Workers who suspect they are paid less than a colleague doing comparable work should be able to get a straight answer from their employer, Britain's equality watchdog has argued. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) says bosses should be legally obliged to respond to formal pay questionnaires, covering basic salary, hours, overtime, bonuses and performance-related pay, along with an explanation for any gap.

Why the watchdog wants answers made compulsory

Ministers are consulting on bringing back statutory pay questionnaires, which existed under the Equality Act 2010 before being abolished in 2014. The government's current proposal would make employer replies voluntary, with tribunals able to draw adverse conclusions from a refusal or an evasive answer if a case later reaches court. The EHRC argues that a voluntary system would not work in practice, warning that employers could delay, give evasive replies, or simply not respond at all.

What workers could ask for

Under the watchdog's approach, an employee who believed they were paid unfairly could submit a questionnaire and receive information including colleagues' pay grades, job descriptions and a ranking of salaries, subject to the equal-pay framework. The aim, supporters say, is to let workers test whether a difference is justified before deciding whether to bring a claim, and to resolve more disputes without lengthy legal proceedings. The commission has also urged a ban on employers asking job applicants about their salary history or expectations, arguing that past pay gaps can otherwise follow workers from one job to the next.

The proposals sit within a wider overhaul of equal-pay law, including plans for salary details in job adverts. Ministers have not yet adopted the watchdog's call for mandatory replies, so the questionnaire scheme remains a proposal rather than a settled right. For now, the debate turns on a familiar balance: giving workers usable evidence of unfair pay, while setting clear limits on what personal pay information an employer must disclose and within what timeframe.

Sources: The Scottish Sun and The Times.