Equality watchdog urges ban on employers asking about salary history
The Equality and Human Rights Commission wants employers barred from asking job applicants about previous pay, going beyond the government's plan to require salaries in job adverts. A City A.M. debate piece gives arguments for and against.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 1The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Britain's equality watchdog, said employers should not be allowed to ask job applicants what they have previously been paid. Daily MailR “Employers should not be allowed to ask job applicants what they have previously been paid in interviews, an equality watchdog has said.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1It argued that knowing previous salaries or pay expectations lets existing inequalities follow workers from their old job to their new one. Daily MailR “It pointed out that knowing previous salaries or pay expectations could allow existing inequalities to follow workers from their old job to their new one.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1The commission cited Fawcett Society research that found 58 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men felt questions about their previous salaries had led to a lower wage offer. Daily MailR “58 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men felt that questions about their previous salaries had led to them being offered a lower wage.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Right · 1EHRC chair Mary-Ann Stephenson, speaking to The Times, called publishing salaries in job adverts "a positive step" but said employers should not be allowed to ask about salary history or expectations. Daily MailR “Publishing salaries in job adverts is a positive step. But employers should not be allowed to ask about candidates' salary history or expectations” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1The recommendations followed a July government consultation on reforms to make unequal pay easier to identify and challenge; ministers plan to require employers to give salary information in public job listings, or in writing before an interview if there is no advert, and to create a new enforcement unit and faster dispute resolution. Daily MailR “recommendations came after a government consultation in July on reforms intended to make it easier to identify and challenge unequal pay.”“Also among the proposals is a new enforcement unit, and changes intended to deliver faster pay dispute resolutions.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1The EHRC also asked for legal backing to enforce a new statutory pay questionnaire, said it would be the best body to house the proposed Equal Pay Regulation and Enforcement Unit, and warned that it would need extra funding. Daily MailR “The EHRC also said it would be the best body to house the proposed new Equal Pay Regulation and Enforcement Unit, but warned it would need additional funding to be effective.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Right · 1More than 10,000 equal pay claims on average reach employment tribunals each year, and some disputes take over a decade to resolve. Daily MailR “More than 10,000 equal pay claims on average are brought to employment tribunals each year – and some disputes take over a decade to resolve.” Read at Daily Mail ↗ Right · 1In a City A.M. debate piece, Fawcett Society chief executive Penny East argued previous pay shows only what someone accepted, not their worth, that it particularly harms women, and that a broad advertised range can still be used to push someone to the bottom. City A.M.RC “The employer is only learning what someone previously accepted, not an objective valuation of their skills or experience.”“If an advert carries a broad range, previous pay can still be used to push someone towards the bottom of that range.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1Scott Winter, co-founder of Agility EOR, argued against: under a ban higher earners, more often men according to a study of US bans, would still volunteer their pay, so silent candidates might be assumed to earn less, and publishing a salary range would address the problem. City A.M.RC “A study of US salary bans for example found that men are more likely than women to share their salary”“why do we need this when publishing a salary range in a job advert would address this?” Read at City A.M. ↗
Right · 1The piece's own verdict was "don't ask – it's rude anyway!" City A.M.RC “The verdict: don’t ask – it’s rude anyway!” Read at City A.M. ↗ Right · 1The Daily Mail said Chancellor John Healey was expected to announce workplace measures in Wednesday's Budget, including paternity pay for self-employed fathers; the reporting does not say whether a salary-history ban is among them. Daily MailR “The Chancellor, John Healey, is expected to outline several new workplace measures in the Budget on Wednesday, including paternity pay for self-employed fathers for the first time.” Read at Daily Mail ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- The Daily Mail reports the EHRC call as a news story, mostly through the watchdog's own statements. City A.M. follows with a two-sided opinion debate.
- Emphasis
- Pay discrimination, the Fawcett Society survey figures, the government's pay-transparency plans, and the trade-offs for employers and candidates.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither piece quotes a government response or reports employer bodies' reactions to the EHRC's call; the Mail does not give the opposing arguments that City A.M. airs.
- Charged language
- “Bosses should be banned”“lowball”
- For example
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“Bosses should be banned from asking job applicants about their salary history and be forced to reveal current wages, equality watchdog says” — Daily Mail
“The EHRC wants to ban employers from asking prospective employees to disclose their salaries. We hear the case for and against in today’s Debate” — City A.M.
What every side reports
- The EHRC wants employers banned from asking applicants about salary history.
- The government already plans to require salaries in job adverts.
- The EHRC wants this to go further than the government's current proposals.
Where accounts differ
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Whether a ban on salary-history questions would reduce pay inequality
- Right
- Daily Mail relays the EHRC's view that a ban would help stop pay discrimination. City A.M. carries both a Fawcett Society case for a ban and an employer-side case that it could leave lower-paid candidates worse off, so a published range may be enough.
Equality and Human Rights Commission organisation
Urges the government to ban salary-history and expectation questions, and to give legal backing to a statutory pay questionnaire. It says it should host the proposed enforcement unit, with extra funding.
“employers should not be allowed to ask about candidates' salary history or expectations, which can result in existing inequalities being carried into a new role.” — Daily Mail
“calling for legal backing to enforce a new statutory pay questionnaire” — Daily Mail
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Neutral Straight news report built around the EHRC's recommendations and quotes from its chair, with context on the government's reforms.
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City A.M.RC · · Opinion
The Debate: Should bosses be banned from asking for salary history?
Mixed Opinion debate pitting the Fawcett Society's case for a ban against an employer-side objection, ending with a light verdict against asking.
- 27 Oct 11:45 First Daily MailR Bosses should be banned from asking job applicants about their salary history and be forced to reveal current wages, equality watchdog says
- 28 Oct 05:03 +17h 17m City A.M.RC The Debate: Should bosses be banned from asking for salary history? Opinion
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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