What 'Competitive Salary' Really Costs UK Employers — and What to Write Instead

There is a phrase that appears in thousands of UK job adverts every week, and it tells candidates almost nothing: 'competitive salary'. It is the hiring equivalent of 'some assembly required'. Technically true, practically useless.

At Employment Plus, we see both sides of the hiring desk. Candidates tell us they skip adverts with no pay range because they assume the worst. Employers tell us they leave pay out because they want flexibility. Both are understandable. Only one is costing you good applicants.

The hidden cost of 'competitive'

A vague pay advert does not just leave candidates guessing. It quietly shrinks your talent pool. Experienced people with options do not apply for a mystery number. They apply to the advert that says £38,000–£45,000 and lets them decide whether the commute, the pension and the holiday allowance add up.

Then there is the time cost. Recruiters spend the first call managing expectations that could have been managed by the advert. Hiring managers interview people whose salary needs were never going to match. Offers get made and declined at the final stage. Everyone ends up frustrated, and the vacancy stays open longer.

In 2026, candidates have more information and less patience. Job boards let people filter by salary. If your advert has no number, you may not appear in the search at all. 'Competitive' does not signal confidence. It signals that the number might be below market.

What to put in a salary range instead

A useful salary range is specific, honest and easy to understand. It should include:

• The actual base range. For example, £32,000–£38,000. Not 'up to £38,000' unless every successful candidate can genuinely reach it.
• What determines the position in the range. Skills, experience, qualifications, location. 'Depending on experience' is fine as a note, but it cannot be the whole explanation.
• Bonus or commission. Give a realistic on-target earnings figure, not a fantasy top-end number.
• Benefits that affect take-home value. Pension contribution, holiday entitlement, flexible working, parental pay, training budget.
• Contract type and hours. Full-time, part-time, fixed-term, zero-hours. Candidates need to know what they are applying for.

If you genuinely cannot publish an exact range, publish the band and the rationale. '£30,000–£36,000, with the starting point determined by relevant experience and location' is far better than 'competitive'.

Handling regional pay differences

This is where many employers get stuck. A national salary band can look generous in one part of the UK and tight in another. London weighting is real, but so are the differences between Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Cardiff and the South West. Pretending one number fits everywhere is how you lose candidates in every region.

There are three sensible options:

1. Publish a national band plus a location allowance. For example: '£34,000–£40,000, plus £4,500 London weighting where applicable.'
2. Run separate adverts for separate hubs. Clear, if a little more admin.
3. Publish a range per region. 'North East: £28,000–£34,000. London: £34,000–£41,000.'

For remote roles, say how pay is set. 'Pay is based on your contracted location, not where you log in' is clear. 'Remote' plus a single national band is fine if you mean it. What is not fine is a range that quietly shrinks when the candidate asks for details.

The trust dividend

Transparent adverts attract better-matched candidates. People self-select in, rather than self-select out. Screening calls become about skills and motivation, not salary ping-pong. Offers are easier because the expectation was set at the start.

There is a useful side effect, too. Publishing a range forces you to check whether your pay is actually fair. If the number is embarrassing, that is a signal to fix the range, not hide it behind an adjective.

A quick rewrite

Before: 'Competitive salary, great benefits, fantastic opportunity.'

After: '£32,000–£38,000 depending on experience, plus 6% employer pension, 28 days' holiday and hybrid working from our Leeds office.'

One of those adverts sounds like a real job. The other sounds like a template. Candidates can tell the difference.

'Competitive salary' is not a benefit. It is a blank space where a number should be. Fill it in, and watch what happens to the quality of your applications.