How to answer 'what's your salary expectation?'
It usually arrives early, often from a recruiter on a first call, phrased casually enough that you feel awkward asking for time to think. “So, what are your salary expectations?”
It is not a casual question. Whatever number you say tends to become the ceiling for everything that follows. Most pay negotiations do not begin at the offer stage. They begin here, in a ten minute screening call, before anyone has seen what you can actually do.
That matters more for women. The Office for National Statistics put the UK median gender pay gap at 6.9% for full-time employees in April 2025, and 12.8% across all employees. Part of that gap is assembled one screening call at a time, when one candidate names a figure based on what she was last paid and another names one based on what the role is worth.
Here is how to handle the salary expectations question in a UK hiring process, without underselling yourself or talking yourself out of the room.
Why employers ask the salary expectations question
The honest reason is budget. The role has an approved band, and they want to know whether you sit inside it before either side spends four hours in interviews.
The second is anchoring. Whoever names a number first sets the frame, one of the most consistent findings in negotiation research. If your figure lands below their band, very few employers will volunteer the difference.
The third is pay history by proxy. Asking what you expect is often a polite route to finding out what you currently earn, and no UK law prevents an employer from asking either question. The EU Pay Transparency Directive, which member states had to adopt by 7 June 2026, does ban pay history questions, but it does not apply directly in the UK. Our explainer on what the EU directive means for UK employers sets out who it reaches.
Should you give a number first?
Ideally, no. Ideally you turn the salary expectations question around and ask them.
“Before I give you a figure, could you tell me the band you have approved for this role?” is an entirely normal thing to say, and recruiters hear it constantly. Many internal recruiters will simply tell you, because it saves them time too.
If they will not, try “Is this role banded above or below £X?” That gets you information without committing you. Only give a number once you have asked and been declined.
How to answer when you have to give a number
Give a researched range rather than a single figure, and put your target at the bottom of that range instead of the middle. If you want £55,000, say “based on comparable roles I have seen, I am looking at £55,000 to £62,000.” Employers negotiate towards the lower end almost every time, so a range whose floor is your target protects you.
Three things make a range credible.
Anchor it to the role, not to your last salary. “Based on the scope of this role and what similar positions are paying” is stronger than anything about your current package, and it closes down the pay history conversation.
Do the research first. Check advertised ranges for the same title in your region, plus ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data for your occupation.
Price the whole package. Pension, bonus, holiday and flexible working all carry monetary value, and where base salary is fixed that is where the movement is. Our guide on how to negotiate a salary goes further into the offer stage.
What to say when you do not know the market rate
Say so, and buy time. “I would rather give you a considered figure than a guess, can I come back to you this afternoon?” is a professional answer, and nobody has been rejected for it.
Then use it. Check three live adverts for the same role, and if the employer has 250 or more staff, look up its figures on the gov.uk gender pay gap service. Few women in the top pay quartile means your first number matters even more, as how to read a company’s gender pay gap figures explains.
What to avoid
Do not apologise for the number. The most common piece of self-sabotage is a good figure followed immediately by “but I am flexible”, which hands back everything you just gained.
Do not disclose your current salary unprompted. If asked directly and you would rather not answer, “I would rather focus on the value of this role” is a complete sentence.
Do not go in low to seem easy to work with. Research by Artz, Goodall and Oswald, published in 2018, found that women ask for pay rises about as often as men but are less likely to receive them. Asking is not the weak link. Being talked down is.
Frequently asked questions
Can a UK employer ask what I currently earn?
Yes. There is no UK law banning salary history questions, unlike some other jurisdictions. You are not obliged to answer, and declining politely breaches nothing.
What if my expectations are above their budget?
Better to find out in week one than week five. Ask what would justify the top of the band. If the gap is large, you have saved yourself a month.
Should I answer the salary expectations question on an application form?
If the field is mandatory, give a range rather than a precise figure, or write “negotiable, happy to discuss the band”. Avoid entering a number you have not researched.
Is it worth asking for the salary range before I apply?
Yes, and more UK employers now publish it without being asked. Our piece on pay transparency in the UK covers what is changing and why.
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This is educational information, not legal or financial advice. Pay, contracts and recruitment practice vary by employer and circumstance. For free and impartial guidance on pay and your rights at work, contact ACAS or check gov.uk.
Last reviewed: August 2026