Among the motor trade employers recruiting through Perfect Placement, advertising salary information is already standard practice. Across 1,742 live vacancies reviewed in July 2026, only 46 did not include salary details.

That means 97.4% of the permanent automotive vacancies advertised through our recruitment service gave candidates some indication of what the position paid.

This does not prove that every motor trade employer in the UK takes the same approach. It does, however, show that the businesses we work with overwhelmingly recognise the value of including salary information when recruiting.

The Government has now launched a consultation exploring whether employers should be required to publish pay and conditions in job adverts as part of wider proposals aimed at strengthening equal pay and reducing pay discrimination.

What Is the Government Proposing?

The Government is consulting on whether employers should be required to publish pay and conditions in job adverts.

The proposal forms part of a wider consultation on equal pay and pay discrimination. The aim is to explore whether greater transparency during recruitment could help prevent unfairness before somebody joins a business.

No final requirement has yet been introduced. The consultation is gathering views from:

• Employers
• Workers
• Trade unions
• Public bodies
• Other organisations with an interest in equal pay

You can read the full Government consultation on equal pay and pay discrimination.

Whatever the eventual outcome, salary information is already an important part of the recruitment conversation. Candidates increasingly expect to understand the likely package before committing time to an application, recruiter call or interview process.

What Does Perfect Placement's Live Vacancy Data Show?

Perfect Placement's live vacancy data shows that the employers recruiting through us are already highly transparent when advertising salaries.

Source: Perfect Placement live vacancy data reviewed in July 2026. Figures represent a live snapshot and may change as vacancies are added, updated and filled.

The figures cover vacancies across a wide range of automotive employers, including:

• Franchised car dealerships
• Commercial vehicle businesses
• Independent garages
• Accident repair centres
• Specialist workshops
• Other motor trade organisations

They also include a broad selection of positions, from Vehicle Technicians, MOT Testers and Service Advisors to Sales Executives, Parts Advisors, Bodyshop professionals and senior management roles.

Although our data only reflects vacancies advertised through Perfect Placement, it provides a substantial view of how the employers we support currently approach salary information.

Why Do Candidates Want Salary Information Before Applying?

Candidates want salary information because it helps them decide whether an opportunity is financially realistic before beginning the recruitment process.

Changing jobs involves more than sending a CV. Candidates may need to consider:

• Their current basic salary
• Bonus and overtime earnings
• Travel costs
• Working hours
• Saturday or weekend rotas
• Their notice period
• Whether the move improves their longer-term career prospects

When no salary information is provided, candidates are being asked to invest time without knowing whether the opportunity can meet one of their most important requirements.

Research from Glassdoor found that two in five UK workers did not know what their most recent role would pay before applying. That uncertainty can create unnecessary conversations when expectations are only discussed later in the process.

You can read more about the research in Glassdoor's article on why pay transparency matters.

Including salary information will not guarantee suitable applications. It does, however, help candidates make a more informed decision and reduces the risk of discovering a significant gap in expectations after several conversations or interviews.

Why Is Advertising a Salary Not the Difficult Part?

Adding a salary to a job advert is easy. Knowing what salary the vacancy should offer is far more difficult.

An employer can publish a figure within seconds. Understanding whether that figure is realistic requires current knowledge of the market.

For example, the salary needed to attract an experienced Service Advisor in Bristol may be very different from what attracts a Vehicle Technician in Birmingham, a Parts Advisor in Glasgow or a Sales Executive in Essex.

The role itself is only one part of the picture. Employers also need to consider:

• Location: Salary expectations can vary considerably between towns, cities and regions.
• Role and responsibilities: Two vacancies with the same job title may involve very different responsibilities.
• Experience and qualifications: Manufacturer accreditation, EV qualifications, MOT testing, management experience or specialist product knowledge can all influence salary expectations.
• Type of employer: Packages often differ between franchised dealerships, independent garages, commercial vehicle businesses, accident repair centres and specialist workshops.
• Basic salary versus OTE: Candidates want to understand how much is guaranteed and how achievable any bonus structure is.
• Working hours: Shift patterns, weekends, overtime and on-call responsibilities all influence what candidates expect to earn.
• Local competition: Nearby employers recruiting for similar positions can quickly change market expectations.

An employer may believe a package is competitive because it worked the last time they recruited. If that was two years ago, local salaries, candidate expectations and competing vacancies may have changed considerably.

Our Automotive Salary Guide 2026 provides further insight into current salaries across a wide range of automotive roles, helping employers benchmark their vacancies against today's market.

What Salary Information Should a Job Advert Include?

A useful motor trade job advert should explain the basic salary, realistic earning potential and how any additional earnings are achieved.

Where possible, employers should include:

• Basic salary: the guaranteed annual salary or a realistic range.
• On-target earnings: the total a candidate could reasonably expect to earn.
• Bonus structure: how the bonus or productivity scheme operates.
• Overtime: whether it is available and how it is paid.
• Working hours: including weekend or Saturday requirements.
• Allowances: such as location weighting or shift payments.
• Benefits: any additional benefits with a genuine financial value.

For example, advertising a Vehicle Technician role as paying up to £50,000 may attract attention. Candidates will quickly want to know:

• How much of that figure is guaranteed?
• What level of productivity is required?
• Is overtime included within the total?
• How often do current employees achieve the advertised OTE?

An honest basic salary of £38,000 with a clearly explained and achievable bonus may be more persuasive than a much larger headline figure that candidates struggle to verify.

The aim is not simply to make the vacancy look attractive. It is to give candidates enough useful information to decide whether the complete package is worth exploring.

