Budget 2026: Government to ‘act soon’ to address gender pay gap and pay transparency

The government is addressing calls to introduce mandatory pay transparency in job adverts and tackle gender pay gaps at firms, chancellor John Healey said in his Budget. Healey said he has heard calls to introduce the measure that will ensure employers will be required to disclose salary ranges on job listings, as well as confirming the government will act soon to make sure women are paid and promoted fairly. Tania Goodman, partner and head of employment at Collyer Bristow, told City AM the move is a further step in its wider programme of workplace reform and may help shine a light on pay disparities that have previously gone unchallenged. However, there is a wider question arising from today s Budget: where is the investment in the infrastructure needed to support these reforms? New rights and obligations inevitably lead to greater scrutiny of workplace decisions and the potential for an increase in disputes and claims, Goodman said. Goodman added that the chal