Burnham to force employers to publish salaries on job ads in latest government ‘small fix’ – UK politics live

Key events7m agoKnife law changes not 'off the table', home secretary says30m agoBurnham to force employers to publish salaries on job ads in latest government 'small fix'Knife law changes not 'off the table', home secretary saysShabana Mahmood has signalled she is considering a change to knife laws, following the murder of Henry Nowak.The Home Secretary said she had not “taken any options off the table”, after Nowak’s father, Mark Nowak, called for a clearer definition in law of what a Sikh kirpan looks like.Mark Nowak told ITV News: “I fully understand the need to carry a kirpan but surely that should be defined in law, in terms of size and type and whether it should be visible, and so on and so forth.“And therefore, anything else should be made illegal.”Asked about Mark Nowak’s suggestion, Mahmood told the same broadcaster: double quotation markI haven’t taken any options off the table. I’m also not going in with a fixed mind about what the right clarifications of the law might be. It’s important to get the right balance between religious expression in this country, which is something that many of us of a faith, including myself, hold very dearly, but do so in a way that is within what we expect of our citizens for the purposes of the criminal law. Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said lawmakers “do need to look at” knife laws.Burnham to force employers to publish salaries on job ads in latest government 'small fix'Hello and welcome to the UK politics live blog.Employers will be forced to publish salaries on job adverts, Andy Burnham has announced, in the government’s latest “small fix” to help improve people’s lives.The prime minister said his government would bring in a legal requirement for companies to say what they pay when listing new jobs, which campaigners say will help young people and women in particular achieve more equal pay.Burnham said the move would help deal with the frustration of applying for a job without knowing the salary, while officials say that publicising pay will help those in work know if they are being paid fairly in comparison with others.The prime minister said: double quotation markWhether you’re a young person starting out or a parent trying to support your family, you should know what a job pays before spending your time and effort applying for it. That’s why we will make it a legal requirement for all employers to say what you pay. But breaking down barriers is only one part of the job. We also need businesses to open more doors and give young people the experience and confidence to take that first step into the world of work. Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: “Anyone who’s searched for a job knows how frustrating it is to read ‘competitive salary’.”Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found less than half of employers always published salaries ranges on job adverts, while less than a fifth always published specific salaries.Experts say omitting pay details from job adverts makes it harder for young people to know which jobs to apply for, and makes it easier for employers to give lower pay offers to some candidates, including women.Read the full story here:Burnham has spent much of his first few months in power announcing a series of “small fixes” to help improve people’s daily lives, while promising more radical change to come. The changes have included removing VAT from electricity bills, reducing bus fares and a £100 council tax rebate announced at the budget.Meanwhile, in other developments: Andy Burnham has said he wants to “recast” the UK’s deal to cede control of the Chagos Islands after resistance from Washington, which said the agreement could instead be modelled on America’s Greenland deal with Denmark. Shabana Mahmood’s changes to the migration system could harm women and children, a Labour MP has warned, as members of her own party continue to raise concerns with the home secretary’s proposals. The EU is seeking a firmer pledge from the British government to guarantee European students discounted rates on university tuition fees before a much-anticipated summit this month.