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People’s salaries should be made public, some Bay of Plenty experts say, with one saying a lack of transparency creates “tension and a divided workforce”
But others argue it should remain private, including one who says it is nobody else’s business
Seek NZ says job listings that carry salaries attract more applicants
Should workers know what their colleagues earn and should salaries be included in job adverts?
That’s the question some business and recruitment experts are at odds over as new figures show job listings that feature salaries have risen by about a third in a year - butonly one in four employers reveal such information.
One recruiter believes “secrecy only benefits the employers” but a business leader says that when it comes to revealing what people earn at work “it would be naive to believe this would be necessary or helpful to anyone”.
The comments follow news that advertised salaries in New Zealand show no sign of slowing down, even outpacing those in Australia for the second quarter running, according to Seek.
Love HR founder Stephanie Love believed every job advertised should have a salary attached to help reduce the impact of conscious and unconscious bias on decision-making when it came to remuneration.
“That can be a disadvantage to minority groups as we have seen with the public publishing of pay gaps in the UK and Australia. By stating the salary is based on the job, not the individual can ensure what is offered is free of inequity,” she told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Love HR founder Stephanie Love believes all job advertisements should have salary bands. Photo / Monica Ferguson Photography
How good a job seeker’s negotiation skills are has been one of the largest contributing factors to what their salary is and research has shown that men tend to negotiate their salaries more often than women, she said.
Love believed there should be more transparency around pay as often minority groups - such as women, Māori, Pasifika, and the rainbow community - were at a disadvantage.
“Secrecy only benefits the employer, not employees, and by talking about it, it means that possible inequities are uncovered. Often employers are not aware there is a pay inequity issue until employees share their salaries with one another and this brings it to their attention so they can address it.
“If employers are confident their pay practices are robust and as objective as possible, there would be no reason for people not to share their remuneration details.”
She said fairness was based on perception.
“If there is not enough effective communication by the employer on how pay practices are established, this may create resentment and feelings of unfairness. I would recommend employers put more attention on their pay practices as people are looking at their earning potential more, especially now with the increased cost of living.”
Salary scale job ads get more applicants
OneStaff area manager Nathan Lewis said salaries for certain jobs can sit in a wide band based on applicant experience and these types of job adverts will most likely not advertise the actual pay.
“There are many tools out there for potential employees to find out what the average pay rate/salary is for the job they are applying for which gives them a fair idea of their worth.”
Lewis did not see “any pros in colleagues knowing each other’s pay”.
“The staff member can research what other employers are paying their staff in the same position and use this information to negotiate pay. With the cost of living across New Zealand at the moment, I’ve found jobseekers are looking for more working hours to help supplement living costs.”
Ian Scott, general manager for talent solutions at recruitment agency Randstad New Zealand, said its data shows if employers put a pay scale on job advertisements they’ll get a higher number and a higher quality of respondents.
“That’s been tried and tested over many years. Consider, depending on all the factors, if that could be an option... then you’ve got to think what is it that’s stopping you?
‘‘So, I’d say really test that, put the acid on those decisions and just check if we’re still holding on to the right traditions.
“I think people are reluctant because ... there’s no transparency within organisations, typically speaking, around pay. Globally, we see organisations are more inclined to share salary data in a more open fashion.
“We also have a higher number of small and medium enterprises relative to the rest of the world.”
Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said the company had noticed a 33 per cent increase year on year to October in job ad listings that feature a salary bracket.
However, only one in four employers choose to display a salary on its site.
“Our recommendation is that if you are struggling to hire talent at the moment, take a look at how you are positioning the role and consider being explicit with the full offer at the outset, salary and all.
“We understand that not all businesses may be in a position to add salaries to job ads immediately, and it may not be right to do so for every role.
“But if you are struggling to fill roles, bear in mind that application rates are typically 42 per cent higher when a salary is shown.”
No pay transparency creates ‘tension and divided workforce’
First Union general secretary Dennis Maga said the union wanted “to break the silence” around employers telling employees not to share their salary or wage rate to colleagues.
“That is how they control the workplace and how they get employees to behave rather than incentivise them.”
No pay transparency created “tension and a divided workforce rather than a happy workforce”.
“The tendency for this kind of practice is employees tend to question themselves and even ask themselves, how come they are discriminated against. That’s the reason it creates tension.
“They have to find a way to negotiate their agreement. And the only way to find out about that is by trying to find more information about how much their colleagues are getting paid.
“Because of that secrecy and trying to find out that information, it’s becoming an unhealthy workplace for them.”
Often time was wasted at interviews when the salary was not advertised because an applicant offered a job may decline it due to the pay being lower than their expectations.
First Union advertised salaries with its vacancies and wanted other employers to lift their game. It also supported the Mind the Gap campaign.
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Business Chamber chief executive Bryce Heard said it was not realistic to advertise a salary with most job adverts for several reasons.
“Except for some very menial roles, it would be naive to believe that this would be necessary or helpful to anyone.”
Reasons included the role could be modified and remuneration was part of a package of benefits shared confidentially between the employee and the employer.
“It is nobody else’s business. It would take away the employees’ ability to negotiate terms and conditions that they may personally want/need such as flexible hours for family reasons.”
“While it’s good for job searchers to know the salary range of a vacancy, once they’ve got the job, their colleagues now also know it too. It’s more harmonious if people are satisfied with their individual arrangements.
“It’s rare to compare like-for-like roles in the new post-pandemic way of working with increasing work flexibility.”
Many employees may place benefits, hours of work, self-improvement, education opportunities, and workplace culture as more important than money.
Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment general manager of workplace relations and safety policy Anna Clark said there was no current legislation requiring salary information to be included in job advertisements.
However, employers were able to advertise the salary or salary range in their job advertisement if they wanted.
In August 2023, the Government announced a plan to introduce a requirement for employers, above a certain threshold of employees, to report their gender pay gap.
That meant public and private companies with more than 250 workers would have to publish a gender pay gap report as part of plans to help shrink the 9.2 per cent pay gulf between men and women.
