Academy at incademy.co.uk. It covers inclusive attraction and job adverts, selection methods and interview formats, and inclusive onboarding and induction, with the templates and evidence records behind each one.

Find out more at weareincludability.co.uk.

Sources and references

1. Adzuna, UK Job Market Report, salary transparency analysis of more than 10 million UK job adverts, May 2026. https://www.adzuna.co.uk/job-market-report/
2. Personnel Today, UK going backwards on job ad pay transparency, 19 May 2026. https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/uk-going-backwards-on-job-ad-pay-transparency/
3. People Managing People, study of 3,988 live UK LinkedIn job adverts, August 2024, reported by Onrec. https://www.onrec.com/news/statistics/over-half-53-of-job-ads-linkedin-don%E2%80%99t-include-salary-info-in-the-uk-study-reveals
4. Reed, survey of 2,250 employees and hiring managers, plus Reed.co.uk listings analysis, March 2022, reported by People Management. https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1751830/majority-jobseekers-less-likely-apply-roles-dont-specify-salary-research-finds
5. Totaljobs, Salary Trends Report 2026, reported by People Management, 16 March 2026. https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1951733/majority-jobseekers-avoid-roles-without-salary-details-survey-finds
6. CIPD, Pay, Performance and Transparency, 2024. https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/pay-performance-transparency/
7. Arnold, D., Quach, S. and Taska, B., The Impact of Pay Transparency in Job Postings on the Labor Market, 2024. https://darnold199.github.io/pay_transparency_draft.pdf
8. CIPP, New Pay Transparency Laws: What UK Employers Need to Know. https://www.cipp.org.uk/resources/news/new-pay-transparency-laws.html
9. GOV.UK, Equal Pay and Pay Discrimination consultation, July 2026, closing 27 October 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/equal-pay-and-pay-discrimination/consultation-document-html
10. Lewis Silkin, UK pay transparency in recruitment: pay ranges in job adverts are under consultation, 16 July 2026. https://www.lewissilkin.com/insights/2026/07/16/uk-pay-transparency-in-recruitment-pay-ranges-in-job-adverts-are-under-consultation
11. EU Pay Transparency Directive (EU) 2023/970. First gap reports due 2027.
12. Open Org Benchmarks 2026, tech scaleup peers, sample of 456 companies. https://openorg.fyi/resources
13. Juro Pay Framework, the five degree transparency spectrum. https://juro.notion.site/pay-framework
14. PayCaptain Open Handbook and Compensation Philosophy. https://handbook.paycaptain.com/compensation
15. Includability Community Support Group session, Show Your Working Out, Please, with Emily Sivey, Head of People at PayCaptain.
16. Includability JEDI Toolkit, TIC10A, Inclusive Attraction, Job Adverts and Application Guidance, sections 10, 11 and 15.
17. Milkround research, 2019, on jargon in job adverts.
18. Gallup, cost of replacing a worker. Oxford Economics, cited by Peninsula, average UK cost of employee turnover.