New ‘say what you pay’ law to help young people into work
By Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street ·
- Jobseekers will see salaries before applying under new laws requiring job adverts to “say what you pay”
- Siemens Mobility to give 10,000 young people work experience in engineering and technology
- PM rallies more businesses to back the Government’s target of delivering 200,000 work experience opportunities
Jobseekers will no longer have to apply for jobs without knowing what they pay, under new plans announced by the Prime Minister to legally require employers to publish salaries in job adverts.
Too many jobseekers are still expected to apply for roles without knowing what they pay. It is estimated that less than half (41%) of employers always publish salary ranges and only 1 in 5 (18%) always publish specific salaries.
The Government will mandate job adverts to ‘say what you pay’ by making publishing salaries a legal requirement, backing employers already doing the right thing and making openness about pay the minimum standard.
The change will tackle a common frustration for jobseekers, particularly young people applying for their first job, who can still be asked to apply without knowing what they will earn while also helping to address pay inequalities that can disadvantage women.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:
Whether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it. That’s why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay. But breaking down barriers is only one part of the job. We also need businesses to open more doors and give young people the experience and confidence to take that first step into the world of work. It’s fantastic to see Siemens Mobility doing exactly that, creating 10,000 opportunities in engineering and technology and inspiring thousands more children through its national science lesson.
Whether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it. That’s why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay.
But breaking down barriers is only one part of the job. We also need businesses to open more doors and give young people the experience and confidence to take that first step into the world of work.
It’s fantastic to see Siemens Mobility doing exactly that, creating 10,000 opportunities in engineering and technology and inspiring thousands more children through its national science lesson.
There is overwhelming support for greater pay transparency, with early analysis showing 94% of respondents to the government consultation backing the requirement, including 93% of businesses. Publishing salaries upfront can help expose unjustified differences in pay, give workers greater confidence to challenge discrimination and prevent disagreements over pay escalating into disputes.
Applying for a first job can be daunting, particularly after time out of work or education. For young people taking their first steps into work, knowing the salary upfront helps young people focus on the right opportunities and apply with greater confidence. Hiding pay details also disadvantages women by forcing them to negotiate blind, leaving them more vulnerable to lower pay offers.
The Government will bring forward legislation as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Prime Minister is calling on all businesses to say what they pay on job ads now, rather than wait for the law to change.
The changes are part of the Government’s wider drive to get more young people earning or learning, break down barriers to work and open up more opportunities to help young people get a foot in the door. Further reforms will follow the final report of the Milburn Review into youth inactivity, due in the coming weeks.
Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson said:
What a job pays is rightly at the forefront of people’s minds when looking for work - it shouldn’t be a guessing game. It’s more important than ever today for people to know if a role will pay the bills or if you’re qualified enough for it. Mandatory salary information on job adverts will help young people make informed choices, help close the gender pay gap, and tackle an everyday annoyance that can stand in the way of applying for a job. Whether it’s a young person looking for their first job or a mum getting back into work, no-one should have to enter an already daunting process salary blind.
What a job pays is rightly at the forefront of people’s minds when looking for work - it shouldn’t be a guessing game.
It’s more important than ever today for people to know if a role will pay the bills or if you’re qualified enough for it. Mandatory salary information on job adverts will help young people make informed choices, help close the gender pay gap, and tackle an everyday annoyance that can stand in the way of applying for a job.
Whether it’s a young person looking for their first job or a mum getting back into work, no-one should have to enter an already daunting process salary blind.
Penny East, Chief Executive of the Fawcett Society said:
For too long, salary secrecy has put women at a disadvantage, leaving them negotiating in the dark and making it much harder to challenge unfair and unequal pay. Requiring employers to publish salaries in job adverts is a significant step towards making work fairer for women and tackling the gender pay gap. Fawcett has long campaigned for greater pay transparency. The decision taken by government today is real progress. Women will no longer have to make decisions about their financial futures based on vague promises or unclear terms.
For too long, salary secrecy has put women at a disadvantage, leaving them negotiating in the dark and making it much harder to challenge unfair and unequal pay. Requiring employers to publish salaries in job adverts is a significant step towards making work fairer for women and tackling the gender pay gap.
Fawcett has long campaigned for greater pay transparency. The decision taken by government today is real progress. Women will no longer have to make decisions about their financial futures based on vague promises or unclear terms.
Nishi Mayor, Director of Employer Engagement & Partnerships, Youth Futures Foundation said:
With one in eight 16-24 year olds currently not in education, employment, or training, it is right and important that Government is consulting with employers to help make the path into work smoother for young people by removing barriers to entering the workplace. We know from our work trialling real-world practices around recruiting and retaining young people with trailblazing employers that too many young people struggle to access opportunities when they are looking for jobs. Providing clear information about pay can help young people make informed decisions about employment opportunities, which for employers could mean more applications from more suitable candidates, ensuring they have the talent pipeline they need.
With one in eight 16-24 year olds currently not in education, employment, or training, it is right and important that Government is consulting with employers to help make the path into work smoother for young people by removing barriers to entering the workplace.
We know from our work trialling real-world practices around recruiting and retaining young people with trailblazing employers that too many young people struggle to access opportunities when they are looking for jobs.
