Salaries in job adverts: the government's planned law

On Thursday 5 November 2026, the government announced plans to make it a legal requirement for all employers to publish the salary in job adverts. The government calls the plan "say what you pay".

The law has not changed yet. Below, we explain what the government has announced, what it has not yet decided and what the current law says about pay.

What the government has announced

The government plans a legal requirement for all employers to say what they pay in their job adverts. It has said it will bring forward legislation as soon as possible.

The government has not yet given details of the scope of the requirement, the information employers must include, how it will be introduced or how it will be enforced. It has said these details will follow.

Until the law changes, the government is asking employers to publish pay in their job adverts.

Why the government says the change is needed

The government has referred to research by the CIPD, published in 2024, which estimated that 41% of employers always publish salary ranges in job adverts and 18% always publish specific salaries.

The government has also said that early analysis of its consultation responses shows that 94% of respondents supported the requirement, including 93% of businesses.

What this could mean for you

If the law is introduced, you would see the pay for a role before you apply. That would help you to compare roles, decide whether to apply and prepare for any discussion about pay.

Published pay can also help employees to spot unexplained differences between what they earn and what an employer offers others for similar work.

What has not been decided

The government has not said whether employers must give a single salary or a salary range, whether any employers or roles will be exempt, or when the requirement will come into force. Until the government publishes these details, no one can say exactly how the law will work.

What the law says about pay now

There is no general legal requirement for an employer to publish the salary in a job advert at present.

Some protections already exist. Under the Equality Act 2010, women and men are entitled to equal pay for equal work. Under section 77 of the Equality Act 2010, a term in your contract that prevents you discussing your pay cannot be enforced where you discuss pay to find out whether there is a link between pay differences and a protected characteristic, such as sex or race. Your employer must not subject you to a detriment for making or seeking that kind of disclosure.

Two examples

A graduate applied for an office role. The advert gave no salary, and she learned the pay only at the final interview, after taking two days of unpaid leave from her job to attend. Under the planned law, the employer would have had to show the salary in the advert.

A warehouse operative learned from a colleague that a new starter doing the same job was paid more than him. He was entitled to discuss his pay with that colleague to find out whether the difference was linked to a protected characteristic, and a contract term could not stop him doing so.

These are illustrative scenarios. They are not real Belonge clients or decided cases.

Time limits

For most claims where the act complained about happened on or after Thursday 1 October 2026, the time limit is six months less one day. Where the act happened before Thursday 1 October 2026, the time limit is three months less one day. Check the date of the event before relying on the longer limit. ACAS early conciliation may extend the time limit.