I'm applying to a Big 4 as an experienced hire. The recruiter I'm working with said they won't accept the application unless I provide my current base salary. Is this typical?

No, your salary is personal to you. Call his or her bluff.It in an internal or external recruiter.

In the Big 4 I work for, we try to establish salary expectations in the first interview, this is to make sure that expectations align. You will most probably be asked what you currently earn, you will then most likely be told that your salary expectations are unrealistic given your current salary.The answer? Over exaggerate your current salary and your salary expectations, but get very clear in your head what you would join the company for and do not join for less.

What is the view on refusing to provide? Stubborn so and so who has no chance of the job now, or bold negotiator who could really excel...I'm not looking for a role, but did have a call last week about one. Had a look at the job description and decided I would consider if they paid x... they agreed. The recruitment agent (this is one external to the recruiting company) asked for my salary, I politely declined, he advised he couldn't proceed without it and the whole thing stopped there. I was not especially bother, and I suspect he wasn't either but his position was a little baffling to me.

If you apply online you have to fill in your current base, so logically it follows that you would in person? Although you could refuse to disclose, the question would be what is the benefit to you? If you think your salary is low do as Frio advises and bump up your base.I think typically people do provide base and typically bump it up. I know i did

A friend of a friend has the inside track on recruitment within a Big4. She says that most people bump up their current salaries, although clearly if you take the mick it'll be spotted. In any case they're more concerned about discussing your target salary than your current pay as that's a more realistic indicator of whether they can make a competitive offer. Look at it another way, let's hypothetically say I earn £50k and I've only been with my current firm 12 months. Although a £55k offer looks good on paper it wouldn't be enough to tempt me away, I'd only listen to offers over £60k in that situation. Does that help?

So it looks like a lot of people are saying to fudge my base salary a bit. I have an expected bonus I could add on. Is there any way for them to check?

[i]"The recruiter I'm working with said they won't accept the application unless I provide my current base salary."[/i] OMG. WTF. 'K Off!You could perhaps:- tell them that your current salary is sensitive company information and your contract of employment states that you may not disclose sensitive company information to competitors- tell them that your current salary is sensitive personal information and, with reference to the data protection act, you wish to disclose it to them no more than you might wish to disclose which brand of hemorrhoid cream you use- tell them that you can see through their pathetic negotiating gambit and that you refuse to be anchored down by your current salary, bearing in mind in particular that the reason you're moving on is probably because you feel under-paid in your current role anyway- tell them to stop being so damn lazy and to interview you properly to see whether you're "worth" a certain amount, rather than relying on what you're being paid at present as a benchmark- tell them that your expectation is for a salary of around £X-Y. Then, when they ask what your current salary is, tell them that your expectation is for a salary of around £X-Y. Repeat ad-infinitum.All of the above options however are unnecessary, given that they will inevitably lead to you not joining the firm anyhow. So, the two following options may be preferable:- suck it up and possibly end up joining the firm knowing that you probably got slightly shafted on the salary front and that you're probably never really going to be completely satisfied with what you get in return for all that hard, hard work and all those late, late nights- apply elsewhere and don't bother responding to their calls.