I have announced the government’s intention to introduce a new statutory requirement for employers to publish pay information in job advertisements when parliamentary time allows. In the absence of a job advert, the employer must give the candidate this information in writing before the job interview.

This announcement follows our consultation on equal pay and pay discrimination, which ran from 14 July to 27 October. Early findings show overwhelming backing, with 94% overall support and 93% of surveyed employers in favour. This measure builds on that momentum, turning existing good practice into standard practice nationwide.

Publishing pay information is a small change that removes an everyday frustration felt by jobseekers and is part of the government’s broader plans to tackle pay discrimination and help get more young people into work. Far too often, jobseekers are forced to enter an already competitive recruitment market "salary blind", expending time and effort on applications without knowing whether a role will cover essential living costs. Pay transparency ensures recruitment is fair from the outset. It provides women with a stronger footing to negotiate starting salaries fairly, reducing the likelihood of lowball offers and helping tackle the gender pay gap, while delivering practical benefits to employers by saving recruitment time, attracting better-suited candidates, and fostering healthier competition for talent.

This announcement sits alongside our equal pay commitments, including:

• make the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people
• establish an equal pay regulation and enforcement unit with the involvement of trade unions
• ensure that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay

More detail on the wider package will be shared in due course.