Previous salary on job applications?

[Nettle5678]

What is the reasoning behind asking this? Will you be looked upon less favourably if you leave it blank?

I used to be involved in recruitment in my previous job. It was a question on the form but neither me or the other company member doing the interviews were unduly interested in this. I suppose if you are cutting your salary in half they might question your motivation for the role and wonder if you are looking for an easy ride.

I will add that leaving any parts of the form blank will put question marks over your attention to detail, irrespective of the question asked.

This is now being outlawed in some US states as it discriminates against women and minorities (if you're underpaid in one job it's more likely to carry over into the next if they know), not impressed by them asking it! For that reason I would consider leaving it blank if you're not paid market rate, even if it might count against you...

I wouldn't leave it blank. I would put not disclosed, or similar. Shows you've read it, and aren't willing to be fobbed off with a similar salary when someone else who quotes a higher salary would be offered more. I'm glad to hear it's been outlawed in some US states, as it does discriminate against women, particularly if they've had a career break, or worked part-time around children at some point.

Thanks both! The reason I was thinking of leaving it black is because the job I’m applying for has a salary that is quite a bit higher than my current job. I meet all the criteria and have been interviewed for similar roles so I don’t think I’m aiming too high so to speak. I’m just concerned that if an employer sees my current low salary they may think I’m not worth what they are willing to pay but definitely don’t want to look as though I’m forgetting to fill in parts of the form

*blank

The reason I've given the answer I have is when they don't tell you what salary they're offering, whilst wanting to know what your current one is. My gut feeling on that one is they're trying to get you as cheaply as possible. If you know the salary on offer, that's slightly different.

Put what sketchy job ads do - ‘competitive’

@SpongeBobJudgeyPants thank you for the reply, on the advert is says the salary is ‘up to £40,000’ and asks for current salary on the application. It’s the ‘up to’ part that concerned me a bit

I've been chair of an interview panel for the first time recently. It got me thinking about whether I would ever lie about my salary. I then saw the references which explicitly asked about the candidate's salary. I found it surprising. We offered a place on the pay scale to match where the person currently is.

@Randominternetbitch hahahaha I love it good idea

On another note, they could never validate any salary you put down, so in theory if you wanted a higher offer say your on a higher salary now 🤷🏻‍♀️

Before I retired I was involved in recruitment. Always raised eyebrows when the P45 came in and you saw they had lied. Not the best start but amazing how many people do it, I have no idea why we asked as it made no difference to the salary offered but someone had designed the form and there it was.

But they will get your p45 when you start your next job unless you choose not to give it to them

Definitely don’t plan on lying about it as like others have said, I’m sure they’d find out soon enough

I think I’ll just put undisclosed

They’ll use it to determine what salary to offer you if they offer you the job. If you’re on a low salary now, they’ll probably assume they can get you cheap. I think it’s wrong of employers to ask really as it perpetuates gender/ethnicity pay gaps. I would leave it blank and if asked later on would say that I would prefer any offer to be made based on their knowledge of my skills/experience and on what they believe is a fair salary for the role.

Yes, I would as up to 40,000 could mean anything really. Point still stands about getting away with lowest possible salary.

I agree it's discriminatory and shouldn't be there - a person is worth it or not.

If asked, I'd suggest naming what you're looking for 'the roles I am targeting are between 35-45k' or similar, and if you leave it blank I'd always assume you choose not to disclose rather than lack attention to detail, they might follow up to ask but at least you can give some context as to why it is a bigger stretch from your current salary.

@SusieSusieSoo

But they will get your p45 when you start your next job unless you choose not to give it to them

Exactly - I know someone who did lie about their salary. It didn't go down well.

I don't say. In fact I have had jobs where keeping your salary confidential was a contractual term so I couldn't say.

If asked in interview I skirt the issue and give a salary expectation, or I have even said that I am leaving due to salary expectations so I would rather not disclose it.

@JesusMaryAndJosephAndTheWeeDon thank you, do you think this has ever worked against you or have you always been able to get a job even with not disclosing?

I don’t think a potential employer has the (moral) right to ask that question. And answering it can only be detrimental to the employee, particularly if the recruiting company haven’t disclosed salary bands (something I also hate - it wastes so much time if it turns out they’re way off market rates).

If the potential employee is honest, the info could be leveraged to offer a lower salary than the employer was considering offering. If he or she is already well remunerated, disclosing their salary might mean they’re ruled out of contention early on. And if the employee hypes up their salary then they could be caught out later.

There’s no upside at all for the applicant.

Perhaps you could write "up to £40k"