18% of job adverts list basic legal rights – like statutory holiday entitlement or lunch breaks – as benefits 1,009 companies list providing water as a perk.
At a moment when the UK government is considering stronger action on pay transparency and equal pay enforcement, campaigners argue it’s time for employers to advertise jobs more honestly.
Research suggests 34% of UK job adverts may be “ghost jobs”, while recent news reveals workers in sectors like social care are given misleading hourly rates, which mask pay that falls below the legal minimum.
These actions have real consequences, resulting in campaigns like #SayThePay, launched earlier this year. This research reveals 64% of jobseekers say they won’t apply for a role unless the salary is listed, yet employers continue to withhold essential information while expecting candidates to put a huge amount of effort into the application process.
With this in mind, employee experience platform Reward Gateway | Edenred analysed 9,646 job adverts and the salary information advertised within them, to reveal which offer the most and least pay transparency and the prevalence of genuine workplace benefits.
Job adverts and salary information
Despite jobseekers saying they won’t apply for a role unless the salary is listed, 30% of the advertised jobs in our study do not disclose any salary information, with the industries most likely to do this being strategy and consultancy (205), estate agents (154) and manufacturing (143).
Industries with the least transparent salary information
| Industry | Number of ads without salary information |
| Strategy & Consultancy | 205 |
| Estate Agents | 154 |
| Manufacturing | 143 |
There are several possible reasons for these industries ranking as the least transparent when it comes to pay. Firstly, in sectors like strategy & consultancy, employers frequently avoid disclosing pay details due to negotiation-based compensation and internal bill rates.
Estate agencies operate with compensation often tied to commission structures rather than clear salary bands. This likely contributes to pay details being omitted in job ads
Salaries in industries like manufacturing often includes multiple pay components like base, shifts, skills pay, plant location premiums, which often leads to companies withholding static ranges in favour of negotiation after candidate screening.
Industries with the most transparent salary information are retail (256), catering (247), social care (247) and charity (242).
Salary ranges
In our study, 17% of the jobs advertised have a set salary and 53% advertise pay ranges.
Companies often advertise pay ranges instead of a set salary to balance the need for transparency with the need for flexibility in hiring. This helps businesses to attract a diverse pool of talent while accounting for different experience levels.
However, across all job levels, the average gap between the bottom and top of salary bands advertised in job listings is £9,887. Wide pay band ranges can mask pay inequality, with people in the same role and level being paid more for reasons unrelated to performance, like negotiation power or tenure.
This lack of transparency can undermine fairness and make pay progression unclear. It also affects recruitment, with research showing 22% of people would avoid applying for a job if only a pay range was advertised.
Industries with the widest advertised salary bands in job listings
| Industry | Average salary band |
| Estate agents | £43,274 |
| Law | £30,103 |
| Insurance | £20,921 |
The top three industries with the widest widest advertised salary bands in job listings are estate agents (£43,274), law (£30,103) and insurance (£20,921). A possible reason for such wide average salary bands, in these industries is because pay varies significantly within the same roles and career stages.
In estate agency, earnings are commission-driven, so individuals in similar roles can earn very different amounts; typical UK pay ranges from £15,000 to over £90,000.
In law, salaries vary sharply by firm, location, and practice area, with newly qualified solicitors in City firms earning around £140,000 versus £18,200–£30,000 for trainees in regional or public sector roles.
In insurance, role diversity drives wide bands, with entry-level claims and customer service roles pay£20,000–£30,000, while technical specialists earn six-figure salaries. Variable pay, geographic differences, and scarce skills keep average bands broad across all levels.
Conversely, the industries with the smallest pay bands are customer services (£1,660), apprenticeships (£1,783) and retail (£2,461).
‘Perks’
Our study shows nearly 1 in 5 job ads promote at least one legal or baseline entitlement as a “perk.”
Fake perks in job adverts are deceptive, exaggerated, or misleading benefits used to attract applicants to job postings.
These can range from presenting legal requirements as special perks to, vague promises that fail to materialise once the employee starts.
Bizarrely, water is touted as a “perk” in 1,009 job adverts, while coffee makes 553 appearances. Meanwhile, 457 companies highlight training as a benefit – a perk that, arguably, is not optional, but essential for actually doing the job.
Our study also shows 336 companies listed 28 days of annual leave (the minimum legal requirement) as a perk. The industries most likely to do this are charity (63), social care (57) and sales (55).
Despite offering above-average salaries, law ranks joint top for highlighting statutory sick pay and statutory maternity leave as perks.
While not mentioned frequently, some companies still list amenities like snacks (46), fruit (32), casual dress (35), pizza (12), and the Christmas party (23) as employee perks.
As for ping-pong tables, those seem to belong to a bygone era, with only a single company listing this as a benefit.
Chris Britton, People Experience Director at Reward Gateway | Edenred commented on the study: “It’s surprising that nearly one in five job ads still promote basic legal entitlements as perks and that salary transparency remains limited, with 30% of adverts providing no pay information.
“However, improving transparency is vital to helping both employers and employees. It enables candidates to make informed career decisions, while helping businesses attract and retain top talent.
“Businesses should prioritise delivering meaningful benefits that support financial, physical, and emotional well-being, rather than repackaging minimal offerings to make roles appear more attractive”.
You can view the full study here.
