UK Rights Body Pushes for Mandatory Salary Transparency and Ban on History Questions

Key points

• The EHRC urges lawmakers to make it compulsory for employers to provide data on colleagues' basic pay, hours, bonuses, and performance-related pay within a set timeframe.
• The commission proposes banning employers from asking candidates about their current salary during interviews to prevent past discrimination from influencing new offers.
• EHRC chief John Kirkpatrick argues that asking about salary history embeds disadvantage into future pay, whereas offers should reflect skills and experience.
• The Fawcett Society supports the ban, stating that current practices reward negotiating skills over objective merit, perpetuating gender and racial pay gaps.
• Opponents argue that banning salary questions may inadvertently penalize lower-paid candidates who do not volunteer their income, while transparency in job ads could suffice.

Background

This proposal follows earlier EHRC recommendations for employers to publish salary details in job adverts. Recent labor disputes, including care worker strikes over equal pay and rising pay in Northern Ireland, highlight ongoing tensions regarding fair compensation in the UK.

How outlets are covering it

The BBC and City AM present the EHRC’s stance as a necessary step to correct power imbalances, with City AM’s debate section featuring Penny East of the Fawcett Society arguing that previous pay is irrelevant to current worth. Conversely, Scott Winter of Agility EOR argues in City AM that a ban could harm lower-paid candidates if employers assume silence implies lower earnings, suggesting that publishing salary ranges in adverts is a more effective solution. The Solicitors Journal did not provide substantive coverage of this specific policy proposal, focusing instead on unrelated legal industry news.

Why it matters

If implemented, these rules would fundamentally shift UK recruitment practices, potentially closing the gender pay gap by decoupling new salaries from historical biases. It would also increase transparency, allowing employees to benchmark their compensation against peers, which could drive broader wage increases and reduce discrimination based on race and disability.

What to watch

The EHRC is urging ministers to adopt these measures, but no legislative timeline has been confirmed. Employers may need to adjust recruitment strategies and HR systems to comply with new disclosure requirements if the proposals are enacted.