Pay Transparency Reforms

Pay Transparency Reforms
A Meaningful Step or Just the Beginning?

By Reid Peters Consultancy Ltd

The UK government is exploring wide-reaching reforms to pay transparency in the workplace—proposals that could reshape how organisations recruit, reward and retain talent. These plans include requiring employers to advertise salary ranges, publish clear progression criteria, and offer employees the right to compare their pay with others doing equivalent work.

The proposed reforms reflect a growing recognition that vague pay structures and opaque decision-making are a major contributor to enduring inequalities—particularly along lines of gender, race, and disability. And while transparency is a welcome development, it must be paired with accountability and a deeper commitment to fairness if it is to result in lasting change.

“Transparency is not the destination—it’s the door,” says Laura-Claire Peters, Managing Director of Reid Peters Consultancy Ltd. “It opens a path to fairness, but only if employers are willing to walk it.”

What’s changing?

The government’s proposed measures include:

• Including salary bands in job advertisements

• Publishing progression pathways and promotion criteria

• Granting employees the right to understand comparative pay

• Banning the use of salary history in recruitment discussions

These moves aim to close longstanding pay gaps and prevent unconscious bias from influencing compensation decisions. Crucially, they also encourage more open conversations between employees and employers—an area many organisations still find difficult.

Transparency without structure? A false start

While these reforms encourage greater visibility, visibility alone does not ensure fairness. In many organisations, titles are flexible, pay is negotiated ad hoc, and review processes are informal at best.

“I’ve seen too many situations where two people with the same responsibilities are paid wildly different amounts,” says Peters. “The difference is rarely malicious—but it is almost always avoidable.”

Without clearly defined role scopes and a consistent internal pay framework, transparency risks exposing inequality without equipping employers to resolve it.

What employers should do now

Forward-thinking businesses should not wait for legislation. Reid Peters Consultancy Ltd recommends the following steps:

• Conduct a pay audit to identify discrepancies early

• Align job descriptions and salaries based on real responsibilities, not legacy expectations

• Create structured progression pathways and communicate them internally

• Train managers to handle salary conversations with clarity and confidence

“You don’t need a huge HR Department to get this right,” Peters explains. “You just need a clear framework, the will to apply it, and the confidence to have open conversations.”

The small business question

Understandably, small firms may worry about regulation overload. But fairness doesn’t have to be complicated.

“We specialise in supporting SMEs who want to do the right thing without getting buried in red tape,” says Peters. “It’s absolutely possible to be fair and efficient, even with limited resources.”

From streamlined templates to one-off audits, there are scalable ways for small businesses to demonstrate their commitment to pay equity—without losing time or control.

A new regulator on the horizon

The government is also considering the creation of a new equal pay regulatory and enforcement unit, empowered to investigate employers, issue fines, and support workers. Importantly, its scope will extend beyond gender, covering race and disability-based discrepancies as well.

If implemented, this will place additional expectations on businesses—but also create a clearer pathway to justice for those affected.

Final thoughts: Equity begins with intent

“You can’t spreadsheet your way to equity,” Peters says. “You have to mean it.”

Compliance is important—but culture is where equity lives. Pay transparency may bring systemic issues into the light, but it’s only through consistent, values-driven action that real change is achieved.

At Reid Peters Consultancy Ltd, we support employers who want to move beyond surface-level fixes and build a pay culture they can be proud of—fair, sustainable, and ready for tomorrow.