Ontario, B.C., P.E.I, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador have all passed some form of pay transparency legislation
As of March, Ontario, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador have all passed some form of pay transparency legislation.
“It’s safe to say that organizations and employees have accepted pay transparency as the norm,” the report said.
Some of the companies surveyed said they were going a step further, with 25 per cent saying they were exploring sharing pay information beyond what’s required by law. Another 15 per cent said they already share pay ranges both internally and externally in a standardized way.
Mercer noted that some employers have a few outstanding questions around pay transparency, mostly due to the ambiguity of the laws.
One of these grey areas pertains to jobs that are fully remote, with employees situated in a separate jurisdiction. While 21 per cent of employers said they post salary ranges for all remote jobs, 33 per cent said they only include ranges when the remote job is tied to an office in a location where it’s mandated.
Geography also plays a role in the setting and sharing of pay ranges. The survey said 17 per cent of the Canadian companies that disclose compensation include a national, market-based pay structure, while 12 per cent include a geographically adjusted market-based pay structure.
“Employers do recognize that pay transparency requirements will continue to expand not only nationally but globally,” the report noted.
Some employers have been preparing for the disclosure requirements by assessing the competitiveness of their pay levels and/or compensation structures, ensuring consistency and alignment between the pay structures and the work being performed, or conducting pay equity studies, according to the survey.
It said 40 per cent of employees are unlikely to apply for a job without compensation information in the job posting, while 59 per cent report having researched pay ranges in their job searches.
It also found that 60 per cent of employees say they know their own pay range and 53 per cent of Gen Z openly share their compensation with colleagues.