Application Form wants to know current Salary

CircleFaust

CircleFaust

CircleFaust

Soldato
Joined
1 Dec 2003
Posts
3,534
not sure what to put on the application form when it asks for my current salary
i do not have all the experience needed and i expect to drop a few grand a year
part of me thinks they'll look at my current wage and it'll be a turn off for them
but i don't want to sell myself short.
is this section a massive concern for employers when they look at application forms

to be honest i dont even know what i earn really :p
i have a company car with fuel allowance, so i'm adding about 4k a year to my wage
i'll lose the car with any new job
 
I would not divulge your current salary to a perspective employer, as it would weaken your position when discussing remuneration. I would instead suggest something along the lines of ..

"I would consider my salary history a private matter. However, based upon my past work accomplishments, skill-sets and experience in this field, I feel a remuneration level of between x and y would be appropriate. I'm happy to discuss further upon an offer."
 
You dont have to add details such as salary, sex, address etc. Unless cv is very good though it could be overlooked. Just do a short cv and only give figures (cost avoidances, cost saving, sales etc) and not stories
 
its the companies own online application form with different fields.
there is one for salary but i don't think it is mandatory, they are probably just chancing their arm
i'll leave it blank if i can, otherwise i'll have to think of a figure that will neither scare them off or disadvantage me
 
CircleFaust said:
i'll leave it blank if i can, otherwise i'll have to think of a figure that will neither scare them off or disadvantage me
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What are you actually trying to achieve here? You seem to indicate that you think you're currently paid more than the role is worth, you mention something about probably having to drop a few grand, then you also mention that you're adding 4k due to your company car etc..?

If you *have* to fill out a salary in order to even submit the form then given those concerns why not just state your salary without adding in the company car? That way you've solved your concern about not putting them off but also you can mention the car etc.. in negotiations.

One thing you should probably try to avoid is lying about your salary, you can end up finding yourself sacked rather abruptly if you do lie and they find out.

Personally I'd just stick in something like 00000000 or 999999999 as a way of avoiding answering the question in the first place.
 
CircleFaust said:
its the companies own online application form with different fields.
there is one for salary but i don't think it is mandatory, they are probably just chancing their arm
i'll leave it blank if i can, otherwise i'll have to think of a figure that will neither scare them off or disadvantage me
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If you make up a number, that could come back to bite you when payroll get your P45 and see that it doesn't match what you stated.

Either put down what you current salary actually is, or don't put anything at all. The absolute worst thing to do would be to lie about it.
 
Mr^B said:
If you make up a number, that could come back to bite you when payroll get your P45 and see that it doesn't match what you stated.

Either put down what you current salary actually is, or don't put anything at all. The absolute worst thing to do would be to lie about it.
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Payroll won't give one stuff about what old salary you put on your application form. They'll be too busy doing monthly payrolls, tax year end, legislation updates, apprenticeship levy and pension calculations. The department and management you end up working for may well get the grump though, especially if you have overstated your salary.

I am of the opinion that companies should not base future employee salaries on "this is what the old lot were paying them", they should base it on "this is what the role typically commands, and this is how much we have in the budget".
 
after just changing jobs and applying for numerous jobs and having some interviews I never really got asked my current salary until the interview stage and the HR person present would ask what is my current salary and my new expectations. I added about 4k when saying and that I would expect the same or more for a new position. I then got offered the same(4K on top) depends what position your going for you could be going for a less payed position and then putting your higher salary in could scare them off and not bother or you could have been going for a higher up position like I was and if you put your salary in they’ll see it an opertunity to hire you at that or less than what they were thinking of doing
 
David Flett said:
after just changing jobs and applying for numerous jobs and having some interviews I never really got asked my current salary until the interview stage and the HR person present would ask what is my current salary and my new expectations. I added about 4k when saying and that I would expect the same or more for a new position. I then got offered the same(4K on top) depends what position your going for you could be going for a less payed position and then putting your higher salary in could scare them off and not bother or you could have been going for a higher up position like I was and if you put your salary in they’ll see it an opertunity to hire you at that or less than what they were thinking of doing
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yeah, i'm applying for positions i've little or no work experience in. i'll be able to learn any new program they want me to use if they give me a chance :p
i've been busting my ass getting certified but employers love an excuse to offer you as little money as possible. i've no doubt i'll take a drop but i'm hoping to meet them half way
it's the company car that props up my wage. my basic isn't great but with the car i've no travel costs (i get taxed heavy but the pros are better than the cons)
if i can cover my new travel costs in any new job i'd be happy (basically money for fuel or train/bus fares, whatever i end up getting)
 
Just tell them your current salary + allowances that you would lose.

You lose nothing by doing this.

It is a perfectly valid question to ask. Why are so many people here touchy about disclosing salary!
 
Syla5 said:
Just tell them your current salary + allowances that you would lose.

You lose nothing by doing this.

It is a perfectly valid question to ask. Why are so many people here touchy about disclosing salary!
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That is a dubious assumption, why do you think employers are often so keen to know someone's current salary in the first place?

It is generally advantageous to them to know it and it is generally advantageous to the potential employee to keep it from them. It is generally advantageous to the potential employee for the employer to make an offer first and for the potential employee to ask for more.

There are exceptions, like if you earn a bit more than they'd typically pay for a particular position then it is in your interests to disclose it - for example someone working in Banking moving to the likes of Google, Facebook etc..etc.. they can get put on a special high compensation scheme whereby they get paid more than they ordinarily should for their level (and allegedly can end up on projects that will aid rapid promotion for them to level up).

For a typical company though, while they won't want a new hire to be drastically underpaid they also generally don't want to pay "too much" and frequently how much you can get offered is partially dependent on your current salary. Recruiters will use this in negotiations "well you're earning X, this represents a YY% rise" etc..
 
Quartz said:
It is quite common for contracts of employment to stipulate that you cannot reveal your salary. I've had it in several of mine. If you reveal it, you are in breach of contract.
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It’s not legal to have an outright ban on salary disclosure as the right to disclose is legally permitted under the Equality Act. If your clause is in breach then I’m not sure on the legal consequence and whether the entire clause becomes unenforceable.
 
Pudney said:
It’s not legal to have an outright ban on salary disclosure as the right to disclose is legally permitted under the Equality Act. If your clause is in breach then I’m not sure on the legal consequence and whether the entire clause becomes unenforceable.
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Only if you suspect inequality of pay on gender grounds (or on grounds of another protected characteristic, such as age or race) and you seek information from a colleague (or former colleague) to find out if – or to what extent – there is a connection between pay and having (or not having) a particular protected characteristic.

How thats policed though!!
 
If it's an application in the academic area you'll more than likely need to provide salary information, no way around it
 
Quartz said:
It is quite common for contracts of employment to stipulate that you cannot reveal your salary. I've had it in several of mine. If you reveal it, you are in breach of contract.
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Thought you meant telling fibs about it to your future. Not even sure how that can backfire as most employers wont even find out as your p45 will go to accounts who wont care.

Isn't the non-disclosure between employees ajd not outside of work to avoid uproar of people saying he's on x more than me - I doubt it can be enforced outside of work.
 
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