UK job ads most likely in Europe to include salary details

By David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) - British employers are the most likely among those in major European countries to include salary details when they advertise a job, with 71% doing so compared to just 16% in Germany, research from recruitment platform Indeed showed on Tuesday.

The proportion of British job advertisements providing salary details has risen steadily from 48% in 2019 and has also increased elsewhere in Europe, though the gaps between countries have not changed much.

"The culture around pay secrecy and negotiation is a bigger factor in some countries than others," Indeed economist Jack Kennedy said.

Next year a law is due to come into force in the European Union which will require employers to provide salary details either in a job advertisement or before an initial interview, as part of efforts to reduce pay differentials that are correlated with gender or ethnicity.

Britain does not have similar law on pay transparency. But courts last year ruled that clothing chain Next engaged in discrimination when it paid retail staff - who were mostly female - less than predominantly male warehouse workers for doing work that judges decided was of equal value. Next is appealing the ruling.

Some of the lack of pay details in European job adverts reflects how in some countries such as Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, certain sectors' pay is determined by publicly available collective bargaining agreements.

But even if collective bargaining agreements are taken into account, the proportion of roles where pay data is available only rises to 24% in Germany, for example.

Pay transparency in job advertisements varies widely between sectors in Britain, according to the Indeed data. It ranges from more than 90% in nursing or social care to under 35% for typically better paid - and more male-dominated - roles in finance, technology and engineering.

Public-sector roles and jobs that pay close to the minimum wage were also more likely to provide pay details.

Other European countries showed a similar pattern on pay transparency.

Indeed encourages employers to provide pay data with job advertisements but not all are keen, especially for higher-paid roles with less standardised duties and requirements.

"Some employers are concerned that it could foster discontent if it uncovers significant variations within the existing workforce," Kennedy said.

Indeed, a subsidiary of Japan's Recruit Holdings, says it is the world's most-visited job site.

(Reporting by David Milliken, editing by Andy Bruce)