UK job applicants do not have to reveal their current salary
UK employers can ask candidates about their current salary, but applicants can choose not to answer and discuss their pay expectations instead.
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In the UK, employers may ask job applicants what they currently earn, but candidates do not have to tell them, BBC News reports. [1]
Louise Rudd, a senior adviser at workplace advice service Acas, says no regulation prevents employers asking about current pay or salary expectations. Employers who choose to ask should put the same questions to every applicant to ensure fair treatment, she says. Candidates who prefer not to disclose their pay could instead give their salary expectations or say what they understand the range for the role to be. [1]
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, says asking about previous pay risks carrying forward inequalities linked to gender, race and disability. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has supported calls for recruiters to stop asking, although the question remains permitted in the UK. [1]
The BBC reports that forthcoming EU rules will bar employers from asking about salary history. That ban is not part of the UK Cabinet Office plans it describes, which instead focus on publishing salary information in job adverts. [1]
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