Civitas Recruitment on Pay Transparency: A Quiet Revolution Worth Leading – June 2025

At Civitas Recruitment, we’ve spent years listening — to candidates, hiring managers, and sector leaders across the UK’s charity and not-for-profit world. One conversation that’s grown louder in recent months? Pay transparency.

In 2025, the question isn’t whether you should talk about salaries. It’s whether you can afford not to.

Organisations that are upfront about pay are earning more than just trust — they’re earning the attention, respect, and loyalty of the very people they most want to attract.

And for those working in purpose-driven roles, where every pound must be accounted for and every policy rooted in fairness, clarity around pay isn’t just strategic. It’s the right thing to do.

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A Sector That’s Built on Trust Shouldn’t Shy Away from Clarity

The charity and public sectors have always been held to high standards of transparency — from how funds are raised to how services are delivered. But when it comes to pay? The silence is often striking.

We understand why. Talking about money can feel uncomfortable. But today’s candidates are asking different questions:

• What does this role actually pay?
• What’s the path to progression?
• Is there fairness across gender, ethnicity, and job level?
• Does this organisation value transparency, or avoid it?

Civitas Recruitment hears these concerns every day — and we see the difference that open, honest answers make.

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Why Pay Transparency Is Good for Everyone

Let’s put it plainly: listing a salary range builds trust.

We’ve seen first-hand how it leads to better-quality applicants, faster time-to-hire, and fewer uncomfortable negotiations later on. For candidates, it signals respect. For internal teams, it’s a sign that you’ve thought deeply about fairness.

And in a sector where mission matters, being transparent about pay helps reinforce your values where it counts most — in people’s lived experience of working for you.

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The Risk of Staying Silent

While some organisations still hesitate to share salary information, this reticence is becoming harder to justify. Without transparency, you risk:

• Widening pay disparities without realising
• Losing diverse talent who can’t afford to “wait and see” what’s on offer
• Damaging your reputation in an increasingly open digital world
• Eroding trust internally among existing staff

At Civitas, we’ve supported clients through these challenges — and we’ve seen the culture shift that happens when pay becomes part of the conversation, not something to hide.

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What True Transparency Looks Like

Being transparent doesn’t mean you need to publish every salary down to the last pound. It means making your pay structure make sense — to those inside your organisation and those looking to join.

We help clients achieve this by:

Outlining clear, fair salary bands tied to role responsibilities
Conducting internal audits to surface inequities
Supporting managers to have honest, informed pay conversations
Creating visible progression paths that link growth to compensation

When people understand how and why decisions are made, they feel seen — and that feeling is the foundation of a strong, sustainable team.

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A Civitas Perspective: It’s Time to Lead with Courage

One of our clients, a mid-sized national charity, came to us unsure whether listing salary bands would “put candidates off.” We worked with them to reshape their job descriptions and normalise pay discussions.

The result? A 30% increase in candidate response, greater diversity in applicants, and a far smoother hiring process. Candidates were better prepared, more engaged, and stayed longer.

Transparency didn’t just work — it transformed the experience, for everyone involved.

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Final Thought: Purpose Deserves Fairness — and So Do People

At Civitas Recruitment, we believe the best workplaces aren’t just purpose-led. They’re people-led. And that means being brave enough to talk about pay — clearly, fairly, and without apology.

So if you’re unsure how to begin, start with a conversation. Start with listening. Start with us.

We’re here to help you turn transparency from a compliance concern into a cultural strength.

Let’s shape a fairer future, together.

📧 info@civitasrecruitment.co.uk
📞 0207 971 1072