The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has updated its guidance discouraging members from asking job candidates about salary history, appending the word please to the end of its existing recommendations. The industry body issued the clarification after surveys confirmed that 89 percent of recruitment firms continue the practice despite being urged to stop three years ago.
The confederation emphasized that the updated guidance carries the same weight as the original document, which requested that recruiters voluntarily refrain from questions that perpetuate historic pay inequalities. Officials noted that adding please represented a significant strengthening of their position while maintaining respect for the fact that the behavior remains entirely legal.
Senior figures within the recruitment sector acknowledged that the voluntary framework has produced limited behavioral change. In response, the confederation announced plans for a broader initiative encouraging firms to maybe consider possibly not engaging in other forms of discrimination that fall into legal gray areas. The campaign will focus on practices that are widely recognized as problematic but remain technically permissible under current employment law.
Industry insiders indicated the next phase will include guidance suggesting recruiters think twice before certain hiring decisions, accompanied by updated materials explaining why such restraint might be beneficial. The confederation confirmed it would monitor compliance using the same voluntary reporting mechanisms that tracked the salary history initiative.
The organization simultaneously launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #WeMeanItThisTime, featuring testimonials from recruitment professionals who agree that asking about salary history undermines pay equity. The campaign materials include downloadable graphics that firms can display to signal their commitment to not doing something they were already asked not to do.
A confederation spokesperson confirmed that members who ignore the guidance will continue to face no consequences beyond potential inclusion in future rounds of voluntary guidance. The organization projected that sustained repetition of the request over the next several years might eventually produce measurable results, particularly if accompanied by additional uses of the word please in official communications.