Do you have to give details of previous salary?

[Arkengarthdale]

My DH is applying for jobs (pretty senior) and the latest recruitment agency requires him to complete a form giving details of starting salary, current salary, bonus, car allowance, pension contributions from both him and employer and much more. I don't think it's any of their business at all how his current 'package' is structured and what he's been able to negotiate for himself with his current company.

Am I right in thinking this detailed remuneration info is not appropriate to be shared with anyone except current employer? Just seems so cheeky.

Thanks!

As an employer, we do consider level of existing package during recruitment. If your DH was already on twice the package I gave available, I wouldn't waste his time and my own interviewing him

I have never been for a job or attended at an agency when they have not asked my previous salary 🤔

I agree with AuditAngel. My company has an upper limit on what we can afford to pay. I would be really pissed off if we got through the recruitment process, possibly having told other candidates No only to find out your DH's salary expectations were wildly unaffordable. Even when we put salaries on adverts we get people who ask for too much money, thinking we won't say no after it's got to offer stage. Wrong. We still can't afford you and you've massively pissed me off wasting my time so I'm not going to do you a favour presenting your case to senior managers... 😁

No problem with asking current salary but they've asked for so much more eg comparisons with other staff, amounts paid in bonuses over past five years, pension contributions paid by employer, BIK level of tax on company car when he had one (now just has a flat rate car allowance) and more. It just seems so intrusive and this is a recruitment consultant, not a potential employer. The jobs he is looking at are in a similar ballpark to his current position (wanting to relocate)

Thanks for responses

I work in executive search and this is perfectly normal. We have to manage expectations and understand how to make a potential offer attractive to the candidate before putting them through a lengthy process. If a candidate is on a good package then they won't move for less including things like car allowance, pension contributions, private medical etc

Ok, thanks. He hasn't changed jobs in quite a while and was previously headhunted so didn't have to justify his existence

Oh and I do understand about wasting time recruiting someone you can't afford. I'm at the other end of the scale to DH and the number of jobs I think I might apply for who won't tell me the salary then it ends up that the top of their scale is 10k less than I'm currently on. Yes, I bet you'd love to employ all this experience and ability for your bargain basement price 😡

You don't have to say. You might be willing to take a pay cut, I've just accepted a job with a substantial pay cut because the job content is better for me than what I am doing now. I would just say market rate if asked.

My employer-to-be told me their salary range before inviting me in for interview so we both knew the score at the outset. If people are told and think they can play the system later, that's their look-out, but I am not going to say what I am earning now because it either puts people off, or they'll offer less than they were going to - eg if you are on 23K and they were going to offer £30k they'll only offer £25K.

If employers are worried about an applicant’s expectations they should simply set out the salary range for the job. Don’t see why applicants should declare their salary. This never used to happen. When I am approached by recruiters I ask for the range and if too low, just say so.

Yes indeed to offering lower if the new post would be a significant step up from your current (ie more than £3k - that's significant to me)

For example I used to be Band 4 in the NHS and was told there was no way I could ever get a higher banding as I hadn't worked my way up to the top of the band and anyway I needed a degree to be Band 5 (I'm a senior PA). I'm now Band 6 equivalent. The NHS took no account of previous (much) higher salary. I so don't miss them!