Twice a week we publish the problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy's own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I have recently gone through redundancy and am looking for secure employment. My problem is prospective employers' insistence on knowing my current salary, which is in the £40k region. Having spent my working career in management roles I am now in a position where I'm more interested in the job than the salary.
We're mortgage free, our children have left home, and we have some modest savings. I'm in my mid-late 50s and want to spend the next five years or so doing something that engages me. The roles I'm applying for are generally around the £20,000-£24,000 mark (unfortunately my assets do not stretch to doing voluntary work full time), and interest me for what they are, rather than what they pay. I'm convinced, however, that once employers see my salary, they automatically draw a line through my name.
I think my past salary has no bearing whatsoever on my capability to carry out a particular role unlike, say, my experience or even my age. I'm often tempted to put my current salary as around the £24,000 mark or even "forget" to enter an amount. Is this acceptable behaviour? I suspect it isn't, but what options do I have?
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy's and readers' help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally.
