UK Watchdog Calls for Legal Right to See Colleagues' Pay

UK workers should get a legal right to see what their colleagues earn, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which says transparency is the sharpest tool against pay discrimination — particularly toward women.

The watchdog issued the recommendation in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws. Workers who suspect colleagues are paid more for similar work deserve a right to the data, the EHRC argued.

The numbers explain the urgency. As of April this year, women in full-time work earned 6.8% less than men on average, according to the Office for National Statistics. In finance, the gap is far worse: a 24% mean gap and a 22% median gap — roughly double the national average for UK companies.

What would change for workers?

Ministers are weighing whether to force bosses to answer staff questionnaires about colleagues' pay. That right existed once — it was abolished in 2014 in a push to cut bureaucracy for businesses. The EHRC wants it back, and with teeth.

Under the watchdog's proposals, the questionnaires would let staff request details about a colleague doing similar work. That means:

• Annual salary and hours worked
• Bonuses and overtime
• The colleague's job description
• Any job evaluations carried out by bosses

The disclosure wouldn't stop at headline pay. Workers could ask for job grades, salary benchmarks, internal "scores" and copies of final job evaluation records. They could also request a ranking of every worker in a similar team, based on annual basic pay and hours.

And if the data comes back looking inaccurate or incomplete? Staff should have the right to push bosses for more, the EHRC said.

Why the watchdog wants a hard deadline

Timing matters as much as content. The EHRC said bosses should be forced to respond within a "specified timeframe" — and that the rule should be mandatory, not optional.

"Without such a requirement, employers may delay, provide evasive responses or avoid responding," the EHRC said. "We suggest this should be introduced as a mandatory measure, rather than an 'optional' one, to adequately meet the policy aims of this consultation."

In plain terms: without a deadline, the right to ask means little.

A ban on salary-history questions

The EHRC also wants to stop employers asking applicants about their existing salaries during recruitment. Companies can currently request that information, though candidates aren't obliged to answer. The watchdog wants the question gone entirely.

"Introducing a requirement that prevents employers from asking about salary history or expectations, alongside the proposed pay transparency measures in this consultation, will likely reduce pay gaps and discrimination against women," the EHRC said.

The logic is straightforward: if new pay tracks old pay, and old pay reflects past discrimination, the gap compounds with every job move.

What's in it for employers?

The EHRC framed transparency as more than a compliance burden. Greater openness could help companies avoid employment tribunals altogether, producing "early resolution of pay disputes" before they reach the courts.

That's a real cost consideration. Pay disputes that escalate to tribunal are expensive, slow and reputational damage rolled into one. A disclosure regime with deadlines could push conflicts toward early settlement instead.

For UK employers, the direction of travel is clear: pay secrecy is losing its legal shelter, and the businesses that get ahead of disclosure rules now face fewer tribunal risks later.