How to write a salary range in a job ad

Start from the grade, not the candidate

The range you publish should come from your pay structure, not from what you think this particular candidate will accept. If the role sits in Grade 2 and Grade 2 runs from 38,000 to 49,400, that is your range.

The sentence

Keep it plain and put it high in the advert:

The salary range for this role is €38,000 – €49,400 gross per year.

Three details matter: the currency, the period (gross per year, per month or per hour), and the word gross. Ambiguity here is the most common complaint candidates raise.

How wide is too wide

A range that runs from 30,000 to 90,000 is not transparency, it is a refusal to answer. A practical width is around 30% in junior grades and 40% in senior grades, measured from minimum to maximum. If your real range is wider than that, you probably have two roles, not one.

Say what moves someone through the range

One extra sentence removes most follow-up questions:

Where you start in the range depends on your experience in this type of role and your scores against our four pay criteria: skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

What not to write

Avoid 'competitive salary', 'depending on experience' with no figures, 'up to €X', and any request for salary expectations or current pay. The last one is not just weak practice — asking about pay history is prohibited.

Keep the evidence

Save a dated copy of every advert with its published range. If a candidate or an authority later asks how a pay decision was made, the advert plus your pay criteria policy is most of the answer.