Pay transparency in B.C.
Last updated on June 19, 2024
All people deserve to be paid fairly and our communities are stronger when everyone is treated equally. However, too many women in B.C. are still making less than men. Last year, women in B.C. earned 17% less than men. The pay gap also disproportionately impacts women and gender-diverse people who are Indigenous, racialized, newcomers, disabled and/or 2SLGBTQIA+.
The Pay Transparency Act became law on May 11, 2023 and now B.C. employers must meet the following requirements to help close the gender pay gap and address systemic discrimination:
- Pay secrecy: Employers must include the expected pay or pay range in public job postings
- Pay history: Employers cannot ask job applicants about what they have been paid by other employers
- Employer reprisal: Employers cannot punish an employee who asks their employer about their pay or reveals their pay to other employees or job applicants
- Pay transparency reports: Employers above certain sizes must post pay transparency reports by November 1 of each year through a phased approach
The Act requires the Minister of Finance to publish an annual report by June 1 of each calendar year that describes the differences in pay among genders, trends in relation to those differences and the number of reports of non-compliance with the Act, based on information from the previous calendar year.
Pay transparency reports
In British Columbia, if you are a provincially regulated employer above a certain size with employees in B.C., you are required to complete and post a pay transparency report by November 1 of each year through a phased approach:
- 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 WorkSafeBC
- 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
Employers should use the number of employees in B.C. employed as of January 1 of the reporting year to determine when/if they are required to report.
The Pay Transparency Reporting Tool has been developed to assist employers in preparing the report. To use the reporting tool, employers must have a Business BCeID account.
Pay Transparency Reporting Tool
Guidance materials are in place to help employers meet their reporting obligations.
Frequently asked questions about pay transparency reports
What information is required for reporting?
The Pay Transparency Regulation prescribes what must be included in reporting. The guidance for preparing pay transparency reports is available to support employers in completing their reports and outlines the data required including gender, salary, hours worked, bonus pay, overtime pay and overtime hours worked.
How will gender information be collected and used for reporting?
It is recommended that employers collect gender information from their employees according to the Gender and Sex Data Standard in order to complete their pay transparency report. Employers must ensure employees are notified that the collection of gender information is for the purpose of preparing a pay transparency report and that their participation is voluntary. If any employee chooses not to provide their gender information for the purpose of preparing the pay transparency report, their pay information will still be used to prepare the report, but their gender will be marked as ‘unknown’. Gender data and the prescribed pay information will be used to perform pay gap calculations for the pay transparency report.
What is the online reporting tool?
The pay transparency reporting tool is a simple, online application aimed at helping employers produce their pay transparency reports quickly and efficiently.
Where do reports need to be posted?
Employers are required to post their pay transparency reports on their websites. If they do not have a website, they are required to post it in a visible place in the workplace and to make it available upon request by a member of the public.
What employees must be included in pay transparency reports?
Employers must ensure they include all of their employees located in B.C., whether they work on-site or remotely within the province. For more information about determining whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor, please see Employee or Contractor.
Job postings
As of November 1, 2023, all provincially regulated employers in British Columbia must include the expected salary or wage range in publicly advertised positions. For more information on this requirement see Wage or Salary information on job postings.
Frequently asked questions about job postings
How do I know if an employer is required to include pay information in their job postings?
All provincially regulated employers, regardless of size, must include the anticipated salary or wage range in job postings as of November 1, 2023. Some employers are federally regulated; for more information on federally regulated industries, please see Federally regulated industries.
What is a public job posting?
A public job posting is one that any member of the general public can access. This includes jobs advertised on an employer’s website, third party job boards, social media, and more traditional means such as bulletin boards and classified advertisements. If a job posting is restricted to a set group of people (such as internal job postings within an organization or listed on a private job board) it is not required to include pay information.
Where does the salary or wage range need to be displayed in the job posting?
Employers can use their discretion as to where to include this information within publicly advertised opportunities; however, it must be readily accessible to anyone viewing the ad.
Do remote jobs in British Columbia need to include pay information?
Publicly advertised opportunities for remote work which can be performed in B.C. must include pay information.
Who should I contact if an employer is not including pay information on their job postings?
The public can notify the Pay Transparency Unit of public job postings that they believe are not in compliance with the Pay Transparency Act (or concerns relating to any other section of the Act) at PayTransparency@gov.bc.ca. If job postings are not in compliance, the Pay Transparency Unit will reach out to the company to share information about the requirements of the Act.
Pay history and pay secrecy
Employers in B.C. can no longer ask job applicants about what they have been paid at positions with other employers. Employers may still:
- Use the pay history information they already have about that employee to determine the pay for a new position
- Rely on publicly accessible information on the pay for similar positions
Employers in B.C. cannot dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline or harass an employee who:
- Asks their employer about their pay
- Reveals their pay to another employee or someone applying to work with their employer
- Asks their employer about their pay transparency report
- Gives information to the director of pay transparency about their employer
More information:
- Guidance on Wage or Salary Information on Job Postings
- Stats Canada Gender Pay Statistics 2023
- Canadian Women’s Foundation
Related organizations:
Questions on pay transparency requirements?
Other general inquiries: