Pay transparency – do the right thing
We know the price of things in a shop. We have prices on menus, and we have laws around weights and measures so we know what we’re getting for our money, whether we’re buying apples or apple brandy. So why is it still acceptable to advertise a job without stating a salary or salary range? Jane Vivier has a theory.
Published: 8 January 2025 | Jane Vivier
When I’ve challenged recruiters about this, I have been told: “Well, the job description gives the level of the role.” If descriptions really could be relied on to convey realities in that way, there’d be no amusing stories of people accidentally buying doll’s house furniture on eBay. Job titles have very little meaning without context, and I think we can all concede that role profiles don’t always describe the true nature of a role.
So why do the overwhelming majority of adverts fail to include salary details or ranges?
Call me cynical, but I believe it is a power game. Employers don’t want to let on how much they might be willing to pay until they have worked out how little they can get away with paying. Plus, they probably know that the amount they need to offer to recruit a good candidate is more than they are paying their current employees.
It is a disappointing stance to take in an age in which information is freely available online and all the various generations in the workplace have learnt to be curious and to insist on fairness.
“Pay secrecy is the last vestige of the old-fashioned “employer holds the power” arrangement that has been around since before the Industrial Revolution, when people accepted the control their employer had over them, and when the relationship was about rules and not about optimal productivity.”
But pay transparency is about far more than just salaries on adverts. It’s about being open about role descriptions, career paths and salary progression. It’s about explaining bonus metrics and performance management. It’s about being transparent and honest about the provision of employee benefits, the design of equity plans and the mechanisms for promotion.
Pay secrecy is the last vestige of the old-fashioned “employer holds the power” arrangement that has been around since before the Industrial Revolution, when people accepted the control their employer had over them, and when the relationship was about rules and not about optimal productivity.
The main thrust behind pay transparency thus far has been the gender pay gap – the idea that by stating salaries we can close the gap that exists in virtually all countries. However, territories that have seemingly led the way in pay transparency such as Sweden, Norway and Finland still have double-digit pay gaps, despite having a level of transparency that allows people to look at other individuals’ tax returns and similar documents.
What happened in the Nordic countries is that the remuneration of the lowest paid increased by 5% when they were able to see what colleagues earned, according to research from the University of Stavanger. This finding was backed up by another study which concluded that, when the lowest paid were aware of what they received in comparison to others, they were more inclined to look for a new job.
So pay transparency should be a commercial focus. Far from worrying about sharing information that could be of use to competitors, we should be openly proud of our pay and reward mechanisms and place them at the forefront of our EVPs (employee value propositions), using the information to attract the talent we want from the market and to retain the talent we already have.
In an information-rich, increasingly values-led society, it could be the change we have been looking for.
“Far from worrying about sharing information that could be of use to competitors, we should be openly proud of our pay and reward mechanisms and place them at the forefront of our EVPs, using the information to attract the talent we want from the market and to retain the talent we already have.”
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About the author
Jane Vivier
Freelance Reward Specialist
Jane is a multi-sector reward specialist who now works as a freelance consultant on reward projects ranging from developing pay and grading frameworks and benefits reviews to the coaching of those starting or developing their reward careers.
Never one to shy away from difficult conversations or unpopular opinions, she relishes the opportunity to make reward more understandable for both employees and her HR colleagues.