Andy Burnham says a new law will make every UK employer state the pay in job adverts. A fair deal for jobseekers, or red tape that ignores how pay is really set?

What happened

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced on 5 November that the government will make it a legal requirement for employers to state pay in job adverts, under what it calls 'say what you pay' legislation. No date has been set, and the scope and enforcement are still to be worked out. Until then he has asked businesses to list salaries now. The government says 94% of consultation responses supported greater pay transparency. CIPD research shows 18% of employers always publish a specific salary and 41% always give a range. The TUC and the Fawcett Society welcomed the plan.

Why people disagree

Supporters say people should know what a job pays before spending time applying, that vague 'competitive salary' adverts waste everyone's time, and that open pay makes it harder to hide unjustified gaps, including the gender pay gap and gaps between new hires and existing staff. Critics on the employer side say there isn't always a single fixed figure, because pay depends on skills, experience and potential, and that firms rather than government should decide what to publish.

What's still unclear

It isn't yet clear whether a salary range will count, which employers will be covered, how the rule will be enforced or when it starts. Nor is it known whether the law will also stop employers asking about past pay, as the equality watchdog has urged.