Providing clear information about pay can help young people make informed decisions about employment opportunities, which for employers could mean more applications from more suitable candidates, ensuring they have the talent pipeline they need.
The Government is also joining forces with a growing movement of businesses creating more work experience opportunities, helping to deliver its ambition of 200,000 additional placements for 14–16-year-olds.
Siemens Mobility is the latest major employer to step up, with its new work experience programme creating more than 3,300 opportunities every year and reaching 10,000 young people over three years. Combining digital learning with hands-on experience, young people will meet engineers, tackle real-world challenges and see how advanced manufacturing, AI and digital technology are transforming Britain’s railways.
To mark the launch, the Prime Minister will join children for a national science lesson with thousands more taking part online. Through practical challenges and demonstrations, pupils will meet Siemens Mobility apprentices and engineers and discover where studying science and technical subjects could take them.
The programme aims to spark interest in engineering from an early age and challenge stereotypes about who those careers are for. University College London research shows engineering aspirations diverge by age 10, with just 11% of girls aspiring to engineering careers compared with 44% of boys.
The Prime Minister welcomed Siemens Mobility’s commitment and called on more businesses to step up, building on commitments from the retail and hospitality sectors to create hundreds of thousands of opportunities for young people.
The Government is also developing new vocational and technical routes to turn that early inspiration into a clearer path from classroom to career, giving young people the skills and experience employers need.
Aglaja Schneider, Managing Director of Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, said:
I started my own career as a graduate at Siemens Mobility, so I know first-hand how important those early opportunities can be. I particularly hope today’s lesson inspires more girls to see the possibilities that engineering and technology can offer. That’s what our Tech Experience Launchpad is about. With up to 70,000 workers potentially leaving Britain’s rail industry by 2030, investing in future talent has never been more important. As a key partner to the railway, we’re investing in Britain’s future through our people, technology and manufacturing capabilities. From the Rail Technology Centre in Wiltshire, to our Goole Rail Village in Yorkshire, our £360 million investment in the UK is a powerful example of that commitment, creating opportunities in advanced engineering and manufacturing, while helping to develop the next generation of skilled talent who will build and shape Britain’s future railways.
I started my own career as a graduate at Siemens Mobility, so I know first-hand how important those early opportunities can be. I particularly hope today’s lesson inspires more girls to see the possibilities that engineering and technology can offer.
That’s what our Tech Experience Launchpad is about. With up to 70,000 workers potentially leaving Britain’s rail industry by 2030, investing in future talent has never been more important.
As a key partner to the railway, we’re investing in Britain’s future through our people, technology and manufacturing capabilities. From the Rail Technology Centre in Wiltshire, to our Goole Rail Village in Yorkshire, our £360 million investment in the UK is a powerful example of that commitment, creating opportunities in advanced engineering and manufacturing, while helping to develop the next generation of skilled talent who will build and shape Britain’s future railways.
Rob Morris, Managing Director, Siemens Mobility UK & Ireland, said:
Britain’s railways are changing fast. From AI and digital technology to advanced manufacturing, we need a new generation of engineers and innovators to shape their future. Our £360 million investment in Britain is about more than building world-class rail facilities. It’s about creating skilled jobs, developing talent and strengthening the industrial capabilities Britain needs for the future.
Britain’s railways are changing fast. From AI and digital technology to advanced manufacturing, we need a new generation of engineers and innovators to shape their future.
Our £360 million investment in Britain is about more than building world-class rail facilities. It’s about creating skilled jobs, developing talent and strengthening the industrial capabilities Britain needs for the future.
Becky Worsey, Assistant Chief Engineer at Siemens Mobility, who is taking part in the STEM lesson, said:
As an engineer and a mum to a ten-year-old daughter that wants to have a job like mine, I want young people to see that engineering is for them. There are so many different routes into the industry and career options behind the railways people use every day. If children get the opportunity to meet an engineer, walk into a place like our new state-of-the-art Rail Technology Centre and understand that the science they are learning at school is being used to solve real problems, those careers suddenly become much easier to imagine.
As an engineer and a mum to a ten-year-old daughter that wants to have a job like mine, I want young people to see that engineering is for them. There are so many different routes into the industry and career options behind the railways people use every day.
If children get the opportunity to meet an engineer, walk into a place like our new state-of-the-art Rail Technology Centre and understand that the science they are learning at school is being used to solve real problems, those careers suddenly become much easier to imagine.
Additional information:
- The Government will bring forward legislation to require employers to include salary information on job adverts as soon as possible, with further details on scope, required information, implementation, and enforcement to be set out in due course.
- The estimate that less than half (41%) of employers always publish salary ranges and only 1 in 5 (18%) always publish specific salaries, is from the CIPD’s Pay, performance and transparency report (2024), page 30.
- The finding that 11% of girls aged 10 aspire to engineering careers, compared with 44% of boys, is from UCL Institute of Education’s ASPIRES 2: Young people’s science and career aspirations, age 10–19 (2020). discovery.ucl.ac.uk – Employers can help bridge the 200,000 work experience opportunities gap for 14-16 year olds by making a pledge to open their doors via the Careers and Enterprise Company: National Mission Work Experience | CEC Corporate Web
Originally published by GOV.UK News & Communications