From now on, bosses will have to tell you what a job pays before you apply. Only 18% of employers do that today. In a market where 715,000 young people are out of work, that one change could save jobseekers hours — and stop the guessing game for good.
The advert will have to say what it pays
Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on 6 November that the Government will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what a job pays in the advert. The plan is called “say what you pay”, and the Government says it will bring forward the legislation as soon as possible.
Burnham put it plainly: “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.”
In the meantime, he is calling on all businesses to start publishing pay on their job ads now, rather than waiting for the law to change.
Most adverts hide the pay
The reason the law is needed is in the numbers. Research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that only 41% of employers always publish salary ranges in their job ads — and just 18% always publish the specific salary. That means most of the time, you are applying blind.
The words jobseekers know too well — “competitive salary”, “salary depending on experience”, or no pay mentioned at all — are about to become a thing of the past. The proposed requirement replaces that vagueness with a minimum standard: the pay, or at least the pay range, up front, before you spend your time and effort applying.
And this is not a policy being pushed against business. The Cabinet Office launched a consultation into pay equality in the summer, and early analysis showed 94% of respondents backed greater transparency — including 93% of businesses. The consultation closed on 27 October. Employers, it turns out, largely agree the current system wastes everyone’s time.
Why this hits young people hardest
This lands the day after the Magazine reported that only 15% of UK bosses are hiring confidently — in a market where youth unemployment is 15.6% and 981,000 young people are outside work, education or training.
This matters most to the people with the least experience to trade on — young jobseekers. The latest official figures show youth unemployment at 15.6% for 16- to 24-year-olds in June to August 2026, with 715,000 young people unemployed — 54,000 more than a year earlier. Vacancies have fallen to 691,000, the lowest outside the pandemic since 2014. And 981,000 young people — 13.0% of 16- to 24-year-olds — are not in education, employment or training.
When there are fewer jobs and more people chasing them, every application costs time you cannot get back. Writing a tailored CV, preparing for an interview, travelling across town — all for a job that might pay less than you need to live on. Knowing the salary before you apply lets you filter out the jobs that do not pay enough and focus on the ones that do. It also stops the awkward dance at the end of the process, where a young applicant with no experience is expected to name a number first.
The Government says the change will also help tackle pay gaps that disadvantage women, and it is part of a wider push on youth inactivity — the Milburn Review into young people and work is due to publish its final report in the coming weeks. Its interim findings put the cost of youth inactivity at £125 billion a year.
What the law will not do yet
This is an announcement, not a law in force. There is no implementation date yet, and the Government says further details — what exactly employers will have to publish, which employers it covers, and how it will be enforced — will be set out “in due course”. For now, employers face no new legal obligation.
That is worth knowing, because it means the change will not happen overnight. But the direction is clear, and the UK is not alone: pay transparency rules have already come into effect across the European Union, requiring employers to tell jobseekers the starting salary or pay range in the advert ahead of an interview.
The Autumn Budget on 28 October was already moving in the same direction for young people: a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for businesses hiring eligible young unemployed people, the Jobs Guarantee extended to 22- to 24-year-olds, and a £2,000 payment for smaller employers taking on young apprentices. The pay law is the next piece — making the jobs that do exist easier to judge.
What you can actually do
The law is coming, but you do not have to wait for it to job-hunt smarter. Five moves that help right now:
- Ask the pay before you apply. If an advert hides the salary, ask the recruiter or hiring manager what the range is before you invest hours in an application. You are allowed to ask.
- Check the going rate. Before you apply, look up what the role usually pays in your area, so you know whether the number — when you get it — is fair.
- Do not name a number first. If an employer pushes you to state your salary expectations early, give a researched range, not a single figure — and remember the law is moving in your favour.
- Use the Budget help. If you are 16 to 24 and out of work, ask about the Youth Jobs Grant and the Jobs Guarantee — employers get support to hire you, and that is leverage.
- Apply where the pay is already public. Employers who publish salaries now are telling you something about how they treat people. Prioritise them.
The guessing game is ending. Until the law lands, the smartest move is to act as if it already has.
The bottom line
Only 18% of employers tell you the salary up front today. The Government is about to make that a legal requirement — backed by 94% of consultation respondents, including 93% of businesses. In a market with 715,000 young people unemployed and vacancies at their lowest outside the pandemic since 2014, knowing the pay before you apply is not a nice-to-have. It is the difference between a wasted week and a job worth having.
What do you think — should every job advert have to show the salary, or is there a good reason to keep it hidden? Tell us in the comments.
This article is for general information only and is not financial advice.
