In a survey of 2,844 job seekers looking for work in the UK, 31.8% said a job advert with no salary banding would actively put them off from applying. When asked if they thought job ads with salary clearly included was a sign of a fair and progressive employer, 81% of jobseekers said yes.
The new data is part of Gi Group’s ‘always on’ State of the Nation report which offers a regular temperature check on the opinions of UK jobseekers across a range of sectors and ages.
Serving both candidates and employers, Andy Carpenter Managing Director at Gi Group, said the role of the recruiter has never been more important if the new government proposals were to come into force for salary banding to be mandatory.
Salary transparency across the recruitment sector has been on the decline over the last decade, causing negative sentiment to build for candidates. As a recruiter we see both sides of the fence.
Andy Carpenter Managing Director at Gi Group
“From a candidate’s point of view, they want to ensure they are being paid not only fairly but competitively, whereas for an employer they want the best value for money and sometimes being completely transparent with salary banding can cost businesses more. In our experience, publishing salary banding alone doesn’t really serve anyone.
“While we welcome the government’s review into a more transparent recruitment ecosystem, what we think would be more helpful to both the employer and candidate is better transparency around employment benefits and package as a whole rather than a sole focus on salary.”
Research by the CIPD, an industry body for human resources managers, has found public bodies and charities are more likely to publish salary banding in job adverts than the private sector. This is backed by findings from Adzuna which show almost 6 in 10 jobs advertised in the UK right now won’t tell you what they pay.
Andy added: “There is currently no mandate in the UK which forces employers to include pay transparency in job adverts, however we do see employers commonly publishing pay ranges rather than specific salaries.
“In 2026, the role of the recruiter is still very much that crucial link which connects candidates to employers.
The negotiation skills recruiters specialise in are a fine art and cannot be underestimated when it comes to agreeing salary, contracts and start dates. We are in many ways the backbone of the UK labour market and we support consistency and stability across many sectors of commerce and industry. We think salary transparency as part of a broader conversation around the whole employment package, which could include healthcare, various memberships, extra time off for long service and other benefits, will help recruiters to continue to be this ‘gel’ that keeps the economy moving and growing.”
Gi Group UK is headquartered in Chesterfield in the Midlands. Parented by Gi Group Holding, Gi Group UK employs close to 500 people in 2026 from 17 hub locations. Working across manufacturing, logistics, food and drink and many other sectors, Gi Group UK is uniquely committed to the creation of social and economic value for both employers and candidates alike. For more information about Gi Group in the UK, visit: uk.gigroup.com.
