If you've been following HR news over the past week, you've probably seen headlines suggesting employers could soon have to publish salaries on every job advert.
It's certainly one of the biggest recruitment stories of the summer.
The important point, though, is that nothing has changed just yet...
The UK Government has launched a consultation on proposals designed to improve pay transparency and reduce pay discrimination. One of those proposals would require employers to publish pay information in job adverts or, where there isn't a job advert, provide that information to candidates before interview.
The consultation is open until 27 October 2026, after which the Government will decide whether to introduce legislation and what any new requirements should look like.
What is being proposed?
At the heart of the consultation is a simple question.
Should employers be required to tell candidates what a role pays before they attend an interview?
The Government believes greater transparency could:
- help reduce pay discrimination
- encourage employers to benchmark roles before recruiting
- allow candidates to decide whether a role meets their expectations before investing time in the application process
- reduce wasted interviews where salary expectations don't align
Interestingly, the consultation doesn't just ask whether salaries should be shown. It also asks what information should be included.
For example:
- Should employers publish a fixed salary or a salary range?
- Should benefits be included?
- Should annual pay awards or collective agreements be referenced?
- How wide can a salary range realistically be?
Those details are still very much up for discussion.
What could it mean for further education?
The FE sector is already ahead of many industries.
Most colleges advertise salary scales on the majority of teaching and support vacancies, particularly where pay follows recognised grading structures.
For those roles, any future legislation may require very little change.
Where this becomes more interesting is for leadership positions, specialist appointments or commercial roles where salaries are often described as "competitive", "depending on experience", or negotiated with the successful candidate.
Those adverts may need to become more transparent if the proposals become law.
There are benefits for employers too
Although much of the discussion has focused on employee rights, there are practical recruitment benefits as well.
Publishing salary information can help applicants decide whether a role is right for them before applying.
That can lead to:
- better quality applications
- fewer conversations ending because salary expectations don't match
- a more efficient recruitment process
- improved trust between employers and candidates
Many recruiters will recognise the frustration of reaching the final interview stage only to discover there's a significant gap between what the organisation can offer and what the candidate expects.
Greater transparency could reduce those situations.
It's not without challenges
There are, however, questions employers will need to consider.
If salary ranges are published externally, existing employees will naturally compare them with their own pay.
Organisations may therefore need to review how roles are evaluated and ensure pay decisions are consistent and well documented.
There's also the practical issue of flexibility.
Recruiters often want room to negotiate for exceptional candidates. If legislation requires salary ranges, the Government will need to decide how broad those ranges can reasonably be.
These are exactly the kinds of questions the consultation is seeking views on.
What should colleges do now?
There is no immediate action required.
However, this is a good opportunity to review current recruitment practices.
Questions worth asking include:
- Do we already publish salary information consistently?
- Are our pay ranges based on a clear grading structure?
- Are there any roles where greater transparency could improve recruitment?
- If salary ranges became mandatory tomorrow, would our current adverts be ready?
What happens next?
The Government's consultation closes on 27 October 2026.
Once responses have been reviewed, ministers will decide whether to proceed with legislation and, if so, what employers would be required to include in job adverts.
Until then, employers can continue advertising vacancies under the current rules.