Job boards around the province are getting a dose of clarity today as BC’s new pay transparency laws take effect.
All publicly posted jobs in BC must display a salary range starting November 1. Gone are the days of submitting an application without a clue what the compensation could be.
BC’s gender pay gap is one of the largest in the country, with women earning 17% less than men on average. The provincial government hopes the suite of new rules in the Pay Transparency Act will shorten that.
“This is good news for employees,” Mike Shekhtman, senior director at recruiting agency Robert Half, told Daily Hive. “It’s the right thing to do… and applies a bit of pressure on employers to ensure that there is equity within the current system.”
He also believes the new rules will save time on both sides of the job-hunt equation: employees get clarity, and employers don’t have to sift through quite so many resumes. What’s more, the new laws could help employees who are staying at the same job start conversations about their own salary advancement — since they’ll be able to see rates new hires are brought in at.
Employers are still allowed to offer a salary above the stated range to secure a star candidate, and job-seekers are allowed to push for a higher-than-listed salary during negotiations.
Employers forbidden from asking about previous wages
The Pay Transparency Act also prohibits employers from asking interviewees about their salary at previous positions.
Shekhtman says this will be good for newcomers to Canada, who may have worked for a lower salary in their previous endeavours. He’s glad to see a move toward compensation for the role being performed rather than bargain-seeking.
Salary reporting requirements
The new legislation introduces salary requires companies to publish salary transparency reports, starting with crown corporations this year. The rules will expand to include any company with 50 employees or more by 2026.
So say goodbye to wondering what your colleagues are making — salary information is going from a taboo topic to something that’s out in the open.