Why Do Salary Ranges Need to Be Realistic?

A salary range should reflect what the employer is genuinely prepared to pay for the level of candidate being targeted.

A very wide range can create almost as much uncertainty as publishing no salary at all. If a vacancy is advertised at £30,000 to £50,000, candidates may reasonably question:

• What experience is needed to reach the top of the range?
• Whether the higher figure is genuinely available?
• Where most successful candidates are likely to be offered?

There may be valid reasons for using a broad range. An employer could be open to considering both a developing technician and a highly experienced diagnostic specialist.

In that situation, the advert should explain why the range is broad and how experience will affect the offer.

Employers should also avoid automatically offering the bottom of the advertised range. If a candidate's background closely matches the vacancy, beginning negotiations at the lowest possible figure can undermine trust before they have even joined the business.

How Does Recruitment Data Help Employers Benchmark Salaries?

Recruitment data helps employers benchmark salaries by showing what businesses are offering, what candidates expect and which packages are producing results right now.

At Perfect Placement, we do not rely solely on generic salary surveys that may only be updated once a year. Every day, our consultants are:

• Speaking directly with candidates
• Discussing salary expectations
• Reviewing offers
• Analysing vacancies
• Seeing which salaries attract interest
• Hearing why candidates accept or reject opportunities

That means our salary insight is based on live market activity, not assumptions.

Sources: Perfect Placement internal placement and interview data.

Every vacancy, candidate conversation, interview and job offer helps build a clearer picture of the automotive recruitment market.

This allows our consultants to identify:

• Salary expectations for the same role in different parts of the UK
• Whether an employer's package is keeping pace with the local market
• How bonuses, overtime and working hours influence candidate decisions
• Which vacancies attract suitable applications quickly
• Which packages repeatedly lead to rejected interviews or declined offers
• Where there is a shortage of candidates with particular qualifications or experience

Our insight is drawn from a wide range of automotive employers. A Vehicle Technician salary within a franchised car dealership may look very different from the package offered by an independent garage, commercial workshop, roadside employer or specialist repair business.

The role title alone does not tell the full story. The salary needed may also be affected by:

• The level of diagnostic work involved
• Manufacturer training requirements
• MOT testing responsibilities
• EV qualifications
• Shift patterns
• Bonus opportunities
• Expected productivity

Sometimes the answer is not simply increasing the headline salary. An employer may need to adjust the bonus structure, provide more flexibility, improve the working hours or explain the progression opportunities more effectively.

A spreadsheet may show an average advertised salary, but it cannot always explain:

• Why candidates are rejecting the role
• Why interviews are being declined
• Why offers are not being accepted
• Why a vacancy has remained open for several months

Recruitment data helps employers move beyond national averages and make decisions based on the people they are actually trying to attract.

What Should Motor Trade Employers Do Next?

Motor trade employers should review both whether salary information is being advertised and whether the package still reflects the current candidate market.

1. Check existing adverts.
   Make sure the basic salary, OTE, hours and bonus arrangements are easy to understand.
2. Compare similar vacancies.
   Look at what other automotive employers are offering for comparable roles in the same area.
3. Review recent candidate feedback.
   If suitable candidates repeatedly reject the salary, treat that feedback as useful market evidence.
4. Be realistic about the required experience.
   A vacancy requiring specialist qualifications or manufacturer experience may need to offer more than a general position.
5. Explain the whole package.
   Training, progression, flexibility, holiday, overtime and working environment can all influence a candidate's decision.
6. Get advice before the vacancy stalls.
   Reviewing the package at the beginning is far easier than increasing it after several weeks of unsuccessful recruitment.

The employers recruiting through Perfect Placement are already showing that salary transparency can work within the motor trade. Across our live vacancy snapshot, almost every advert included salary information.

The next question is not simply whether employers should publish a salary. It is whether that salary is based on a realistic understanding of the role and the people they are trying to recruit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do UK employers currently have to advertise a salary?

No. There is currently no general legal requirement for every UK employer to include salary information within a job advert. The Government is consulting on potential changes as part of wider reforms concerning equal pay and pay discrimination.

Should motor trade employers include salary information?

Yes, where possible. Including salary information helps candidates understand whether a vacancy is suitable before applying. It can reduce mismatched expectations and make the recruitment process more efficient for both the employer and candidate.

What salary information should an automotive job advert include?

An automotive job advert should ideally include the basic salary or range, realistic OTE, bonus arrangements, overtime information, working hours and any allowances that affect the overall package.

Should employers advertise a salary range?

A salary range can be useful where the employer is open to candidates with different levels of experience. The range should be realistic, and the advert should explain what skills or experience would justify an offer towards the higher end.

How can employers benchmark an automotive salary?

Employers can benchmark an automotive salary by comparing local vacancies, reviewing recent candidate feedback and speaking with a specialist automotive recruiter. Effective benchmarking should consider the location, role, qualifications, working hours, bonus structure and type of employer rather than relying only on a national average.

Will displaying a salary guarantee more suitable applications?

No. Salary information can help candidates decide whether to apply, but recruitment results will also depend on the competitiveness of the package, location, working hours, role requirements and how effectively the vacancy is presented.

About the Author

Ashley Camies
As Marketing & Automation Manager at Perfect Placement, Ashley Camies has 14 years of automotive recruitment experience. Since 2011, she has supported motor trade employers and candidates across the UK. She specialises in strengthening recruitment processes and candidate engagement, providing informed commentary on hiring trends and talent market strategy based on over a decade of sector insight.