By ELEANOR MANN
Published: | Updated:
Employers should not be allowed to ask job applicants what they have previously been paid in interviews, an equality watchdog has said.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said bosses must instead reveal how much their current employees earn, amid fears that knowing a worker's salary history can exacerbate existing inequalities.
The commission urged the Government to go beyond their existing plan to force companies to list salaries in job adverts - part of a broader overhaul of equal pay laws.
Britain's equality watchdog said banning asking potential new hires about their previous earnings would help stop pay discrimination.
It pointed out that knowing previous salaries or pay expectations could allow existing inequalities to follow workers from their old job to their new one.
The commission also pointed to research by the Fawcett Society, which found that 58 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men felt that questions about their previous salaries had led to them being offered a lower wage.
The chair of the EHRC said employers should not be allowed to ask about candidates' salary history or expectations
Mary-Ann Stephenson, chair of the EHRC, told The Times: 'Unequal and discriminatory pay can fuel inequalities and limit opportunities in many aspects of our lives.
'But the current equal pay system is too complex and is often difficult for people to navigate. These reforms are an opportunity to make the system better for both workers and employers.
'Publishing salaries in job adverts is a positive step. But employers should not be allowed to ask about candidates' salary history or expectations, which can result in existing inequalities being carried into a new role.'
The EHCR's recommendations came after a government consultation in July on reforms intended to make it easier to identify and challenge unequal pay.
Ministers' current plans to improve the system include requiring all employers to detail salary information in public job listings, or provide the information in writing before an interview if no advert has been placed.
Also among the proposals is a new enforcement unit, and changes intended to deliver faster pay dispute resolutions.
The EHRC, however, said the proposals needed strengthening, calling for legal backing to enforce a new statutory pay questionnaire, which would allow workers to obtain information about possible discrimination before taking legal action.
Ms Stephenson pointed out that the proposed questionnaire would only make a difference if employers are required to respond.
The EHRC also said it would be the best body to house the proposed new Equal Pay Regulation and Enforcement Unit, but warned it would need additional funding to be effective.
More than 10,000 equal pay claims on average are brought to employment tribunals each year - and some disputes take over a decade to resolve.
The Government consultation in July acknowledged that the system had become overly complex.
The chancellor, John Healey, is expected to outline several new workplace measures in the Budget on Wednesday, including paternity pay for self-employed fathers for the first time.