BC Government’s New Pay Transparency Act – How Does it Affect You?

Published by Waterstone Law Group

Author: Brydan Heisler

The BC Government passed the Pay Transparency Act on May 11, 2023 to address the gender pay gap in the province. The Act will impact both employers and employees in three ways: How pay is discussed at work, how job opportunities are posted and the duty to post the new Pay Transparency Reports.

Discussions about Pay

Employers can no longer ask job applicants about their salary in their old jobs. Employers also cannot dismiss or discipline employees for asking their employer about their pay or the pay transparency report, giving information to the Director of Pay Transparency about their employer, or revealing their pay to another employee or job applicant.

Job Postings

Employers must now include the expected pay or pay range in all publicly advertised job postings. For example, an employer advertising a job could post a salary of $40 per hour, or between $30-$40 an hour. Additional guidance regarding job postings can be found here.

Pay Transparency Reports

Finally, employers will now be required to post Pay Transparency Reports on their websites. If they do not have a website, the Report can be posted in a prominent spot in the workplace.

The Pay Transparency Reports compare pay information between genders in the workplace. The BC Government is developing an online reporting tool to assist employers with this. In the meantime, more information about how to make a Pay Transparency Report can be found here.

Not every company must start posting their Pay Transparency Reports immediately. The due date to begin posting annual reports depends on the number of employees working for the business:

  • By November 1, 2023: the B.C. government and the six largest Crown corporations, which are BC Hydro, BC Housing, BC Lottery Corp., BC Transit, ICBC, and Work Safe BC.
  • By November 1, 2024: all employers with 1,000 employees or more.
  • By November 1, 2025: all employers with 300 employees or more.
  • By November 1, 2026: all employers with 50 employees or more.

If you have questions about what this might mean for you, please contact Waterstone’s Business Law Group.