Job adverts that don't state salary

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I usually avoid even applying. Then I saw a job at a place I really really want to work at and opportunities rarely come. Generic JD and with hindsight maybe I should have asked them about salary before applying but thought that might look grabby. Sent it CV and cover letter on which my level of responsibility was quite clear. Had a lovely interview. They asked my current salary and I told them honestly, said I was happy with them matching it (not fussed if it wasn't more).

I didn't get the job and the said it's solely cos they can't match my salary and they see this as a more "junior" role than I am currently in.

I've learnt my lesson. But what a waste of everyone's time. Why do places do this?

I'd never apply for a job that didn't state the salary, and to be honest I'd just assume it was minimum wage. If not minimum wage, I'd assume the lack of transparency shows they treat their staff like shit and will pay them as little as they can get away with. No chance.

Where I've worked in the past they haven't advertised the salary because other people working there doing the same or similar job got less and they didn't want them
Asking for a wage rise!

The secrecy around salaries is what maintains the sex-based pay gap and ensures that employees are always on the back foot.

The only reason that a company doesn't want employees to know what each other earn is so that they exploit people as much as possible.

Disclosing your salary to a colleague was automatic termination of contract with no notice at my dh's last place.

After he left, he found out that he had indeed been paid more than his female colleague who had been there longer and had much more experience, although their roles were pretty much the same.

If a job has fantastic benefits, the employer would be daft not to include them in the JD.

Are you a recruiter kittenpeak?

Banning employees from discussing salaries is not legally enforceable in the UK. Under the equality act employees have the right to discuss pay

@kittenpeak raises some good points but I’m going to counter:

1. Why shouldn’t employees of the same position know what their colleagues are paid? If someone is paid more than another there should be a fair and explainable reason. Part of good, transparent people management is having those difficult conversations.

1. I agree, but there can be a huge range in salaries for the same roles, particularly where the industry differs - the salary for IT support in a school will be much different to the same job in a finance firm, for example.

1. Maybe some people do, I’m not sure. Generally employers are initiating the search and needing the role filled, so why shouldn’t they show their cards first?

1. Agree salary isn’t everything, but usually the other benefits are not contractually binding, they are in a handbook that can be changed at the whim of the employer. If said benefits are so great, why not advertise them too?!

@christinarossetti19 no I’m not a recruiter, what makes you think that?

A lot of companies have a policy where pay is not to be discussed and it’s not to do with gender.

If people are concerned about gender, they can find out for themselves - obviously depends on size of company. Revealing what your colleagues earn can be dangerous. I don’t necessarily mean direct colleagues (eg a receptionist finding out what the receptionist vacancy is going for) but more when you find out what your manager’s salary is because you see their role advertised. Some people earn more because when they joined l, the company was under different ownership so different “rules”. Length of service makes a huge difference, maybe when they joined the company their job role was more in demand and the company were desperate so we’re willing to pay a candidate more. Countless reasons with nothing to do with gender.

@Downthisroad yes different industries pay differently, ie your example of school / finance is a good one but surely you would know as a candidate that schools pay less than finance firms so should expect a lower wage? (Not saying I agree with that, but it’s the way of the world!!£ Eg civil service jobs pay badly, you would know when you see the advert for similar role working in the private sector will probably pay 30% more.

I think candidates seek out positions too - especially at the moment. I definitely wouldn’t write my expectations on LinkedIn/CV - I’d wait for a discussion. I think it should be talked about early on first - it shouldn’t wait til interview stage.

Yes, sometimes you could get it wrong and find out you’ve totally misinterpreted a JD, but hey that’s life.

Also, I think if someone was to have say £80k in their head, and see a role for £65k, they might not bother applying. They could be passing by their dream role. Who knows, the company may move heaven and earth for you once they speak to you and decide to employ you on £80k because they love you. If you saw a lower salary you might never have bothered speaking to them in the first place so miss out

@kittenpeak the schools/ finance was to show extremes but yeah, where might the salary for a similar role in a totally different sector (say in HQ for a high street retail shop) lay? Somewhere in between presumably, who knows?! And that’s kind of my point- in my industry (not IT!) I could make a reasonable punt at an expected salary but for some jobs it might not be so easy.

