October 24, 2023

On November 1, BC's New Legislation on Pay Transparency comes into Effect

Tourism Workforce Development: Stay up-to-date on BC legislative changes

As an employer in BC, part of your workforce planning strategy should include staying on top of employment-related legislative changes. Doing so will help ensure compliance and that your business financials and people operations remain smooth and strong.

Effective November 1, 2023, BC’s new Payroll Transparency Act will require all publicly posted job advertisements to include the salary or salary range for the position and grants employees new legal protections regarding salary information. In addition, Pay Transparency Reporting requirements will begin to take affect for some employers.

Here are a few key facts and myths about this new legislation that tourism and hospitality employers should be aware of:

FACT: BC has new pay transparency legislation to help with gender equity - The new legislation is intended to help close the gender pay gap by addressing systemic discrimination in the workplace.

FACT: The Pay Transparency Act is now law - As of May 11, 2023. Click the link below to learn more about the new Act.

MYTH: I don't have to disclose expected wage or salary information when I post jobs - As of November 1, 2023 all BC employers must disclose wage information in accordance with the new requirements unless they are federally regulated.

MYTH: I can ask people about their pay history when they apply for a job with my company - This is now considered prohibited conduct under the new legislation.

MYTH: Annual Pay Transparency Reports only have to be produced by federally regulated businesses. The reporting requirements will apply to employers with the following number of employees on January 1 of the specified year:

• 2024: 1,000+ employees;
• 2025: 300+ employees;
• 2026: 50+ employees; and
• for a year after 2026, more than the lesser of 49 and any prescribed number. In plain language this means that if you have less than 49 employees, a regulation will still have to be passed at a future date to include you as a reporting employer.

Reporting employers will be mandated to prepare an Annual Pay Transparency Report by November 1 of each year. The report will need to be distributed to all employees and published on a publicly accessible website.

If you need some help updating existing recruitment or compensation policies, or employee handbooks to reflect these changes for example, please contact your HR Regional Consultant.

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