As Ontario prepares to introduce pay transparency legislation, it’s important for employers to consider how much information they want to share in job postings, says Darcy Clark, a principal at Normandin Beaudry.
“They could do just enough to meet the legislative requirements or . . . full disclosure where everybody knows everything. There’s also a happy medium where employees know how and why they’re paid, but they might not know what other people are paid exactly or what salary ranges look like.”
While disclosing compensation can provide more information to marginalized groups, it doesn’t always lead to more money, he says, noting compensation packages that consist of monetary and non-monetary components can ensure a total rewards structure.
Read: Ontario plans to require salary ranges be included in job postings
Beyond monetary compensation, it’s also important for employers to conduct risk assessments of their benefits plans and pension plans, as there could be inherent biases and diversity, equity and inclusion issues in the design of those programs as well.
The legislation will also require national employers to take a country-wide perspective when posting salary ranges online, says Clark. “From a British Columbia perspective, for example, those ranges may look out of whack relative to employees in New Brunswick on the other side of the country. It could be fair and equitable if the ranges are higher because B.C. has a higher cost of living. There are regional differentials that are natural, but it doesn’t mean they’re unfair.”
Beyond the legislation, pay transparency is also a cultural concept, he adds. “Thinking about the younger generations — millennials or generation Z — they’re really driving this culture shift and change in terms of talking about salaries and being transparent about compensation. And it’s not just the quantum of pay, they want to know about the structure and how compensation infrastructure decisions are made.”
Read: Canadian jurisdictions enacting pay transparency legislation, but more work to be done