‘Say what you pay’: what risks do the Government’s pay transparency plans create for employers?

What has the Government announced?

The Government has announced that it will introduce a new ‘say what you pay’ law, requiring employers to publish salaries in job adverts. This marks a significant shift for employers, who have long relied on terms such as ‘competitive salary’, which provide the flexibility to offer different salaries depending on a candidate’s experience.

The announcement follows the Government’s consultation on equal pay, which ran from 14 July 2026 to 27 October 2026. The Government’s early analysis of the responses suggests that 94% of respondents and 93% of businesses support the change. It has urged employers to implement the changes before the legislation is introduced.

Much of the detail will be confirmed at a later date. It is still not clear, for example, whether employers will be required to publish a specific salary or a salary range, or how benefits will be treated. However, the consultation makes a number of suggestions. It indicates that the requirement to publish pay information would apply to all employers. Where there is no job advert, the employer would be required to provide the information in writing to the candidate in advance of the job interview. The requirement would be introduced through a delegated power, enabling the Government to specify the exact requirements through regulations, including, for example, the permitted size of a salary range.

Will this lead to more equal pay claims?

By exposing potential disparities between newly recruited employees and existing employees, ‘say what you pay’ creates a significant equal pay liability risk for employers. To bring an equal pay claim, an employee must be able to point to a higher-paid colleague doing equal work. Publishing pay information in job adverts hands existing employees a key part of the evidence they need.

Employers can justify a difference in pay for equal work where it is due to a ‘material factor’ that is not related to sex, such as market forces or location. Employers will therefore need to have a clear rationale for any pay differences before pay information is revealed in job postings.

Practical considerations for employers

Employers will need to give greater thought to exactly how much they are willing to pay before advertising a role. The extent to which this affects recruitment practices will depend on whether the Government requires a specific salary or permits a salary range and, if so, how broad that range can be.

Employers will also have to explain any discrepancies between published salaries and existing employee compensation, creating an employee relations risk. Employers should consider in advance how they will address questions arising from those differences and ensure they can clearly explain the reasons for them.

What other reforms could follow?

In its response to the consultation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) supported the changes but suggested they needed to go further. It proposed introducing a ban on salary history questions during recruitment, in line with the EU Pay Transparency Directive and the position in 21 US states, which have also restricted salary history questions to varying degrees.

The EHRC also supported the Government’s plans to reintroduce statutory questionnaires in pay discrimination disputes. These would allow a potential claimant to ask their employer for information about a better-paid colleague they believe to be doing equal work.  Similar provisions were repealed in 2014.

Here, the EHRC suggested that responding to these questionnaires should be a mandatory duty, with responses required within a specified timeframe, rather than an optional process where a failure to respond may allow a court or tribunal to draw adverse inferences, as the Government has proposed. The EHRC’s views are not binding on the Government, but they are likely to be influential as it considers the consultation responses.

Each of these changes would be a significant adjustment for employers. Asking applicants about their current salary remains a standard question on many application forms, and a ban would remove a key benchmark hiring managers use when negotiating pay.  The statutory questionnaire process, and in particular the mandatory formulation that the EHRC proposes, would create additional equal pay risk. Although the ‘say what you pay’ changes address pay on recruitment, pay disparities can also arise between existing employees through a range of factors, including discretionary pay increases and periods of maternity leave. Employers will therefore need to ensure that they can clearly explain and justify pay differences across their workforce.

How should employers prepare?

• Consider implementing the requirements in advance of the legislation being introduced.
• Train managers to handle internal conversations about pay arising from the publication of salary information.
• Review arrangements with job boards and recruitment agencies to ensure third parties publish pay information consistently with your approach.
• Where possible, ensure pay-setting processes are clear and consistent across roles, rather than being left to individual managers.
• For larger organisations, consider conducting an equal pay audit to proactively identify any differences in pay between men and women carrying out equal work.

Get in touch with Paul Jennings if you have any further questions about the risks the Government’s pay transparency plans create for employers

The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice on which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please contact the Bates Wells team if you require further information.