Your candidate is lying about their salary: how to spot it in time

Your client wants Pieter and offers him what he asked for. Two days before signing, your client calls back. One of their people used to work with Pieter, and was startled by the figure. You call Pieter. After a long silence, he admits it: his base salary is €600 lower than he said. The difference was a bonus, a one-⁠off, in a record year.

Let’s not be naive about it: plenty of candidates round their salary up, and not always out of bad faith. They count a bonus they got once, or their car at what it costs their employer. They want to negotiate from what they’re worth, not from their current salary. But a figure that doesn’t add up is one you pass on to your client. If it comes out, you’re the recruiter who didn’t see it.

Why the salary doesn’t add up

They count their variable pay. In their head, a bonus, commission or profit bonus from a good year becomes their salary.

They value their benefits differently. A car at list price, group insurance at what it costs the employer, or gross and net mixed up.

They don’t know their package. More candidates than you’d think don’t know exactly what’s on their payslip.

They want a higher starting point. Anyone who claims to earn more hopes for a higher offer. That’s the real lie, and that’s the one you want to spot in time.

How to spot it

A round figure with no detail. People who know their salary give you their gross, their net and their benefits. People who exaggerate stick to one round number.

Gross and net don’t match. You know roughly what a gross salary leaves in net pay. If that doesn’t add up, dig deeper.

The figure doesn’t fit the market. Every week, you talk to people in the same role. If your candidate earns a lot more than their peers elsewhere, there’s a reason for it, or it isn’t true.

The story changes. In your first conversation it was 3,800, with your client “around 4,000”. A salary that grows between two conversations usually grows in your candidate’s head.

The method: how to check it upfront

Six steps, from your first conversation to the offer.

01Ask for the package line by line

Ask for their gross salary per month and what they take home, their company car and fuel card, their insurance, meal vouchers and other benefits. Ask about their variable pay separately: how much bonus or commission did they really get over the last two years, and what does it depend on? The more detail, the harder it is to exaggerate.

02Set it against the market and your client’s budget

You know the market: what do people in the same role earn, in the same region? And you always ask your client what they can offer for the role. That way, you see straight away whether your candidate’s salary adds up, and whether the job is a step forward.

03Ask for their expectations and their minimum

Not just what they earn, but what they need to make the move, and why. Also ask what they definitely don’t want to lose: their car, their day working from home, their group insurance. Anyone who explains their minimum exaggerates less.

04Make it safe to set the record straight

Say upfront: “The client will set your package against their offer. If anything doesn’t add up, tell me now and I can still put it right without it costing you anything.” Give people a way out and they’ll often take it.

05Pass on their expectations to your client, not their salary

From the start, your client hears what your candidate expects and what they’d give up or gain. That way, they negotiate on what the job is worth, not on a figure from the past that may not be right.

06Close on salary after every interview

“If they offer you this package, will you sign?” If the answer changes, or a higher figure suddenly appears, ask why, before your client makes their offer.

Are you allowed to ask?

In the private sector, you can ask about their salary today. Under collective agreement No. 38, in a selection process you only ask questions that are relevant to the job, and you treat everything you hear as confidential.

But that’s changing. The EU Pay Transparency Directive bans employers from asking applicants about their pay history. Belgium had to transpose it by 7 June 2026 and missed the deadline; for the Flemish government, the ban is already in a decree. When it will reach the private sector, and what exactly it means for agencies, isn’t settled yet.

So build your conversation around what they need, starting now. If they won’t tell you their salary, or you’re soon no longer allowed to ask, ask for the same list as expectations: what net pay, what car and what insurance do they need to make the move?

If it only comes out at the offer

Call your candidate first, without blame. “The client heard a different figure. What’s the full story?” Often it’s a bonus or a benefit they counted in.

Put it right with your client the same day. Base salary, variable pay and benefits separately, as they really are. Your client would rather hear it from you than from someone else.

Let your client decide. Maybe the offer stands, because the job is worth it. Maybe they adjust it. If it was a deliberate lie about something fundamental, ask yourself whether you’ll still put your candidate forward. Your credibility is worth more than one placement.

What to say

An example

Say Ruben is an estimator at a contractor and tells you in your first conversation that he’s on “around 4,500 gross”. You ask for it line by line. His base salary turns out to be lower; the difference is a bonus he got last year, which doesn’t come every year.

You note it all separately: base salary, bonus over the last two years, car, meal vouchers, group insurance. Ruben wants at least his current net, bonus included, and to keep his car. That’s what you pass on to your client, with an honest picture of his variable pay.

At the offer, there are no surprises: your client offers a higher base salary and a smaller bonus. Ruben signs the same week.

Checklist

• You know your candidate’s package line by line, with base salary and variable pay separate.
• You set it against the market and your client’s budget.
• You know their expectations, their minimum and what they don’t want to lose.
• You gave them the chance to set something straight, at no cost to them.
• Your client hears their expectations, not their current salary.
• After every interview, you close on salary.
• If something comes out anyway, you put it right the same day.

Frequently asked questions

Can you ask a candidate what they earn now?

In the private sector, today, yes. The EU Pay Transparency Directive does ban employers from asking applicants about their pay history, but Belgium hasn’t transposed it for the private sector yet. For the Flemish government, the ban is already in a decree.

Can you ask for a payslip as proof?

Better not. A payslip says something about their past, not about what the job is worth, and it contains more personal data than you need. Ask for the amounts line by line instead, and set them against the market.

Should you pass the current salary on to your client?

No. Pass on their expectations and their minimum, and what they’d give up or gain. That’s what they negotiate on.

What if they’ve already signed when it comes out?

Put it right with your client as soon as you know, and let them decide how to proceed. Keeping quiet costs you more than one placement.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

• Securex, Can the employer ask any question they like? (in Dutch) and the code of conduct of collective agreement No. 38 (in Dutch), January 2026.
• Securex, Pay transparency: where things stand, April 2026, and Pay transparency not yet transposed into Belgian law, June 2026.
• FEB, Transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive postponed: what now? (in Dutch), June 2026.
• PKF Bofidi, Pay transparency without a transposition law, September 2026: no ban in the private sector, but there is one for the Flemish government.