Agree job seeking is a joint need, I would say the employer knows the role better than a candidate ever could so they are best placed to state their expectations and the salary commensurate to those, I would expect to be paid more for a higher pressure role but may take lower pay for somewhere a bit more laid back, so that’s where it maybe wouldn’t work on a CV. I would love to see a CV that says “I will accept a salary between £X - £X, depending on how much much of a PITA the boss is”. Maybe that’s the CV equivalent of “Salary or £x - £x depending on experience”

A lot of companies have a policy where pay is not to be discussed and it’s not to do with gender.

If people are concerned about gender, they can find out for themselves - obviously depends on size of company. Revealing what your colleagues earn can be dangerous. I don’t necessarily mean direct colleagues (eg a receptionist finding out what the receptionist vacancy is going for) but more when you find out what your manager’s salary is because you see their role advertised. Some people earn more because when they joined l, the company was under different ownership so different “rules”. Length of service makes a huge difference, maybe when they joined the company their job role was more in demand and the company were desperate so we’re willing to pay a candidate more. Countless reasons with nothing to do with gender.

But if their reasons are justifiable there is no reason why employees should be barred from discussing it. I used to work somewhere that had rigid salary scales but they had changed over the years. We all knew that the older staff were under old terms and conditions because those were the terms when they joined. It was frustrating because sometimes they were paid three times as much as younger people who were their managers but everyone knew the score. Similarly, those who joined later than me had worse terms and conditions than I had.

With regards to overall package being considered, employers can change that on a whim. Eg for many many years, people were told (by the employers) that working in the public sector paid less in cash because you got a good pension and you had to consider that as part of your salary. Which was fine until suddenly some people were told after 20 or 30 years 'actually we've changed your pension and now you'll only get half as much as we had previously told you'. And that has huge public support because people think 'well what are they moaning about, it's still better than my pension'. Which may be true but it's not the point because those people can't travel back in time and make an informed decision on accepting the salary/pension package in the first place.

Same goes for private sector obviously. Employers can change terms and conditions pretty much as they want and you cannot do much about it.

I rarely apply for jobs where no salary is indicated. It makes me think they want to pay as little as possible and not commensurate with skills, qualifications & experience.

I had an interview yesterday, applied in January, advert said salary was 20k for school leaver, up to 26k for more experienced. I have 20+ years of experience.

At end of interview they tell me it is 19k to 21k, not negotiable.
The job that I had applied for had been filled and I was interviewing for a different one!

Now that was frustrating, absolutely no wiggle room.

I would not have applied if I had known, what a waste of time. Mine and theirs.

I've recently had an interview for a job. Agency called me saying they want a second interview.
I ask the agency about the salary as nothing has been mentioned yet 🤷🏻‍♀️
Then I discover she put me forward for the role at £1,000 LESS than my current salary 🤦🏻‍♀️
The only reason I'm looking for a different job is to get more salary as I'm underpaid in my current role!
So I totally agree and wish salary was on the JDs.

It’s valid points about why they don’t put salary and I believe a lot of employers possibly want to see what the right person would except .
But in my experience it was non negotiable what’s the point ? You may as well explain what this non negotiable salary is otherwise you are wasting everyone’s time .
I was fuming to be honest if took time off work , prepared etc to be on a lot less no way would I take it. In fact it put me off working for said company and it was a big employer.

I worked for regional newspapers for many years and they never stated salaries in job adverts. Probably because it would be embarrassing for them to show the world how little they were paying.

So frustrating when companies do this. After two times of being invited to interview and then 'just to check, are you ok with this salary?' with my answer being no, if I'd have known that was what it was I wouldn't have applied l now either ignore or if it's a role I'm really interested in I email before applying to check what the salary band is.

I know sometime ago, soneone was pushing for all salaries to be disclosed. I think it was Labour.

I totally agree, stops people being unfairly paid.

I started a new job last year and negotiated a good deal for myself. It was easier negotiation W we’d done the interviews and I knew I was the person they wanted for the role. They actually offered me the job before discussing salary and I said “no thanks” to their initial offer. They moved to what I was happy with.

