AIBU - ‘what’s your current salary?’ question on job application form

[MrsWarboysHandGrenade]

I’m applying for jobs. Why is ‘current salary’ a mandatory field on many the application forms? It’s none of anyone’s business what my employer pays me now. It’s not connected to my ability to do the job I’m applying for, and it always makes me feel uncomfortable, like it can be used to pay me less - which makes me less keen on applying for the job. Read the application, see people’s experience and qualifications and see how they perform at interview.

AIBU to think this question shouldn’t feature as part of the application process?

If the field allows it, I always put "above market rate" or "market rate"

Wasn't challenged during my last interview rounds before recruitment (twice in 4 years).

It's crass, frankly

No it shouldn't and it encourages unequal pay as women get paid less so are then offered less.

I agree, they should know their salary budget for the role and include it openly in the job advert - asking for yours definitely gives them leeway to pay someone less, and it’s not relevant to the application.

I add few k if I can't skip it

I’ve never answered it. If it’s a mandatory field that only accepts numerical value, I put 0.
Never been a problem and I’ve never disclosed it in interviews.

It is to baseline your job title for consistency, it is easy to inflate your role or for a role title to be misleading.

I got a 25k pay increase in my new job by refusing to disclose.

I disclosed my current salary but it didn’t change the minimum salary I was looking for either (and there was a relatively large gap between the two) so I’m not sure it makes a difference. It wasn’t an issue for the jobs I was offered.

Wow, that’s unreal! Well done you!

I guess it is easy to inflate a role, but I think salary expectations should be discussed at interview when the employer has met those applying and can get a sense of their abilities and skills. I feel it benefits only the employer, and the candidate not at all.

Private sector I can see how this would be an issue.

But I'm public and voluntary sector jobs are aligned to a scale, there's not really any negotiation outside of the scale. This is asked on applications to know how close their experience relates to the job applied for. For example, 'healthcare scientist' on band 2 has a vastly different role from healthcare scientists at band 5. It helps to map and relate experience levels. In my organisation we don't use that information to negotiate salaries for new starts, up or down.

I've always put down the salary I want to be paid.

I add 4-5k

It’s to save them money, if you apply for a job advertised at 30-40k, and you put your current salary at £28k, they would look to offer you the low end of their pay scale.

I always just write commensurate with role and experience

I always add 10k

This is it! It’s so wrong.

Is it something they can check with your current employer?

"I do not wish to disclose this information" if there is room, or, just ignore.

They can't check with your current employer, but if you accept an offer from them they can tell from your tax documents, if you've wildly inflated your salary.

This is a very outdated practice as it is known to lead to perpetuating lower salaries for women and minorities. But I'm not sure how best to handle it if asked! If text accepted you could put "not disclosed". If only numbers maybe 0 or 99999999. But then I don't know if people would view you as being "difficult"?

I'm also public sector and think it's similar. My job title could be anywhere within three pay bands (possibly more) so it's helpful to know what band, though not necessarily what salary, as it gives words a slightly different meaning e.g. "advising colleagues and external agencies" means different things at entry level versus management (although that should be clear in the main body of the application).

I did some freelance copywriting for a while and just wrote "variable" as my salary (very true! I set my rates based on how much I wanted to do the job). I also wrote my wage from early in my career which is far below today's minimum wage 😂Nobody seemed to care.

I do think it disadvantages people attempting negotiation based on skills and experience because a previous employer getting more for their money than was fair then carries on into the next job. And as we know, women tend not to negotiate as hard, if at all.

i don’t mind being asked salary expectations because that lets them know if they have the budget to pay me. Current salary just keeps women’s pay depressed. I was severely underpaid in my last job and because I had to disclose that I have simply perpetuated it in my current job. If I can avoid disclosing I do. The worst is when they refuse to tell you what they are offering so you know if it is worth applying for!