UK Employees May Gain Right to Know Colleagues' Salaries

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the UK's equality watchdog, has suggested that employees should legally be entitled to know their colleagues' earnings. This move is aimed at reducing pay discrimination, particularly against women.

The EHRC also proposed that employers should be prevented from asking about current salaries when offering a job. This measure is intended to stop historical discrimination from perpetuating in new employment opportunities.

Highlights

• The EHRC recommends employees have the right to access information on colleagues' basic pay, hours worked, and bonuses.
• Employers should be required to respond to inquiries about colleagues' pay to reduce discrimination.
• Employers should be prohibited from asking about salary history during the job offer process.
• These proposals primarily target the reduction of pay inequality, especially for women.

Details

Currently, UK employers are permitted to ask job applicants about their current salary, though applicants are not obligated to disclose this information. Furthermore, employers are not required to respond to employee requests for salary details about their colleagues.

The EHRC has urged lawmakers to make it compulsory for employers to provide information, including colleagues' basic pay, hours worked, bonuses, overtime, shift premiums, and performance-related pay, within a specific timeframe. John Kirkpatrick, the EHRC chief executive, stated that asking about salary history can "embed a history of disadvantage or discrimination in future salaries."

The Fawcett Society, an organization campaigning for women and gender equality, has previously argued that asking about salary history risks maintaining historical unfair pay differences due to gender, race, and disability inequality. They contend that this practice rewards an individual's perceived worth and negotiation skills rather than their actual skills, experience, and performance.

Why it matters

These proposals aim to address the persistent issue of pay inequality in the UK. Increased pay transparency and the elimination of salary history inquiries could foster a fairer remuneration environment, particularly for women and disadvantaged groups. This could promote greater equality in the labor market, leading to broader societal benefits.