I applied and interview for a job last year. I was up front with the recruiter from the first phone call about the level of salary I would need to move. I was offered the job at a significantly lower salary. Suffice to say I didn’t take it. It’s so infuriating.

You'd hate my industry then OP

People apply to every job in any country (think 6-8 position a year worldwide), salaries are almost never advertised. One of my colleagues flew to Canada for a week for the audition and interview process without having the slightest idea what the salary would be.

There are rumors going around of how much X company in Y country pays, but these are almost never verified until you get the job. Yes, you first get the position (after paying thousands for your own flights and hotels) and then discover how much it pays. It's madness, but that's how it works.

Sometimes the UK they advertise the salary - but not always. There have been 3 openings in the last 10 years in the UK, only one advertised the salary in advance.

Don't apply for jobs that don't state the salary, if you have the luxury to choose.

It’s very frustrating as even lower grade roles, salaries here can vary a lot. For example purchasing admin roles, similar job descriptions and experience requirements can range from NMW to 22-24k.

I see lots of job adverts that start with ‘competitive pay’ and at the bottom it states NMW, or at interview stage you find out it’s non negotiable NMW. I don’t understand what they are competitive against? But ultimately you can like it or lump it.

I get the impression that it’s not a good look to ask straight away because companies want someone who is passionate about the job and the company, rather than someone who just wants to do the job and pay their bills (like most working people do).
Many of these companies rarely offer passionate levels of pay in return though

Salary isn’t everything. The entire package matters, eg pension, insurance etc. The salary could be really low because of all the benefits

Benefits won’t pay the bills.

I feel this approach attracts people who don’t like their current jobs, and is therefore maybe a bit counterproductive. I’d far rather attract people who do well at work and love their job but want a promotion or new challenge for better pay.

Not giving pay info means you’re likely to pull in people who don’t get on well with colleagues or want to leave for less positive reasons.

Yeah this is annoying when salary isn't made clear or even mentioned at all before interview.
I'm currently employed by NHS band 4 so approx 23k and have 15 years of office and secretary experience. Went for an interview last week at a care home (across road from where I live, that's why I applied as it could have been great for better hours, no travel etc, less stress etc) for office manager's role with lots of responsibilities etc. No mention of salary until I had to ask at the end if the interview. They got flustered and said well its about 10p per hour above minimum wage! Wouldn't have told me unless I asked.

kittenpeaks absolutely, it's not about gender at all, it's about sex-based pay differences.

If someone gets paid more because their contract is under the previous owner which offered better pay/benefits than the current one, then that's how it is - there's a reasonable explanation which doesn't need to be kept secret.

The reality is that women are routinely paid considerably less for the same roles as men. There isn't a reasonable explanation for that as it is unlawful. Of course, the 'no disclosure of salary' clause in contracts means that employers sexual discrimination is rarely able to be formally challenged.

I asked if you were a recruiter because I couldn't think of any other job in which you'd think that prospective employees should state their expected salary but not the employer.

@kittenpeaks, I suspect you are either an employer or HR ?

I was low balled for the job I am in now, the salary was not advertised, I spoke to them before attending interview and during interview when they asked my expectations and current salary. They offered job and then they offered way below existing salary because of all the ‘benefits’.

They would not negotiate. They had heard about redundancies in my previous employer.

Since being there have had promotion and am at an acceptable salary but am still not back at my previous salary.
It will always leave a bitter taste and I do not trust those who interviewed me or the HR dept. but job suits me atm. I would never go for another job where Sal not advertised again.

absolutely, it's not about gender at all, it's about sex-based pay differences.

Quite. I recently got a promotion to management in a company I've been with well over a decade. I don't know how much my (female) predecessor was on, but I do know that her (male) predecessor was on £9k more than I am now, 7 or 8 years ago.

I didn't feel in much of a position to argue as our industry has been hard hit by Covid and there have been some redundancies recently, but you can bet that once we're back on an even keel I'll be fighting hard to close that gap, even if it comes to admitting that I know what his salary was (he never told me, I found out by accident, but it's not much of a surprise given our MD's overtly sexist attitude at times).