Salary transparency needed

Making employers advertise all jobs with salary details — and stop asking applicants about their salary history —will help close the gender pay gap says the Young Women’s Trust (YWT) organisation that campaigns for economic justice for young women.

The call comes as research by the charity revealed that 40% of HR managers report that jobs in their organisation are often advertised without details of the salary level. Often, this means the wage will be based on the new employee’s previous salary. In turn, this means if they were being underpaid this will continue in their new role.

It adds that the lack of salary transparency can also make it impossible for employees to know if they are paid less than counterparts who are doing an identical role.

The trust is also calling for employers to publish their parental leave policies, so that prospective employees considering having children aren’t faced with difficult questions before applying or at an interview, which may count against them.

The research found almost one in five HR managers (19%) disagreed that their organisation makes details of its parental leave and pay entitlements publicly available to all potential job applicants.

Joe Levenson, YWT’s director of communications and campaigns, said “there remain considerable inequalities when it comes to pay”.

He added: “That’s why we are urging employers to publish all jobs with salary details and to stop asking job applicants how much they already earn.”