{
  "id": 16909729,
  "title": "Give UK workers right to know colleagues’ pay to prevent disparities, says watchdog",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/28/give-uk-workers-right-to-know-colleagues-pay-to-prevent-disparities",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-28T13:58:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/oct/28/uk-workers-right-know-colleagues-pay-disparities-gender-pay-gap-discrimination-watchdog-ehrc"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has recommended that workers have the right to know their colleagues' pay, particularly to prevent pay discrimination against women. This proposal comes in response to government plans to reform equal pay laws, stating that workers should be granted transparency if they suspect colleagues are being paid more for similar work. The EHRC also advocated for employers to be prohibited from inquiring about applicants' previous salaries during the hiring process. Currently, companies can request this information, though it is not mandatory for applicants to disclose it. The commission suggested that employers should respond to staff questionnaires about similar colleagues' salaries, working hours, bonuses, overtime, job descriptions, and any conducted job evaluations. Additionally, staff should have the right to request a ranking of their peers based on annual basic pay and hours, and employers should be obligated to provide this information within a set timeframe. The EHRC argued that such transparency would help avoid employment disputes, expedite resolution of pay disagreements, and contribute to narrowing the gender pay gap in the UK. As of April, women in full-time employment earned an average of 6.8% less than men, according to the Office for National Statistics. However, the gender pay gap is significantly higher in certain sectors, such as finance, where the mean and median pay gaps are 24% and 22%, respectively, compared to the national average of 6.8%.",
  "summary": "EHRC says transparency needed to prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women Workers should have a legal right to know their colleagues’ pay to help prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women, the UK’s human rights watchdog has said. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) made the recommendation in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws, saying…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}