LONDON, August 7, 2025 – The EU Pay Transparency Directive is driving a shift in pay culture in the UK. In the future we can expect more than three quarters (76%) of UK companies to share individuals’ pay ranges with employees and almost a similar proportion (70%) to share pay range information with external candidates, regardless of legal requirements. That’s according to the 2025 Pay Transparency Survey by WTW (NASDAQ:WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company.
The shift behind increased pay communication is led primarily by the growing regulatory requirements (59%), employee expectations (46%) and company values and culture (41%). Yet, despite these positive changes, there are improvements to be made, as organisations in the UK are still somewhat less likely to communicate pay information, compared to other countries around the world.
This is due to the belief that sharing pay ranges will lead to a significant increase in questions from employees and managers (73%), as well as increased pay negotiations (55%). Additionally, concerns regarding manager capability around explaining compensation programmes and possible employee reactions have been cited as common factors for holding back increased pay programme communication. However, companies in the UK are far more likely to educate senior leaders, managers and members of the board on pay than other countries.
Eva Jesmiatka, Europe Lead on Pay & Career Equity at WTW said: “We’re starting to see a cultural shift take place around pay in the UK despite the fact that UK companies are not directly impacted by the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Companies recognise that increased pay transparency will become a new reality which can support their employer brand and build competitive advantage in the talent market. In order to prepare for becoming more transparent there are some important fundamentals for companies to get right. These include robust job and rewards structures, and objective HR policies and processes to ensure the delivery of equal pay. In addition, it will be important for companies to look at their future ambition for pay transparency and define how transparent they aspire to be.
