By Ahmed Abdelsalam
The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has proposed that employees should have a legal right to request details about their colleagues' pay, including basic salary, hours worked, bonuses, overtime, and performance-related pay, within a specific timeframe.
Ban on salary history questions
The watchdog also urged lawmakers to prevent employers from asking job applicants about their current salary, arguing that the practice can embed historic discrimination into future pay. EHRC chief executive John Kirkpatrick told the BBC that such questions tend to create a pattern that discriminates, particularly against women.
Support from campaigners
The Fawcett Society, which campaigns for gender equality, has previously said that asking about salary history risks maintaining unfair pay differences due to gender, race, and disability inequality, rewarding perceived worth and negotiating skills rather than skills and experience.
